Are Magnum rifle really unnecessary

[Borngeechee]

Was daydreaming about hunting Alaska and ended up on their state page and came across this section "Big Magnums Not Needed" for hunting there. When you speak to non Alaskans though, they say u need a Howitzer to hunt. So do the hunters from the lower 48 just overdue it and think bigger is just better?

Edited March 12, 2015 by Borngeechee

[Culvercreek hunt club]

Yes.

[d-bone20917]

With the premium bullets and rangefinders they have these days magnums are really unnecessary.  But people seem to think bigger is always better.  

[Culvercreek hunt club]

With the premium bullets and rangefinders they have these days magnums are really unnecessary.  But people seem to think bigger is always better.  

I agree but there was all types of Alaskan game taken even prior to our modern bullets and rangefinders with great success. It really is about accurate shot placement within your and your rifles effective range. I can't help but think that this new fad of bigger and faster and flatter shooting rifles is right in the same line of that new state of the art driver that is made out of alien spaceship titanium and is infinitely adjustable and guaranteed to remove that terrible slice from your golf game. There is no substitute for preparation, practice and proper form.  

[ants]

I think I read somewhere that one of the top favored calibers, among Alaskans, was the 30-06.

[Borngeechee]

I think I read somewhere that one of the top favored calibers, among Alaskans, was the 30-06.

Yea it seems so. They recommend that and the .270.

[Elmo]

I'll bring my 308 and think I'll be fine. I just simply have to get a little closer to the target which is fine by me since I'm a hunter and not a sniper.

My only concern will be the brown bears. Those I would like to keep my distance.

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[Culvercreek hunt club]

I'll bring my 308 and think I'll be fine. I just simply have to get a little closer to the target which is fine by me since I'm a hunter and not a sniper.

My only concern will be the brown bears. Those I would like to keep my distance.

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Considering ballistics, it is basically even between the -06 and 308 inside 300 yards.  

[Doc]

I'll bring my 308 and think I'll be fine. I just simply have to get a little closer to the target which is fine by me since I'm a hunter and not a sniper.

My only concern will be the brown bears. Those I would like to keep my distance.

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Ha-ha .... I think it was something like 20 yards that Fred bear shot his Brown bear with a recurve.

 

Well, I sure wouldn't recommend that. I am convinced that was a little bit of insanity coming out. I tend to agree with you. Some animals just deserve a little extra respect. I never really had any fascination with ending up a pile of bear poop.

[Borngeechee]

Ha-ha .... I think it was something like 20 yards that Fred bear shot his Brown bear with a recurve.

Well, I sure wouldn't recommend that. I am convinced that was a little bit of insanity coming out. I tend to agree with you. Some animals just deserve a little extra respect. I never really had any fascination with ending up a pile of bear poop.

20 yards with a recurve? That's certifiably insane. They should've committed him after that.

[ATbuckhunter]

I think that a 30-06 would be good enough. Like he post said, guides would rather have someone with an 06 that can accurately shoot it than some one with a 375 who can't hit a thing.

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[Mr VJP]

The only thing in Alaska that really requires a magnum is Brown Bear.  They can be killed with a bow, but the archer is backed up by someone with a magnum or a 12 gauge slug gun.  The biggest problem with bow for Brownies is, once the arrow hits, if the bear spots you, it's going to charge you for sure.

 

Most areas don't require anything in a magnum, but they do help when long shots at decent size animals occur.  Something like a 270 Wby or a 300 WM might be preferred.

 

[wildcat junkie]

20 yards with a recurve? That's certifiably insane. They should've committed him after that.

I saw a video of the guy that backed him up W/a rifle shooting clay pigeons off the back of the boat W/a 458 Win Mag.

 

Fred wasn't a fool.

[BizCT]

Excalibur recurve crossbow is all you beed

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[wildcat junkie]

[NFA-ADK]

Yes when game gets over 800lbs I want a mag.  You can use your 308.  I would consider my 30-06 slightly under powered for game that large but would use it if I had to.  And yes I know I can kill them with a bow but I would rather knock them down vs chasing them for miles to get another shot to finish the job because the first shot was not perfect just like he showed in this video with two shots on the bear.

