Alaska beauty and advice needed

[peyton]

Enjoy the scenery of the Alaska wilderness!! Tom is my son in law and his friend took this picture while mountain climbing. Notice to his right side in the background is a Dall Sheep staring at them!!

He called Saturday night asking for advice for purchasing a rifle to hunt them with. I replied that the Winchester model 70 in 270 Winchester caliber would be perfect. His buddy who has a rifle in 300 WIN MAG suggest that he get one like his.

I calmly said "Tom, take both rifles to the range and fire 5 shots of each caliber and see which do you like" Tom was at Bass Pro looking at a rifle that weighed 6 LBS. The rifle is for sheep hunting which involves a lot of walking and climbing.
Any other suggestions on how to keep him from buying a rifle that kicks like a mule??

Tom also climbed MNT Denali this last June and so he's in great shape. he said the difference between Denali and MNT Everest is on Denali you carry all your gear, at Everest the Sherpa's do it all!
No Brag just Fact.

 

[Alk8944]

The .270 is an excellent choice in whatever rifle he chooses. Equally good would be .280 Remington.

"Any other suggestions on how to keep him from buying a rifle that kicks like a mule??"

No, just consider the friendship and let him decide! just don't say "I told you so" when he complains about the heavy kicker he may finally buy, or harp at him if he chooses something you would not have.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

A "Mountain Rifle" in 270 Win, is never a bad thing, but may still be a little much for shots under 200 yards. However, A 300 Win Mag in the 7.5 pound range will be ample for the sheep and the neighborhood bears!

My personal 300 is a 1985 Weatherby Vanguard VGX (looks like a Mark V deluxe) and shoots best with Federal Priemium 200 grain ammunition. I have it fitted with Iron sights and originally had a 3-9x30mm Leupold Veri-X iii Compact but my eyes need more glass now so it wears a Leupold 4.5-14x40. The rifle shoots the preferd ammo to 3/4" @ 100yards offhand and from a standing supported position, less than 1/2" @ 100. From a bipod, a 1/4" at 100!

Factory/Production Mountain Rifles, often won't stack up on 3 shot accuracy without serious gunsmithing!

A friend of mine used a 338 Win Mag for all his Medium game hunting in "Always Hungry Bear Country". His motto was, "Better bruised than devoured!"

Ivan

 

[ColbyBruce]

I have a Remington 700 Mountain Rifle in 7mm/08 and a Colt Light Rifle in 7mm Remington magnum. The weight difference is minimal and so is the recoil. I would take the Colt over the Remington if I had to choose.

 

[Fishinfool]

I think he would be fine with a lightweight .270 and a good controlled expansion bullet like a Nosler Partition.

Even mild caliber lightweights can kick. I have a 7mm/08 Kimber 84 that weighs 5 lbs, 10 oz, unscoped, that gets your attention from the bench. Not bad, but if he is recoil sensitive, or is considering a heavier caliber, then a good muzzle brake can help. I generally don't care for them, but this would be a good application for one. Pack foam ear plugs!

My experience with light weight rifles is they generally place the first 2 or 3 shots accurately, then can open up a little as the barrel gets hot. Usually not an issue for hunting applications. Couple pounds difference in rifles don't sound like a lot, until you gotta carry one up the side of a mountain...

Larry

 

[K Harris]

My wife and I lived in and hunted Alaska for several years. We both used 270's with 22" barrels, and Leupold 3-9 x 40 Vari XII's. Weight of the rifles all up was 8 1/2 Lbs. The round we used was the Winchester 150 grain Power Point. That round may be pedestrian, but it penetrates and holds together. We could have dropped them into synthetic stalks and reduced the weight by 1/2 pound, but at the time it didn't seem necessary.

 

[arjay]

A 6lb 300 wouldn't be much fun at all lol. My bil had one that probably weighed 9-10 lbs and after 4 rounds I was done.

 

[peyton]

Thanks for responses, I am glad he has expressed an interest in hunting. In Texas he didn't like deer hunting because all we do is "sit in a box"!!
Having been told I was transferring to Alaska in 1989 I got myself a Mauser in 375 H&H magnum. Our General up there didn't hunt or fish so exercise's were scheduled at the worst time in the middle of hunting season.
The biggest thing I shot there was a rabbit.
The original box had only 5 shells expended.

 

[Baxter6551]

I have a Weatherby MKV Ultralight in .270 which I think would be ideal.

 

[inspcalahan]

I live here and I hunt it all. Here's my take.

You want to hunt sheep, the .270 is a classic that will serve you well.

You want a one rifle to do it all for sheep and future hunts? Get a .30-06.

You want a rifle that gives you the edge should you ever intentionally target large bruins (the brown kind), western Alaska or Yukon moose.....338winmag but good luck finding ammo...it's still not back on the shelf. That said, on smaller sheep and caribou, even with light bullets, it'll leave one hell of an exit hole.

 

[Rudi]

A .270 should do. Not too many Griz up there I would think.

 

[Exaviator]

I have always found the 7mm magnum a good all round caliber for medium size game and used it frequently on sheep, goats & bear in both Canada and Alaska.

 

[peyton]

I think he will suffer from "Sticker Shock" when he sees the price of ammo!

 

[ColbyBruce]

I think he will suffer from "Sticker Shock" when he sees the price of ammo!

peyton is this the same son who needed the 300 Blackout ammo a few years ago?

 

[Exaviator]

"I think he will suffer from "Sticker Shock" when he sees the price of ammo"



If you can afford to hunt in either Canada or Alaska these days, the cost of ammo is the least of your worries

 

[peyton]

Colby, no this is my son in law. My youngest son loves the 300 blackout, which I found to be an excellent caliber for these Texas Whitetail deer!

 

[LittleCooner]

You provided great advice, we can only hope he listens to the older experienced adult. Light weight is the way to go in the hunting world. These 5 pound guns are fantastic today for hunting. The upper end of the spectrum will shoot as good as anything on the market in the hunting world ( read : if you do not connect on the first shot - 90% of the time, the game animal will not be harvested and after 2 followup shots, the other 10% will continue to live). Jack O'Connor was the huge promoter of the 270 Win and it has proven to be a fantastic long range case over the past 100 years. I do believe its big brother the 280 and the 280AI are a little superior, mostly because of a larger choice in hunting bullets. No one needs the power of any 300 magnum for sheep or deer size game.

Most folks that are not long time shooters, can not shoot those magnums very well, because they do not like recoil. You can only provide advice and hope he goes lesser recoil and really does a huge amount of trigger time before he returns to chase the white animals in the clouds.

 

[peyton]

I was mad with him for not being around in 1990 when I was 35 years old so we could climb mountains together. His reply, I was in the 5th grade.
Seriously, I want to get up to Alaska and do this stuff but at 65 all I can do is look at the mountains