300 Win Mag for Big Bears

[Andy2590]

There are a lot of topics that talked about cartridges for the bigger bears.  Most of these mention the 300 win mag and people say, "well I would rather use...".  I'de like to know what most people think about using the 300 wm.  If you only had one rifle and it was in 300 wm and had a chance to go on a hunt for lets say kodiak brown bears, would you feel confortable with the 300 wm.  This is more out of curiosity then need.  I would like to go on a grizzly or brown bear hunt at some point, but it wouldn't be for a while.  I know that the 300 wm will take one down, but I'm more after would you feel comfortable using it.  If you say yes, what load would you use (factory or handload).

Andy

[Daveinthebush]

There are a lot of variables here.  Will the 300 Win. take a bear down if the shot is good? Certainly!  

Most people that come up here have not shot a big bore rifle much before coming here.  They buy an Alaskan gun, practice a bit and come up with a new big bore and a case of the flinchies.

A guide would much rather have you make a very well placed first shot with a smaller gun, than a poorly placed shot with a bigger gun.  Can you recover faster and get a second shot off if your not afraid of the gun? Probably can.  

An 30/06 with 200 - 220 grain bullets in the bare minimun.  The .300 Win. is better.  The .375 H&H probably the best all round choice.  

You will be huting with a guide if you are a non-resident.  He will have an adequate backup rifle in his hands.  If you wound the bear, the guide will probably not hesitate to put a finishing round into the animal.  If you wound it, draw blood, your tag is filled if the animal is recovered or not.

Myself I have a .35 Whelen and would love a .358 Norma Mag.

Hope this helps.

[Redhawk1]

The 300 Win Mag would work with 200 to 220 gr. bullets, but in my opinion the biggest gun you can shoot accurately is more important. Personally I would not use anything below a 338 Win Mag. If I ever get the opportunity to hunt grizzly or brown bear, my 416 Rigby would be my gun of choice. JMHO.  

[varmit_master]

I have watch on tv and read some stories that used Rem 300 U Mag's on brown bear they worked good. If i had to pick one of the 2 rifles the .375 H&H or the .375 U Mag . The Rem .375 U mag would be going with me. That is my .02 cents worth. VM

[Thebear_78]

From my very limited experience with the 300 WM on the big bears I wouldn't be very comfortable using one.  I have seen two bears shot with 180gr nosler partition loads out of the 300 WM.  Neither seemed to be to impressed with the comination.  THe first bear soaked up 4 rounds before he was anchored and the second bear took at least one solid hit and possibly a few more and was never found.  There was quite a blood trail for a while but dried up and never recovered the bear.  I would much rather have a 338 or bigger.    I have only seen one other bear shot with a 340 weatherby with 210gr nosler partition,  bang flop.  All of these were interior griz wieghing less than 500lbs.

If I had to use a 300 WM I would be using either Barnes x or failsafe bullet.

[jro45]

I am going Black Bear hunting in Aug again. What I plan on using is my 300 Win Mag shooting 180 nosler partition bullets or my 300 RUM shooting the 200gr nosler partitions I might take both rifles and see what works out best. These black bear I hunt are about 6'5" 400 lbs. The big boys!!

[Lawdog]

Andy,

I have taken three large Coastal Brown Bears(Kodiaks).  Two with a .300 Weatherby Magnum using 200 gr. Nosler Partitions and the other with a .340 Weatherby Magnum using 250 gr. Partitions.  IF I ever go after another I will be carrying my .375 Weatherby Magnum shooting 300 gr. Barnes TSX’s.  I was just hot happy with the results on the first three bears.  Had nothing to do with shot placement but bullet performance.  My recommendation is to use the largest caliber/cartridge you can shoot accurately with practice. Lawdog
 

[varmit_master]

Hi Lawdog i have a 300wby But have look at the Rem U Mag rds after they came out. I dont think i would go after a brown bear with my 300 wby. :eek:  I think bear_78 has a 338 Rem U Mag i think he has a good  rd. Lawdog you have killed some good sized bears then. VM

[poncaguy]

How would the 45-70 do?

[Brithunter]

Hi All,

    Hmm should I ever get the chance to hunt bears................................ any Bears I will have at minimum my 9.3x57 failing that the .458 Win Mag. I would not be a happy camper using a .300 Win Mag :eek:

   The 9.3mm gets my first nod as it's much lighter to carry and although not a fast cartridge it has a decent sized bullet of good weight and I would be using bulelts weighing 235 grn minimum and carrying some 286 grn laods as back up for close stuff. :wink:

[Lawdog]

How would the 45-70 do?

With the right load(Buffalo Bore, etc.) the .45-70 will work but not one I would recommend.  My Bother in-law borrowed my Win. M70 .450 Marlin shooting 450 gr. Barnes X bullets at near 2,200 fps. to take his last Brown Bear.  There were two of us backing him up and the smallest caliber was a .358 Norma Magnum.  Lawdog
 

[jro45]

If I was hunting Those Brown Bears I would use My 375 H&H or my 416 Rem. But those Black Bears I hunt I will use my 300 Win or my 300 RUM.

[Coyote Hunter]

How would the 45-70 do?

I've never hunted big bears, probably never will.  But I've taken my share of elk, the last with my Marlin .45-70 and 40,000 CUP handloads.

No way would I feel under-gunned with the .45-70 and the right loads, whether mine, Buffalo Bore or Garrett.  The Garrett 540g Hammerhead hardcast wold probably go end-to-end.  The expanding bullets, like the 350g North Fork I use (2183fps), makes an initial hole at .458" and finishes up much larger.  In my penetration tests, nothing has beat the .45-70 with my 460g hardcast @ 1812fps except the 500g Speer African Grand Slam Tungsten Solid @ 1554fps.