[wildcat junkie]

Yes when game gets over 800lbs I want a mag.  You can use your 308.  I would consider my 30-06 slightly under powered for game that large but would use it if I had to.  And yes I know I can kill them with a bow but I would rather knock them down vs chasing them for miles to get another shot to finish the job because the first shot was not perfect just like he showed in this video with two shots on the bear.

I think the 2nd shot was "insurance" & they were both made at the same location.

 

As for firearms, I wouldn't want to face a large bear W/anything that couldn't push a 200gr bullet at least 2900fps.

 

That leaves out the 30-06. Something on the order of 325 WSM, 8 X 68S or 338 Win Mag would be minimum. The thing about Alaska is, you never know when you might face a large carnivore looking to do you serious bodily harm.

[dbHunterNY]

my 30-06 has a short throw bolt, top tang safety, and every thing else I can operate without thought or looking.  I've taken couple bucks in timber running doe.  first shots sealed their fate and the second were within 1-3/4" from the first for both deer, around 75-100 yards, separate seasons, and free handed with maybe an elbow or forearm against a tree in the stand.  with a stout 180+ grain bullet it's got enough horsepower out to 300 yards (if it's got a little extra in the case you're looking at over 2000 FP of energy at that distance).  I don't know of any caliber able to be held that will anchor a bear every time.  unless I got equally comfortable with a bigger caliber gun the first stuff I typed makes me feel warm and fuzzy.  if it came after me and I have to look to operate the gun I'm dead. if I have to think about it, then I'm still dead. if I can't shoot it well to put the bullet were it needs to, then I'm probably still dead.  don't know anyone good enough shot in bear country to trust them completely with my life otherwise.  I've been told the same applies to Africa also, despite I'll probably never go there.

[philoshop]

 

I don't have a clue about this firearm, but I'd guess it's pretty potent. The only thing 'magnum' about it is the guy that has to carry it around all day.

[First-light]

Vintage, I love it. Curt Gowdy American Sportsman, lived for that show…….

[b79holmes]

There is an Alaska Hunting/Shooting forum I read all the time under the spell of the same fantasy.

 

As I understand it for dangerous game you want big and slow (it's all relative) so your .375 & .416 are favorites as backups for any brown bear hunting.  You need to break bones.

 

Magnumns are a long distance thing.  You'd kill the same size game with a 300 Weatherby as a 30-06 but at longer ranges and may have problems with a very close shot without super premium ammo, either no expansion or explosive and shallow and unedible.

 

I still want a Weatherby magnum though.

 

Bill

 

[Pygmy]

Bill, if you want a Weatherby Mag, you should get one...

Personally, I don't want ANY cartridge with a belt...All of the ones I have shot have kicked the snot out of me...

Back in my Alaska hunting days, after encountering a few grizzly/brown bears, I decided I needed a BIGGER gun...I got a SMOKIN' deal on a Ruger M77 .338 Win mag, used very little for $225.. I used it a few years...Shot a couple of caribou with it.. I just never enjoyed SHOOTING the damn thing. I peddled the .338 and bought a 9.3x 62. It is just as potent as the .338, perhaps more so, because it handles heavier bullets, albeit the range is somewhat less than the .338. It KICKS, but does not loosen my teeth the way the .338 did...

Nowadays my Alaska hunts are over...Any long range work I am capable of can be nicely handled with my .280 Rem..If I get lucky enough to draw a moose or an elk

tag, I still have the 9.3, which is capable of dropping a moose or an elk from most any angle..

[wolc123]

In my opinion, any rifle other than a 30/06 is lacking something.   Like that article says, those big magnums are difficult for most non-professional hunters to shoot accurately.  Besides that, they are expensive to feed and can be tough to find ammo for in remote locations   What it comes right down to is the old saying: "a fool and his money are soon parted", and there seems to be no shortage of fools around these days.