You guys. I read your advice to some poor guy, you make it sound like you need a howitzer to step out of the Anchorage airport. I've lived here for 30 years, been there and done a lot of it. The T-shirt wore out in the armpits. The best Alaskan rifle I've owned was a Browning BLR .358 Win. Shot 3 bears and 2 moose with it and they all fell straight down. The worst Alaskan rifle I've ever owned was the same BLR. It didn't extract the case every time. I sent it back to Browning, they fixed it and it did the same damn thing. Now my rifle is a Ruger stainless Mk II .338. Killed 3 moose, 0 bears (lost my taste for 'em) all of them took 2 shots, but the rifle works EVERY time. My lovely wife has a .444 Marlin which I would trust with my life (and hers). We both have .44 Blackhawks for fishing trips, which we carry religiously. For walking about, if I have a serious rifle I carry a .22 revolver or my cherished wrist rocket. If I'm after small game I take my .22 rifle and my .44. I'm ready for a bear encounter but don't obsess about it. Only once in 30 years have I felt endangered by a bear, and just backed away while covering the huffing brush with my .358. Be lucky.
I would take a 12 ga with a 3 1/2" chamber and be packing some BRENNEKE “Black Magic” Slugs. 1 3/8 oz that puppy would be packing some serious whoopazz.
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could
be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Firearms Talk
A forum community dedicated to all firearm owners and enthusiasts. Come join the discussion about optics, hunting, gunsmithing, styles, reviews, accessories, classifieds, and more!