Alaska brown bear hunt
 

We got drawn for our AK brown bear hunt this fall. My brother guides on Kodiak & Raspberry Islands & we're doing a party hunt for brown bear & Blacktail deer. He recommends a .338 Win. Mag. and I'm inclined to follow his judgement. I'm thinking of purchasing a Winchester Mod. 70 .338 Win Mag Extreme Weather SS (composite stock, fluted SS barrel) like he has. For a scope, I'm thinking a Leupold 3.5-10x40 duplex recticle. Sound like a good combo? For the scope recticle, is standard duplex good or should I go w/ fine or heavy duplex? My vision is excellent & he said all their shots are under 200 yds.

Sweet hunt there coolbrze. Awesome having your brother there on the ground.

Dragging your blacktail out = trolling for brownies?

Caliber and rifle are good choices. I was very fond of my 1.5-5 Leupold when I was there, I don't think I'd want much more magnification than that.

i am going on a spring brown bear hunt next year and the 338 is exactly what my outfitter recommended. also the synthetic w/ stainless steel is what it seems everyone recommends for Alaska. on the scope it would be a personal preference and a matter of where you will be hunting. if you will be hunting an area where it is likely you will have tight quarters and very close shots i would go for the lower magnification. what you are talking about sounds more like an open country scope.

My dream hunt. Good luck and have a great time.

leupold vx6 2-12x or even vx6 1-6x

vx3 2.5-8x a cheaper alternative, but even lower low end power would be ideal.

You said you drew a tag but didn't say exactly where, Most of Raspberry island is heavy forest or thick alders. Kodiak can vary a great deal, but only areas have the heavy forest cover, mostly alders mixed cottonwood. with heavy grass that can be well over head high. Being a fall hunt , you will probably will be targeting bears on salmon streams, but if yours is a later hunt , you could easily be hunting much higher berry patches in much more open country. So the place and timing of the hunt will make a difference in the kind of shots you will be taking.Your choice of weapons is a good one ,and I would think your first choice in scopes will cover almost any situation,the standard duplex should serve you well.
But your time is already short , and the real important part is being able to us your chosen weapon, so get what your taking and get to the range, put as many rounds thru it as you can ,and even days you can't make the range , handle the weapon as much as you can , practice getting it up an on target, dry fire exercises are worth the time.

Go with a lower power scope than 3x-10x.

Also, don't forget, you don't have to be faster than the bear, you just have to be faster than your buddy!!!