3 bears-What gun?
For the past 10yrs I've been dreaming of 3 bear hunts:
1) a lower 48 bruin
2) a Canadian (BC) grizz (+ caribou)
3) an alaskan kodiak (+ moose)
For each hunt, I would PREFER to use a handgun, but want to carry a rifle just in case I need to reach out a little farther, so I'm evaluating 2 weapons.
Buying new guns isn't an issue, but for sentimental value, I would like to use the same pairing for all 3 hunts, hopefully taking all 3 bears with the same gun (the revolver).
To add extra sentiment, I would like to use my first handgun, a .44mag Ruger Superblackhawk. I have a .454 Ruger Super Redhawk if the .44mag honestly WON'T do the job for the Kodiak, but I'd prefer the SBH for sentiment. I'll be amazed, but if I need something bigger than the .454, I'm ok with that too.
Secondly, my planned back up is my standby, a Marlin guidegun in .45-70. I may consider buying a .375H&H to add range, but the guide gun and I have trekked many a weary mile together. I could also use my .416Rigby, but I'm afraid it's too much gun for bruins.
So the 1st question is, is the .44mag enough for Alaskan Kodiak? If not, then is the .454 enough?
The 2nd question, is there any good reason to use a .375H&H over the .45-70? I shoot the .45-70 for deer out to 200yrds comfortably, but I'll be using heavier bullets for the bears. Remember, it's a back up, so if the scoped revolver can't reach a trophy bear, I need considerably more range from the rifle. (In my mind, the .45-70 would be enough for BIG bears out to 200yrds, but I've never shot one to know?)