For close range defensive work I would probably alternate my 460g hardcast with my 350g North Fork loads.

[corbanzo]

I know a few people who hunt brownies with the 300WM, and they like it just fine.  Usually, when you are hunting them, you are paying more attention, so have more time for shot placement, etc.  If you can shoot it straight, its plenty.  I could never recommend a .45-70 though...  Make sure when you are hunting though, don't use anything hollow point, hard solid lead to break things, that is what you need for brownies.

[corbanzo]

I should add something, I'm a shoulder shot man myself, which is why the hard lead, if you are a lung and heart guy, you are gonna want something with some spread.

[Coyote Hunter]

I know a few people who hunt brownies with the 300WM, and they like it just fine.  Usually, when you are hunting them, you are paying more attention, so have more time for shot placement, etc.  If you can shoot it straight, its plenty.  I could never recommend a .45-70 though...  Make sure when you are hunting though, don't use anything hollow point, hard solid lead to break things, that is what you need for brownies.

If you want to break things, try a .45-70 with a 540g hardcast moving about 1500fps.  Recoil is surprisingly mild and manageable and they will go though two cape buff broadside.

[Buckfever]

Could you please elaborate on the differences between a 232gr and the 286gr.  Things like best used for, who makes the different bullets, and how much different is the POI if you are sighted in for the 232 and you throw in a 286.  I have a CZ 9.3x62 and there is precious little about bullet performance and such in the States.  Maybe you could send me a message so we don't hi-jack this thread.  Much appreciated!   Buckfever

[Thebear_78]

Buckfever-

Here is what I have found with my 9.3x62.  THe Speer 270gr is kind of solft for really big stuff,  the 250gr BT would make a good deer bullet but isn't noticably flatter shooting than the 286gr Partition.  I have settled on the partition for all of my hunting needs, push it to 2400fps and it works great.  The barnes TSX are supposed to be even faster around 2500for 286gr 2650 for the 250.  Norma, and woodleigh also make several bullets for the 9.3x62,  only the barnes, noslers, and speer are locally available.  THe speer would make a dandy deer/hog bullet.

[nasem]

I have a trip to alaska this comming november, and my family relative (first cousin) owns about 240 acres of land, where he usually hunts in..... He is inviting me to tag along with him.

He says the area we are going to will defenetly have bears, even tho our intention is not to hunt bears, if an opportunity arrises, we might do so.... He prefers the following calibers for big bears (338 win mag, 358 Norma mag, 375 h&h, and anything higher)..... He says his favorit is the 375 h&h using Barnes X or A-frames, even regular soft-points 270 gr work too.

When I usually ask him questions about the weatherbys or the RUM, he tends to not like those ultra fast bullets, he thinks they can cause bullet failures (at close distances), and just the standard magnums will do the job.  However, he also claims that the RUM or the weatherby are GREAT rounds for shots over 300+ yards, which is why Im bringing my 375 h&h AND my 300 RUM (one gun for either case)  :grin:

If I was you, and you want to get ONE rifle to handle ANYTHING in north america, stick with your standard 338 win mag (plenty of ammo, plenty of power, plenty of B.C, just a great round).... Im not saying anything bad about .30 caliber bullets flaying at over 3000 FPS, but @ close ranges under 200 yards and hunting things that CAN POSSIBLY eat you, stick with something thats got heavy knock down power (and heavy knock down power is not something you get from extra speed)

[AkRvrrat]

It seems I am a tad bit late on this thread but here goes. I live right below the Brooks Range here in Alaska and seen quite abit of bears both black and grizz. If you can catch them off gaurd and place your shot precisely they can go down with even a lowly .270  but on the other hand it will almost take a howitzer to finish them off. I got rid of a 300 winnie that shot like a winner, handled, balanced and pointed excellent like it was alive. I loaded up with some Barnes 180 XLC with 77grns of RL19 and shot the "perfect" grizz one late fall- a good 7ftr'. He was hunting me although he did not know it as he thought I was a cow moose-came out of nowhere. I aimed(down hill)right on his right shoulder and cleared him through. He spun around so fast biting at something invisible and feet never touching the ground all the while and took off-pulling for all he was worth. Hit him again in the back rib area and still took the shot like it was not there. Getting close to dark and me and my brother in law took off after him and got into some high willows and grasses- backed off that night. Morning came and we commenced again into the thicket, took some doings, bout a mile I suppose we found him layed out -dead. Both shots with them Barnes did their job-but poorly in my book. All winter I thought about that and it seriously bothered me. Read up on the new .375RUM and bought one and what a Bear stopper-generally on the first shot. I have a .45-70 on that same trip that was worked over by WWG but it was in the boat, loaded with some 460grn CP hardcast. I personally would not recommend you use a .30 caliber but if it is all you have shoot until it drops! I cherish my .06 as well, tuned, that my wife uses more than me but it is for moose and the "bear" if nose to nose but not for an intentional bear hunt.
It is a balmy 53 below here and trust me I have time on my hands :grin:  I am a firm believer to shoot the largest rifle you can competently shoot, time and time again. By the way .30 caliber works very well for Moose.
bye.
Tim
I did hear of one fellow that guided some years back that used a .30-06 for 20 yrs till a bear finally got him. go figure.

[nomosendero]

AKRvrrat

Good post, Sir & worth heeding, no doubt! Our temperature is only about 100 degrees different, hard to imagine but in about 3 months I would
gladly trade!