Beej:
I would have to say that the though both variances of griz (coastal and inland) will try to avoid humans as much as possible, it is the inland critter that I would be most leery of.

With them, food is much harder to come by, therefore the chances of coming across an ill tempered animal is higher. Also, as ABW stated earlier, you will often find yourself in too close a proximity to one, with no cover or place to escape...hard to climb a tree in the middle of the tundra

On the other hand, the exact opposite situation can cause problems with their coastal cousins. There the cover can be intense...so thick, in fact, that you cannot see through it.

This is were a guy can get in trouble. Stumbling stealthily through the thick brush and coming upon a bear that is on a kill, with cubs, or just scared and/or pissed off.

Though there is plenty of cover, it is too thick to allow escape, and offers very little resistance to an enraged bear.

Just keep in mind, with either type of griz; most attacks occur for simple reasons...the bear feels you are a threat to its food, its cubs, or itself (leaving it no way or time to back out).

If you can avoid any of the above, the chances of being attacked are very slim.

In my case, the bear may have had his eye on the young moose I shot, before I saw it, and therefore felt a bit of a stake in it, or it may have just been trying to see if it could bully me off the carcass. Either way, it wasn't totally sure of itself, or its ownership - thankfully.

Skyhigh:
Can't say that I know much about these new calibers. The 300 ultra sounds like a pretty good weapon. I'm sure it will do a good job up here...though I'd opt for the heavier bullet when ever possible.

I'm not sure why, but for some reason the .300 is a very popular caliber. Most hunters that come up from the lower 48 have this rifle, and they continue to use it with great success up here. But in my mind (befuddled though it may be), I would much prefer the extra power and bullet weight of the .338. I see no down side to it, and have been in many situations where the extra bullet weight was a blessing.

Kinda like buying a 41 mag instead of moving all the way up to the .44 mag…don't understand it, but plenty of people do it.

Isn't there a .338 Ultra as well? Why not go for the heaviest bullet possible, while still maintaining range and accuracy? That bullet weight, along with it's velocity, plays heck with kinetic energy down range.

<img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle> If You Ain't Hunted Alaska, You're Still Just Practicing <img src=icon_smile_tongue.gif border=0 align=middle>