Custom Hunting Rifle advice wanted

This subject is facinating because it is so personal. Most of us like to hunt and have experiences, memories. A question like this makes one cast his mind back to see what his answer would be, even is he doesn't post it. A gun that fits, that you can shoot well offhand, that you have confidence in. That is important. In Alaska, of course, the power factor kicks in. I find Alaska "Scary". I don't see myself carrying anything less than 30 caliber no matter what I am after. Also, when you are hunting big game , and in big game hunting country, all this exotic BS fades pretty fast. You aren't going to find your designer cartridges on the shelf at the store.
 
If you don't like Tracking

I would go with the .338 to 375 class. more mass and shock. With enough ooomph for the unexpected. Swift Aframes or Woodliegh Weld Cores. Better Safe Than Sorry:D
 
What Are The Odds?

papapaul said:
In Alaska, of course, the power factor kicks in. I find Alaska "Scary".
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Wherever there are bears you could be mauled but the odds are very, very slim. The maulings and deaths get publicized and people get scared but there are thousands and thousands of safe hunts for every one where there's trouble. It's like car accidents--the pictures of bad wrecks are scary but we don't stop driving because of them. And your chances of being in a bad wreck are tiny. Drive safely and defensively and you'll avoid trouble most of the time.

There are precautions that should be followed in bear country to minimize the risk. If you follow them and stay alert you'll be OK 99.9% of the time.

If you want bear protection, the experts are recommending pepper spray over firearms. It works!
 
This is a subject that folks have wide ranging opinions. These are just some of mine.
I have been up here for a while and luckily my job has allowed me to work a lot on slamon spawning streams and areas.
I think the best and first defense is knowledge. A couple sources that I think have good info are some videos. One is "Staying Safe in Bear Country" and the other a three disc set "Bear Attack". Both have been made by Canadians with Steve Herrero having a lot of input. Steve is the author of "Bear Attacks, their causes and avoidance" These are thoughful presentations. You can do a Google search and find them. But I did see that Campmor (http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___83268 ) carries the Staying Safe video. The Bear Attack videos are harder to find but you can get them here: http://expressmedia.ca/store/index.php?manufacturers_id=15
Like Vic says, the probability of actually getting hurt are very small. Often the report of a bear attack or fatality starts out something like: " On Kodiak Island Joe was attacked by a bear while dragging his deer back to camp....."
Well, no one should ever drag game back to anywhere in bear country (can you say blood trail right to your butt??). Also folks are most often alone when attacked.
As for a rifle? I would say a 30-06 is a hard one to beat for a one rifle battery. But the number one factor is how well you can shoot it. I have gotten myself so I can shoot my 338 Win mag comfortablely without a muzzle break and it is now the rifle I most often go to. I watched a guy at the range this weekend with a 470 Nitro double rifle. He said he was not affected by recoil. But when the round failed to go off when he pulled the trigger, his flinch was pretty pronounced! Like they say, "if you can't hit them you can't kill em."
A very important question is sighting system. I have decided to go with a 1.5-5X20 Leupold on any rifle that I might be using where a close encounter could occur. I do like having that 1 to 1.5X lower magnification. I have also gone to quick detach scope mounts and made sure I have open sights on the barrel. I have not had to take my scope off yet, but I like having the option.
Well there is my two cents.
Take what you want and leave the rest.
Jim
 
The '06 might be your best choice.............

unless you're going to live there, in that case, you'd have justification to buy 'em all. But the question to ask yourself is, what do I shoot the best?? If you have an '06, and if you can shoot it WELL, that's the rifle I would take, even if I was going to buy a new one. As for that Remington, when I ordered that, I'd order the McMillan before it, in the proper length of pull. That way, when the Remington came in, I'd take that B&C off and 'can it, it's trash to me. Besides, even if you kept it, it needs to be bedded, as would the McMillan. Get the foam-filled McMillan if you want to save weight, or get the Edge, if they make it for the receiver you choose. I would NOT take a gun in that kind of environment with a detachable magazine, Murphy's Law has NOT been repealed! As for magnums, I have shot numerous magnums when working up loads and loading ammo for others, and it is truly amazing, some would say unbelieveable what can be done with an accurate load in an accurate rifle. If you are going to build an '06, I'd get a good quality barrel in a 9" twist. If you want it light, I'd get a #1 or #2 contour Chrome Moly, since some manufacturers won't make a stainless barrel that light, or get the lightest stainless you can, per the maker's rules. Still not knowing what kind of shooting you regularly do, I would hope you have some sort of centerfire above .224, manybe a 6MM Rem. or .243 that you could practice with; then make the transition to the hunting rifle 7 or 8 months before you go, shooting say, at least 2 boxes every other weekend from various positions; along w/some weight training and walking to get your endurance up. See your doctor if you're taking any meds, and tell him what you want to do, see what he says. It sure ticks off the guide if the reaper decides to punch your ticket, :eek: while he's responsible for you. ;) Good luck, but don't forget, you have a lot of SERIOUS work to do before you go!! Dreaming up and ordering your rifle is the easiest job you got. :)
 
