Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Question for Alaskan`s on brand of rifle

I’ll respectfully disagree with this, at least the blanket statement of lever actions not being carried in the field. I understand what you’re saying however, and would say that bolt actions are for the most part going to offer the most versatility.
Of the two rifles I’ve used in the field personally the most one is a lever. I’ve trusted it and take care of it

But would you choose the leaver action, as the only firearm if you were going to be dropped off in wilderness and they would pick you up in three months......??? 90 days, if anything malfunctions, you can repair it. By the way I love lever actions, own several, often carry my M-92 "takedown". But it is a day hike rifle, around the cabin. Not a tool I want guiding on the AK Peninsula, with seven brown bears in camp.

And I'll 2nd this Comment as well, I've already Posted and Attached my Bolt-Action Choice,,,,,, BUT, if I were to be dropped-off in Bum-Puck Bush Alaska, and I could only take 1-Rifle,,, well, it would be [see attached] a Lever-Gun for sure.....as well as the "BOLD-Print" above.
Lj, Palmer, AK.

This is a sample of 1. Jake Jefferson my guide for a grizzly bear hunt has a Ruger SS 416. He trusts his life & mine to that Ruger.

Note that it has a three-position wing safety.

In my notion there are two different types of guide rifles: 1) Stopping rifles-those that you can count on when your client fuxes sh_t up and you have nearly a1 ton of the most dominant, strongest, toughest mean azz hellbringer on earth incoming. My big levers can fire very quickly and work handily in tight places. That is not to say that if you practice with a slicked up bolt action stopping rifle that stuff can go down quickly. 2) Guide rifles that are both incredibly dependable and yet idiot proof. These are an over sized deer rifle or maybe a 338 Win or 375 Win with a brake that my little niece who barely weighs a buck can shoot and hit a volleyball at 150 yards. You can set up a 45-70 with a red dot and it will do the same thing.

I have never been a certificated assistant guide or worked as a packer. My brother and I attempted to get three good ole boys from Oklahoma with white cowboy hats and camo on Moose helping out Ace Dube and it was sheer misery. My brother and I were probably 17 or 18 and we found two really nice upper 50 inch bulls that had everything in palms and browtines and were beautiful moose rutting and fighting with each other. The Ginnocks(our word for dumb idiotstick outsiders) thought that they were too small and complained about the brush, the trail, the snacks, the smoked fish we had with us for provisions. They decided that they wanted to float the Copper River for bigger moose down below Woods Canyon. They were unsuccessful. I have helped numerous out of state hunters who have luggage that is lost or give them insight I what I would do in their situation. I make more than 500 dollars per day as a teacher and most outfits pay their assistant guides less than this. I will retire soon but unless it was a guide who I really respected I probably would pass. I might enjoy packing more than guiding but that is because it is less babysitting and more tough labor in beautiful country.


Today, with many of the Bro Hunters who want a big bear but do not have the time to work their rifle to the level of skill necessary to get the job done. I would be more likely to bring a Marlin 45-70 with a 3 X leupold or Burris with a 3 moa target dot on a thin line crosshair. I would have them shoot the powder puff light 325 grain cowboy rounds until they were on paper then I would switch them over to buffalo bore 430 Grain LBT-LFN at 1925fps/3537 flbs of energy for shooting the bear. I loaned out and got ridiculed for it my Winchester Model 70 Classic SS/SYN in 375 H+H to a young guide friend who put a red dot sight on it for guiding. He didn't have to use it for Brown Bear but did have a client in the North Wrangells who brought a rifle that they couldn't shoot after 2 missed opportunities on the same bull he lent it to the client who downed the moose with the first shot. He was using factory Nosler Trophy Grade 300 grain Nosler Partitions. I also have an old homestead gun which would make everybody happy except for the packer. It is a 1950s Husky FN Mauser action 30/06 with 24 inch barrel with an old weaver K4. I think that it weighs about 10 lbs and it is stocked in heavy birchwood. The checkering is real but it would never win in a beauty contest. It shoots the Federal APHA recommended 200 grain Trophy bonded rounds very accurately and it handles well when you shoot it off hand. It kicks like most 243 winchesters. Like you mentioned, it is easy to maintain. There is a reason that the best camps might have an arsenal of different rifles for a client who brings in a 378 Weatherby Space blaster that weighs 7lbs with the second coming of the hubble space telescope on top.

