HeviShot

I dont think anything would be too much gun for them(I'd take the biggest of what I own which would be the .300rum. If I had bigger, it would be used), but theres no way a .300rum would be too little/not enough. Theyve been killed cleanly with far less.

Point is I wouldnt run out and get a bigger caliber just for brownies. Bullet construction and shot placement always win in the end.

skeeter 7MM

Your 308 is plenty for the bear hunt so no real need to invest in a new gun just for that adventure. However adding a new piece is always a good thing if you have the allocation...lol!! So may I ask what you hunt now? What you'll want to hunt in the future??

If deer sized mainy then why not look to diversifing your choices, seeing you have 30 cals already! Maybe a 2506, 270, 7mm 08, etc

If you are interested in pursuing elk, moose then 300 wm, 300wsm, 7mm rem mag, etc. Or add the chance ofmaybe even actually go on a big bear hunt griz or browns then 338 wm would be perfect for all of these critters.

Maybe poping paper/varmits is of interest look at 22 250, 223, etc. Or poping paper and small game at 100 plus look at .17hmr!

A host of possibilities but IMHO buying a 3006 isn't really going to do much more than the 308 you already got! Well unless you don't want to use the handed down piece much in the field...then getting the 06' would be understandable.

bigiron

I Was reading through this thread and see it took abig turnand now its kind of dead but why would you hunt big bears with a 308 sure it will kill them but youcan killdeer with a 223 but do most no it in my mind its the same as using a 308 on something that weighs 1000+ and will kill you are that many people scared of the recoil of anything larger then a 30-06 If I were going bear hunting and was going to shoot a monster 1100 pound bear at 10 yards I would want the 700 nitro express 14000+ft-lbs 1000 grains of leadwith me just kidding I would leave the 300rum at home buy a 375h&h or a 338 rum

James B

The only reason that I could think of for anyone wanting to hunt Big bears with a 308 would be if that was the rifle they had and got a chance to do a bear hunt. If they did use it they would have to be more concerned with the range of the shots and know what their gun is capable of. However I would bet that the 30-06 has probably killed more Big bears than all other calibers combined. This because its been in the game fields where the big bears live for 100 years now. The 308 with 180-200 grain bullets within it range will do about anything the 30-06 will do. I woullld prefer the 45-70 and thats what I have used most for hunting all bears. However I have used the 30-06 as have many others on this site and had good results doing so.

mrwhitetailhunter

are you all kidding a .308 will stop a bear in its tracks. you all think you need some big cannon. 30-06 may be fine but if you really want to get to the nitty gritty a 30-06 looses its balls where as a .308 is a straight out blaster. maybe ya all need a bazooka. shoot ill take a bear with my rem 12ga if you cant take a bear with a .308 then there is only one problem... the shooter. its shot placement that takes the game. not how big your cannon is. if you feel you need a cannon then you know your shot is less than accurate and need the extra powder to make up for lousy shooting. just my 2 cents here.....

mrwhitetailhunter

in may ill be heading to northern canada to hunt me a big bear and of course my .308 savage is my choice weapon for that hunt

mrwhitetailhunter

ever hear the saying bark is worse than its bite? well thats about the mentality of a 30-06

mrwhitetailhunter

oh geez and here we go with the 338. a 338 is like a harley a big noise maker. then you need to stop every 2 miles to put the thing back together

bigpapa

lmao I just sentthe .308 in to be re-blued. Since this post started I've been putting round after round through that gun and have fallen absolutely in love with it. The recoil isn't much and it's damn accurate. I can't wait to get it back from the smith. I think I'm gong to take skeeter's point of view and start diversifying

skeeter 7MM

mrwhitetailhunter, the 338, etc suggestions were based on the original information bigpapa gave of going on a brown bear hunt which is a big bear in the class of a grizzly, kodi, etc(not a colour phase blackie...lol). In this case a 308, 3006,etc are not the suggested choice of chamberings for such a hunt, most who know this big bear game suggest 300 wm is on the marginally light side and 338 is where you begin. For a blackie no doubt a 308win will get her done if you do! Which is what he is actually going to be hunting, so the thread changed courses but not all realized this fact..

Good luck on your spring hunt!