Guns for Alaska

[OrneryBear]

If it were me, I'd be taking my .357 magnum.

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[LostNotStuck-Yet]

If it were me, I'd be taking my .357 magnum.

Ahh…. The old shoot the person you are hiking with in the leg and run” approach.
I’ve heard that works.

 

[OrneryBear]

Ahh…. The old shoot the person you are hiking with in the leg and run” approach.
I’ve heard that works.

Ive always heard the effective velocity and stopping power of a big load .357 is a solid side arm option against bigger animals, especially when compared to .45. Is that wrong?

 

[LostNotStuck-Yet]

Ive always heard the effective velocity and stopping power of a big load .357 is a solid side arm option against bigger animals, especially when compared to .45. Is that wrong?

I’ve always been told .45s and .357s are significantly underpowered for dropping attacking brown/grizzly bears.
I’ve heard that in bear defense classes and from a variety of sources with less expertise.
The only gun I’ve heard recommended in training is a 12 gauge with slugs. It used to be common practice to use alternating buckshot and slugs but in the classes I’ve taken (just 2) they’ve gotten away from buckshot - you need the mass of a slug.
Charging brown/grizzly bears are rarely stopped with a gun. Fortunately most charges are bluffs.

 

[wibornz]

An MP5 would work. Just don't SBR it.

Edit, sorry I didn't see you were talking big boy calibers.

If you're hiking in Alaska and looking for protection from local fauna, anything that has been mentioned so far except for the 45lc or the 454 is just going to piss them off.

Canada is kind of funny what they will let travel through their country. Nothing assault looking is going.

 

[OrneryBear]

I’ve always been told .45s and .357s are significantly underpowered for dropping attacking brown/grizzly bears.
I’ve heard that in bear defense classes and from a variety of sources with less expertise.
The only gun I’ve heard recommended in training is a 12 gauge with slugs. It used to be common practice to use alternating buckshot and slugs but in the classes I’ve taken (just 2) they’ve gotten away from buckshot - you need the mass of a slug.
Charging brown/grizzly bears are rarely stopped with a gun. Fortunately most charges are bluffs.

Id believe that. Side arms are not going to compare to a rifle or shotgun, but off the top of my head a .357 is going to have something like three times the velocity of a .45. I was told, its not the best but a 357 will kill a bear with good placement. Think of a 45 as a slow moving rock and a 357 as a high speed arrow.

 

[Pinion]

Canada is kind of funny what they will let travel through their country. Nothing assault looking is going.

It identifies (sold as) as a pistol. Also the barrel is 8" and you can use a 10 round mag. It was the first thing that crossed my mind.

You're probably right though. Its too big of a risk at the border if they aren't into understanding their own regulations.

The KSG might be something to consider. They aren't expensive and have plastic furniture. I run slugs through mine, no problem and they have a higher capacity than the 870.

 

[tk1700]

The G20 is a solid choice, probably overkill for everywhere except Kodiak. But from reading your posts you like to build it stronger than it needs to be. I work in a gun store and we sell lots of G20's for back country carry. You can get a chest rig that makes it easy to carry and access the gun. Looking at other calibers I wouldn't consider anything other than 44 mag, 12 ga or 454. You may also qualify for the Blue Label program from Glock.

 

[wibornz]

So I have a bud that I Jeep with from the Jeep club that works at a high volume Gun store.

He sold me this G20 and installed the optic. The gun was $488 and the sight was just under $200. He threw in two boxes of FMJ. I had him order two 10 round mags, and will mail the 15 round mags to a Post Office in Alaska.

This will be what's going with me. I called the Canadian Firearms Office. They emailed me the forms to fill out and stated over the phone that the guns can be transported to Alaska. The Glock can only have 10 round mags. I will get the fill the email back the documents and should be good to go. The only thing that sucks, is I only have 7 days to get to Alaska. So I will have to hustle to Alaska. It is about 2000 miles from the Montana/Canadian border to the Canadian/Alaska border. I did not want to push that hard, but hey it is what it is.

The Canadians were super helpful on the phone. They even waited on the phone to ensure that I received the documents before they hung up.

So the Remington 870 is for an in camp gun. The G20 is for hiking and being away from camp. Then of course the back up plan is being able to out run my wife. Last resort is Mr. Business gong in for some action. He is a JACKED Russell.

I plan to put at least 500 rounds through the G20 before I leave. I can shoot right at the house and have steel places set up. One month and three days to get the G20 sighted in and broke in. I have to order the hard cast big game rounds too. Then make sure they are zeroed for the gun too.

 

[wibornz]

The G20 is a solid choice, probably overkill for everywhere except Kodiak. But from reading your posts you like to build it stronger than it needs to be. I work in a gun store and we sell lots of G20's for back country carry. You can get a chest rig that makes it easy to carry and access the gun. Looking at other calibers I wouldn't consider anything other than 44 mag, 12 ga or 454. You may also qualify for the Blue Label program from Glock.

