Earlier today I posted concerning using a 7mm Ultra Mag for Brown Bear. Since, that is not recommended; other rifles I have access to are Marlin lever actions (22") barrel in both .444 Marlin and .45-70 (I could borrow a .450) or a CZ rifle in 9.3x62. Would these work? Recommendations?? They are blued guns, any problem with that?

Any of those using proper loads would work given you stay within the range limits.

Of the 3, I'd personally prefer the 9.3 especially in the CZ. Blued/walnut rifles are fine here in Alaska, just make sure you properly seal the wood and maintain the rifle.

Thanks for the reply. I thought the 9.3x62 might be a better choice. A friend locally is offering his Weatherby Vanguard SS in 300 Win Mag. Would this be better than the 9.3x62? I have several months to become fully famliar with it before setting off to Alaska.

There are so many variables it is just hard to make recommendations.

If you are hunting in the coastal areas of southeast or southcentral Alaska, especially the big islands, where the brush is thick and shooting is done in relatively close quarters, I'd really prefer the 9.3. I feel in those conditions that a 338 is lightest rifle I would be comfortable with. You won't see any brown bear guides toting a 300 Mag, but you will see them with something similar to the 9.3 (like the 375 H&H, because the 9.3 has been really hard to come by up here). Heavy bullets of premium construction like the Woodleigh or Barnes or Nosler Partition is the order of the day. You need to penetrate a very thick hide, through layers of fat, into heavy muscle and break through monster bones to get to the vitals on a really big bear.

If you don't have a family member of at least second degree of kindred living here, you have to hire a guide for brown bear, grizzly bear, Dall sheep, mountain goat, and that means some big bucks. No sense in laying out that kind of cash then carry something that is borderline performance.

Your shot at a big bear should never exceed 100-150 yards or so, so an extremely flat trajectory, like the 300 isn't required. The 9.3 shoots flat enough at those ranges for precise bullet placement.

If you are actually hunting mountain grizzly along with sheep or goats, in the wide open, the 300 would have a little more favor, but if bear was my primary species for the hunt, I'd still go with the 9.3.

There are so many variables it is just hard to make recommendations.

If you are hunting in the coastal areas of southeast or southcentral Alaska, especially the big islands, where the brush is thick and shooting is done in relatively close quarters, I'd really prefer the 9.3. I feel in those conditions that a 338 is lightest rifle I would be comfortable with. You won't see any brown bear guides toting a 300 Mag, but you will see them with something similar to the 9.3 (like the 375 H&H, because the 9.3 has been really hard to come by up here). Heavy bullets of premium construction like the Woodleigh or Barnes or Nosler Partition is the order of the day. You need to penetrate a very thick hide, through layers of fat, into heavy muscle and break through monster bones to get to the vitals on a really big bear.

If you don't have a family member of at least second degree of kindred living here, you have to hire a guide for brown bear, grizzly bear, Dall sheep, mountain goat, and that means some big bucks. No sense in laying out that kind of cash then carry something that is borderline performance.

Your shot at a big bear should never exceed 100-150 yards or so, so an extremely flat trajectory, like the 300 isn't required. The 9.3 shoots flat enough at those ranges for precise bullet placement.

If you are actually hunting mountain grizzly along with sheep or goats, in the wide open, the 300 would have a little more favor, but if bear was my primary species for the hunt, I'd still go with the 9.3.
If you do decied to use the 300 shoot the 200 gr Swift A-Frames. They have performed well where you need a bullet that stays together, expands, and penatrats deep. :)

Paulinas........Sometimes we get caught in this Kenetic Energy thing when looking at dangerous game and smaller calibers that are border line. Unless you have seen up close like, one might think that the 30-06 or 300 mag etc is all it takes. Yes, many bears have been taken with these very calibers and under certain conditions it can be done without a problem.

However, every situation can and usually is different than what a hunter reads or hears about hunting these giant critters under Alaskan sky. I was fortunate enough to be given some very good advice years ago concerning the hunting of such big bears after a near fatal mishap with a 300 win mag.

I will once again say that I have the 444 Marlin and 45/70 Marlin lever rifles! I would never go hunting those big bears with any of them period. However, the advice I will pass on to you is that putting a Winchester model 70 .375H&H, control fed action in your hands, is the way to hunt the big bears. This advice was given me by a legend in big bear hunting back in the 70's by a man, who truely knew what the big bears are in the wild.