You correctly guessed that I personally like CLR in old Winchesters or smoothed out mausers. I really like my Flaig's FN 458 Win Mag with dakota 3 way wing safety and laminated stock. It has an oval ferlach barrel with a peep sight. I also take my cut down Whitworth 458 Win mag that is magnaported with iron sights. But I would be equally happy with my OG 1950 348-450 Ackley Improved model 71. My handloads of 61 grains of 3031 yield 2025fps with .458 cal 500 grain Swift A-Frame bullet. It yields about 4300f/lbs of energy with five rounds in the magazine. It is a 24 inch barrel so it isn't as easy in the brush and I haven't shot anything with it yet but it does really kick hard even with a large pachmayr recoil pad. I would not worry about that rifle in the thickets. You can never tell though Joe Want used his 500 Nitro Dominion HH double for many years on Kodiak with it only needing 1 shot to close out the books on the bears in his area near Saltery Cove. He had one bear that was just under 9 ft that he had to shoot 13 times. That 71 is handy to go and runs ammo like poop through a goose.

I hope you are doing well Old Sourdough. CLR is where it is at even in the modern era but it is hard to find great guns. 458 Win is a super round for guiding and I hope you find success selling your rifles. I know that many of the young buck guides keep trying to buy my guns off of me so I think that you would sell them quickly if you took them to a gun show.

Yes I suppose I would (and have in the past) used it for full guiding seasons AK range and Kodiak. It’s extremely handy and serves great as a close range backup rifle. With skinner sights and the safety delete they’re pretty neat in my opinion.
I guess I’ve never viewed this particular lever (marlin) as any less trustworthy or inferior than the ruger Hawkeye or, my current favorite, large ring husky 9.3x62 in he field. They’re just different and have different qualities that make them more or less appealing for a given situation. That 9.3 is a hell of a rifle. So versatile, it’s awesome. This is more to do with the caliber but that’s not what we’re talking about. Anyways, the positive qualities of a Mauser action bolt gun aren’t lost on me, believe me. I hear what you’re saying, for sure, and am in no way trying to debate the intricacies of the “best”. I think that’s just too subjective and personal. Only reason I chimed in originally was to say I think there are plenty, myself included, who carry a lever gun in some sort of professional environment.

Back in 2006, could walk into a half dozen gunstores and not find 9.3x62 ammo for my cz 550 carbine. Nowadays, even with shortages, I'm seeing way more 9.3 ammo! Really nice to see the gaining popularity of the 9.3x62 here in Alaska.

I've hunted equally with lever guns and bolt guns along rivers and by dog team. Also 3 one-year deployments to Iraq and lots of winter/spring/summer/fall training here in Alaska from 2002-2010.

Probably the most reliable lever gun I've hunted with, was a browning 95.

The most reliable bolt gun Ive hunted with was a cz 550. But did have a bolt-knob unscrew from boat vibrations and bolt knob fell into a creek.

Most reliable military weapon I've seen was the 240b machine gun. Never jammed in Alaskan winter training, never jammed in the desert.

I've seen a surprising amount of various guns failing in one form or another.

Regarding AGL's assertions:
I once swamped a canoe trying to line up a swift chute of water. Front rope wasn't low enough on bow, an tipped canoe towards the swift water. That fkn canoe sank immediately.

The cz 550 was covered in dirty silty water. Pressed the bolt knob button, unscrewed bolt apart and cleaned all the silty water oughtta that thing and was back in action in less than 10 minutes. Purdy sweet!

Another instant, I had jammed that same cz into the gutted cavity of a caribou. Space is super limited in a dog sled. Blood oozed all through the thing. Same deal, unscrewed bolt, took gun in wash basin with me, then set near wood stove to dry. Was ready to go in 30 minutes.

Nowadays I gravitate towards the one-piece bolts on the ruger 77's, after having lost that cz 550 bolt knob. Trigger is easier to clean too, if/when I swamp another boat. Crude fkn things though, always need "tuning/polishing".

Sadly, we only have one….my wife’s little .338 WM. Even with the cheap “Mattel” stock…..it’s a darn nice rifle! memtb

So far this has been an enjoyable conversation. I appreciate everybody who has chimed in. My favorite recent story involves a super sheep guide named George Bock. George is about 5ft tall and wears a size 7 women's boot. He is tougher than boot leather. He has the look like he could go for a couple of years in the adlers before even slowing down. He is a Maine Dairy farmer most of the year but comes up to Alaska and guides in his area in the Central Alaska range. He sells two or three dall hunts per year and is generally pretty successful. He has a couple of very large PA Amish packers and guides.

