ORIGINAL: jdbowhunter
My boss and I are going on a Brown Bear hunt in Alaska in about six weeks. I was planning on using my Remington 700 XCR 300 Ultra Mag on the hunt. However, I talked with our guide this past weekend and he says it is not enough gun for Brown Bear. I have always believed in listening to your guide, but I really thought I had enough horsepower. What does everyone else think?
I can only hark back to what Jack O'Connor said about the .300 Weatherby for such bears. He said, "the .300 Weatherby kills brown bear about like the 220 Swift kills jackrabbits", or words to that effect. Of course, we all know Jack's wife stepped up to the .30/'06 from her favorite7X57mm when it came time for her to shoot an elephant, despite the fact that W.D.M. Bell killed over 800 tembos with a 7X57mm....
I once lived in Fairbanks, AK. There was a doctor's wife living there at the time (pre-Endangered Species Act), who used to kill Polar bears with a .270 Winchester using 150-grain Nosler Partition bullets. And, early in the 20th century, a world's record brown bear at that time (estimated live weight over1600 pounds), was killed with a Winchester M95 in .30/40 Krag caliber using 220-grain bullets. And now, the .300 Rem. Ultra is not enough gun for brown bear?? Give me a break!