i know this wont fit with accepted theory,but..went bear hunting with 4 aleut friends about 3 weeks ago,brown bear,i carry 45/70 shooting405 grain j.f.n from buffole bore these are magnum loads and limmited in the guns they can be used in. the thing is i really felt over gunned these alaskan natives all had 30/30 leaver actions with one exception a bolt .243.we all got bears in the 8 ft range,some seals and a few black tails,these are the only rifles these guy's use and used the are ,not very pretty to look at and i'm sure the bores are scarry ,never saw them wiped down much less cleaned(rian and salt spray every day) well next year i wont carry anything this heavy or that has this much recoil,maybe a.270