I used to qualify, but being retired, my local Law Enforcement Supply said they can not honor it. The Blue Label program, I could have got the G20 for $477. My fellow Jeep guy got me as close as he could at $488.

 

[wibornz]

Ahh…. The old shoot the person you are hiking with in the leg and run” approach.
I’ve heard that works.

I can out run my wife, she walks faster than I do. Her natural gate is about three inches longer than mine so when we hike, I constantly have to concentrate on keeping up with her. My natural run gate running is faster than hers though and I am faster on the top end too.

She knows this and that is why she was like hey buy it and get comfortable with it. She is a smart woman.

 

[jadmt]

So I have a bud that I Jeep with from the Jeep club that works at a high volume Gun store.

He sold me this G20 and installed the optic. The gun was $488 and the sight was just under $200. He threw in two boxes of FMJ. I had him order two 10 round mags, and will mail the 15 round mags to a Post Office in Alaska.

This will be what's going with me. I called the Canadian Firearms Office. They emailed me the forms to fill out and stated over the phone that the guns can be transported to Alaska. The Glock can only have 10 round mags. I will get the fill the email back the documents and should be good to go. The only thing that sucks, is I only have 7 days to get to Alaska. So I will have to hustle to Alaska. It is about 2000 miles from the Montana/Canadian border to the Canadian/Alaska border. I did not want to push that hard, but hey it is what it is.

The Canadians were super helpful on the phone. They even waited on the phone to ensure that I received the documents before they hung up.

So the Remington 870 is for an in camp gun. The G20 is for hiking and being away from camp. Then of course the back up plan is being able to out run my wife. Last resort is Mr. Business gong in for some action. He is a JACKED Russell.

I plan to put at least 500 rounds through the G20 before I leave. I can shoot right at the house and have steel places set up. One month and three days to get the G20 sighted in and broke in. I have to order the hard cast big game rounds too. Then make sure they are zeroed for the gun too.

get some designated bear loads. this is what we carry in bear country...however do not target practice with them as they will f' your barrel up. I carry a full mag of the bear loads when in griz country. you will find the G20 one of the easiest gats to shoot. figure if 16 shots miss another 15 aint going to make much difference......I do carry my other two mags with fmj rounds just in case I see something fun to plink at

 

[wibornz]

Ive always heard the effective velocity and stopping power of a big load .357 is a solid side arm option against bigger animals, especially when compared to .45. Is that wrong?

I have been a long time shooter. I love the 45. It is great on human size animals, I do shoot bowling pins and steel out to 50 yards, but yeah it is getting to its limit. People commonly hunt hogs and big game at 100 yards with the 10mm round.

The 10 mm round that I will use is the Underwood Ammo 200 grain bullet at 1250 fps.

So on the power factor formula looks like weight of bullet X speed.

The 10 mm round that I will be loaded a 200 grain bullet shooting at 1250fps with has a power factor of 200X1250= 250,000
A 45 is 230 grain bullet at 800fps = 184,000
A 357 is 125 grain bullet at 1444 fps out of a 5 in barrel revolver is 125x1444=180500

That should give you an idea between the rounds.

So my Alaskan Survival Derringer shoots a 45/70 rifle cartridge. 405 grain bullet at 1800 fps. 729,000 for comparison. Not sure how much speed it looses out of the short barrel, so it is probably not that high, but it does blow fire about 12 ft out the muzzle in low light and you can't see shit for a few minutes.

Mind you it is zero fun to shoot. Like zero. I have owned the gun for over 20 years and it has 22 rounds through it. Like put a leather glove and and hold on. It is ZERO fun to shoot, yet there has been a couple friends that have shot it once over the years.

 

[wibornz]

get some designated bear loads. this is what we carry in bear country...however do not target practice with them as they will f' your barrel up. I carry a full mag of the bear loads when in griz country. you will find the G20 one of the easiest gats to shoot. figure if 16 shots miss another 15 aint going to make much difference......I do carry my other two mags with fmj rounds just in case I see something fun to plink at

So the G5 G20, they changed the barrel so it handles the lead bullets better. I will have a couple mags with FMJ and a mag or two with JHPs. also.

I will have to look and see if I can fond those rounds.

 

[wibornz]

It identifies (sold as) as a pistol. Also the barrel is 8" and you can use a 10 round mag. It was the first thing that crossed my mind.

You're probably right though. Its too big of a risk at the border if they aren't into understanding their own regulations.

The KSG might be something to consider. They aren't expensive and have plastic furniture. I run slugs through mine, no problem and they have a higher capacity than the 870.

I am highly familiar with the 870, I have sent thousands of rounds down range with them. We used them in the prisons for the entire 30 years that I worked for the prisons and I qualified every year and shot a bunch when I was an ERT team leader. Plus I would shoot them at home. I load slugs only because I am fast and accurate with the 870. We often shot skeet with the 870. sometimes up to 3000 rounds a year. The 870 is like an old dance partner to me.

Mind you I do not shoot as often as I did just a few years ago, but I keep sharp.

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