Kimber Mountain Ascent opinions needed

[luke moffat]

I carried on kodiak this year was a 6.5 Creedmoor.

 

[Jimbob]

A 7mm-08 will feel much bigger than the firepower I will carry while bow hunting.

 

[hodgeman]

I carried on kodiak this year was a 6.5 Creedmoor.

Yeah, the .308 class of cartridges would never kill a 10' bear....

 

[AXEL]

There is no question that smaller bore rifles can and do kill very large bears and other potentially dangerous animals. One I know of was in the very wet, cold, rugged and forested area, known as "The Lardeau", the northern tip of the West Kootenays, where I was born, raised and started shooting in 1958.

The chap who did this was a legendary "old timer" Billy Clarke, who went into the bush there to trap, prospect, hunt and live in 1907. For some time, he carried a M-S 1903, 6.5x54 and with it he shot a Grizzly that measured 8.5 feet nose to tail. I shot my first deer at his camp in Dec. 1964 and he told me of this himself. This bear was mounted and in a museum in Oslo, Norway. He died in 1968 and was one of the first to traverse some of the passes in the area.

So. OK, BUT, I know of too many experienced bush people, who have been mangled by Grizzlies and in my decades of running crews and forestry projects plus living alone in bear country, I just came to favour more size and thump in my guns. I have known several people who survived attacks and a few who did not, so, base my opinions on that.

More Grizzlies in BC all the time now, contacts are FAR more numerous than when I started and attacks seem almost commonplace.

 

[GKPrice]

I think I'd have to side with AXEL on the more potent rifle for a bear encounter if you knew there was a strong likelihood of a bad tempered encounter, anywhere there's something higher on the food chain there's a chance of trouble but caution is the best friend of the tenured "bear country hunter" I'd think BUT there is also an element of competency and a cool head that would probably influence an outcome more than whatever cartridge a person was carrying - a 140 grain 6.5 put in the right place will do more for survival than a 458 Win Mag in a bad spot, MEANING there's more to this story than what you're shooting ...... hunted in Grizzly country but never had the misfortune of facing one, a black bear or two and I'd not want to wrestle one of those either .... From the perspective of "visitor" experience rather than as a "resident" in B.C. or AK, I expect it's normal to want a bigger hole in the muzzle

 

[Pinewood]

So Axel, when you shot Grizzlies, did you find the bigger bores whacked them down faster than the smaller calibers? Were these in charging scenarios? I could see wanting a bit more "thump" on a charging bear.

 

[hodgeman]

With all this chatter on killing bears...

There's a huge difference between shooting an unwounded and undisturbed bear and stopping a charging bear. A bear (or anything else) zapped through the lungs expires- good shooting is the majority of the problem and often smaller, more accurate cartridges are better suited than a boomer.

Adrenalized animals are a completely different sort of issue....I don't want anything smaller than an Abrams tank to deal with one of those.

 

[luke moffat]

I guess I feel fortunate to know exactly zero people personally that have ever been tangled up with a bear or got scuffed up from one let alone personally know too many (of course 1 would be 1 too many) people. I certainly don't let the presence of bears dictate which rifle I take to the field. All of Alaska and BC both are grizzly/brown bear country. If I was on the train of thought that I would only pack magnums only and in which case there would be zero need for anything less than a 338 WM and a 375 H&H.

As is I just use the rifle I want to use for the main target animal. Does that mean if all I have is a 6.5 or 308 that I won't take the opportunity to take a grizz. Heck a lot of my summer backpacking I do with simply a .44 mag. In the even of a charge I would much rather have a .308, 7-08 or a 6.5 in my hands than a .44 mag. Which is exactly why I built a sub 4.5 pound 358 win to replace my 44 mag for summer hikes. Yet most people the 44 mag is a good selection for a bear protection revolver.

But I have detracted from this thread enough. IMO the OP is on the right track in not needing to carry a magnum rifle just because he "might" see a bear. Of course everyone has difference experiences to drive their decisions. If I lived/hunt in an area where many of the people I knew were getting mauled often that would certainly change my tune. Its just not been my experience and I hope it stays that way.

 

[Unoboats]

I found that my 7-08 adirondak liked the 130 speer boat tail soft points with 43 grains of IMR 3031 , cci BR-2 primers and a 2.212" ogive. gave me great groups and killing power to 400 yards, with the Accent you have a 22" barrel and achieving much better velocity than my Adirondak, you will have better range and foot pounds of energy at longer ranges than me. 7-08 every time great selections of killing bullets not match type bullets that will not perform consistantly as soft points , Ballistic tips ,Accubonds , partitions, and Sciroccos ect, ect......

ps: I shoot a custom Light weight 260 with 130 gr. Swift Sciroccos as well on Elk and Muley's

 

[bpotter]

. lo

Sent from my SM-G950U using Tapatalk

 

[luke moffat]

I found that my 7-08 adirondak liked the 130 speer boat tail soft points with 43 grains of IMR 3031 , cci BR-2 primers and a 2.212" ogive. gave me great groups and killing power to 400 yards, with the Accent you have a 22" barrel and achieving much better velocity than my Adirondak, you will have better range and foot pounds of energy at longer ranges than me. 7-08 every time great selections of killing bullets not match type bullets that will not perform consistantly as soft points , Ballistic tips ,Accubonds , partitions, and Sciroccos ect, ect......

ps: I shoot a custom Light weight 260 with 130 gr. Swift Sciroccos as well on Elk and Muley's

I am not sure how much 80-100 fps more velocity with the 22" over the 18" would make a difference at distances I would shoot a uberlight rifle (sub 500 yards).

 

[Unoboats]

Roughly 35-45 fps per inch on a 1:9 twist barrel. A mental advantage only. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[luke moffat]

Roughly 35-45 fps per inch on a 1:9 twist barrel. A mental advantage only. Lol


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Interesting...a lot at play here, but 2 Barrett Fieldcrafts shooting factory loaded 143 ELDXs were only 80 fps slower than my 24" Tikka shooting the same ammo (2550 fps in the Barretts and 2630 fps in the Tikka with 6" more barrel).

Like you said either way its is purely mental advantage.

 

[Unoboats]

Twist rates


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Unoboats]

Sorry didn't finish post. We all need to feel confident regardless.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[luke moffat]

Sorry didn't finish post. We all need to feel confident regardless.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I agree 100%

I would feel confident with either velocity from the 18" or the 22 or 24" out to 500 yards without issue.

 

[Piscatory_4]

Here is a side by side... I noticed about 200 fps slower than published velocity with my adirondack against factory ammo data, my hand loads were slower than predicted too, but still plenty fast and accurate.

It's pretty clear what you prefer to hunt!