Be sure to check out the hunting rifles section as well as the scrapbook.

http://www.bordenrifles.com/

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Insufficient Accuracy

Only a 0.142 inch 100 yard group with a 300 WSM?? You need better accuracy than that if you want to hunt big game in Alaska!
 
Thanks to all of the responses... I still have a lot of planning it seems... I am pretty sure that I now want a Kreiger bbl Chrome Molly Steel in a 2 or 3 contour and have it ceramic coated for weatherization... stiller predator action... with 3 position safety.. BDL floor plate... Wyatt outdoors center feed magazine.. 300 WSM..

I guess Bansner doesnt use the stiller action now... they use some action with an m16 extractor... what advantage is the m16 extractor over the extractor that stiller uses (a sako style extractor)?
 
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Dick, I am sure he makes a fine rifle but I wonder if I could get the same quality rifle else where for considerably less money?
 
"I find Alaska scary". Not just the bears. They are only one item on a long list of things which will kill you given a chance. There's something about knowing that if you stop on the highway, turn perpendicular to the road and start walking in a straight line, that you will walk the rest of your life before you come across anything man made ever again, much less someplace to buy a sandwitch.
 
Different strokes for different folks!!!

Papapaul, what your find scary is one of the things I love about Alaska. When I fly back up here from Outside, I feel like I am coming home when I can look down at night from 30,000 ft and without seeing any lights of civilization.
Jim
 
Jim, you must go to boondocks on occasion... had a ruger alaskan in 454 used at a good price about a month ago... probably gone by now... Now can someone advise me on the topic at hand...
 
Ruger in .30-06 or similar

I was working with Pete Harvey and he with Dan Culity who made up the Ruger 77 rifle used in the below described expedition. I had a chance to examine the rifle and it was chosen for reliability and light weight. Dan trimmed a lot of weight. Also, take a look at the forum section on Alaska on 24HourCampfire.com for a lot of local knowledge. Lastly, at one time I had a Ruger 77 in .338 Win Mag, stainless, but black Teflon coated with laminated stock. Not light weight, but as bullet proof as could be. Good luck.

============================================On February 12, 1995, Richard Weber a Canadian, and Misha Malakhov a Russian, strapped on their lithium battery packs, donned cross country skis, electric miner's helmets (for light) and dragged their sleds out on the ice on the first leg of their historic unassisted trek to the North Pole.

Since they were pulling their own sleds, it was important to keep the weight down on everything from the custom made 4.5 lb. Ruger 308 Polar Bear Rifle, (by Dan Cullity of East Sandwich, MA) to the 5 lb. communications pack (palmtop PC, satellite transceiver, antennae and batteries) used to send messages via satellite to the monitoring stations at Memorial University of Newfoundland and SpaceQuest in Virginia.

Students at Confederation High School in Ottawa, and many others around the world tracked Richard and Misha's progress daily .

Burning close to 8000 calories per day, Richard and Misha's diet consisted mostly of fat (lots of raw bacon, butter and some of the best chocolates we've ever tasted. When their thermometer broke, they used a stick of butter to tell how cold it was. If it broke cleanly it was colder than -30 degrees.... if it shattered, it was colder than -55 degrees.

They returned safely from their journey in early June with the ice melting rapidly under their feet. While other expeditions gained more notoriety, Misha and Richard's trek was the most rigorous effort of the season.
 
Bordan Rifles

THe best thing you could do is call and talk to Jim Bordan.

Then have him build you a rifle he recommends.............................................
 
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