Last year he told me about one of his unsuccessful hunts. He had a wealthy executive who did cross-fit training and arrived in relatively good shape. The exec had a Magnus Gunwerks rifle with a Nightforce NX8 4-30 Scope but didn't want to shoot it himself and paid Bock's son who is a packer 100$ to check the zero. Bock thought the guy was nice but he said that started an itch that he had about the guy. Legal fully mature rams are not to be found in great abundance after the current storms and the increased number of both guided and resident hunters that hit that area pretty hard. Bock personally guided the exec who was all Kuiu'd up in the latest and greatest and after three days of work they outmanuevered a decent ram who was a 9 yo with 36 inch horns. Bock got him in place at about 250 yards and made sure the gent had a great rest on his pack. He had the guy dry fire on the ram a couple of times and made sure that the scope was set perfectly at 10X. The hunter did not show any target anxiety during any of the lead up to the shot. When George told him to fire, the exec fumbled the shot, missed the ram by 5 ft. reloaded and proceeded to shoot at the ram three more times with him hitting above the ram and below the ram but no where near the ram. He took the hunter back down to his basecamp and range and had the guy who had 30 rnds of custom ammo to shoot the rifle and it needed to be re-sighted in. The exec could hit the center of the target but was mouthy about how great his rifle was and how he had gone to several levels of gunwerks academy. He could hit a ram at more than a 1000 yards.

The next day they got an alpine start and were up into the glaciers before noon. They found a small band of rams that had trickled over into the area from some hunters on the other side of the range. One ram was legal and had what looked to be 38 inch horns. George worked with the guy and got him into about 175 yards to the ram. He again set the guy up and had him dry fire on the sheep. The guy was impatient and started being a bit of an azzhat. He told George that it wouldn't be anything for him to just kill the ram and be done with the hunt. He wanted to go on safari at the Alaska Bush Company on the way home and thought that he could dunk this ram and get to some really beaver hunting action. George didn't say anything but noted that this was a strange thing to say in at this time and place. The guy then decided not to wait till the ram was broadside but just started to unload. This time our hero was dialed up to 30 X and hit above and to the right of the ram who took off towards Denali National Park. He shot 2 more times even when George told him to stop. George was pizzed. He told the hunter that he better get his chit together or he would cancel the hunt right there and send for Wrights for a pickup. He had all of his crew at camp work with the hunter and they got him back on target. He again talked smack on how great his rifle was and what a killer he was and how he wasn't having a good time. He told them that he wasn't going to tip them and complained about food and the lack of modern conviences.


Every guide and outfit gets one of these types of clients during its history. ALGlenfornow, I am sure that you have had some real winners, but this guy was a complete peach. They, the bad ones, always seem to have extraordinary luck and this guy was no exception. The third try took them to the very boundary of Bock's guide area but two days later they were on a group of 7 rams. The two biggests were both approaching forty inches with wide flaring horns. George got the exec set up again and again the guy got mouthy right at the end. He was only shooting about 150 yards but again the guy let lead fly and the rams scattered. The guy began muttering excuses. George said he looked at the guy, grabbed his rifle, and threw it forty five yards down the mountain. He told the guy, this trip is no charge, you can get the rifle if you dare. The guy gave a number of excuses but didn't go after that rifle and left camp for his three days cavorting at the Alaska Bush company and the nearby Crown Plaza hotel. George didn't charge the client for the hunt and had his son go down and retrieve the rifle. They mailed that rifle that really wasn't worse for wear and said that he sure was impressed with the durability of the Nightforce scope. George said the exec threatened them with a bad review before he got on his charter but George reminded the client of all of the different prostitutes and women that the guy had bragged about during the hunt. He told him that his wife could call the client's wife and give her an overview of the execs hunting trips.

Bock sees me and stops to talk every year on his way in and his way out of the mountains. I believe he is an exceptional guide who turns pearls out of a sow's ear. That story still cracks me up.

Great story K68. This type of behavior is more common than one would think.

Stainless M70 classics and Kimber Montanas.

Controlled feed is a must, M70 SS Classic in 338.

Have yet to see a Ruger in the woods...

kaboku68;
Good morning to you sir, I trust you're all well as can be up in your section of the north country.

Thanks so much for the sheep hunting tale, I appreciate you taking the time to post it and I enjoyed it very much.

When a good friend of ours who now lives in Whitehorse used to guide up in northern BC, he packed a Sako chambered for .375 H&H. Sorry I can't recall the model, it would have been from the late '80's.

His worst client was a lawyer from San Francisco who behaved so badly that 3 days into the hunt not only had his old Army buddy who was with him said "never again" but the outfitter also said, "never again".

They were chasing grizzly and buddy said he was doing his best to take this chap anywhere but where he thought bears should be - and of course they bumped into a huge boar where they'd never ever seen one. It went low into the B&C even.

Buddy said the guy gave him the sling from his rifle for a tip!!!

Thanks again for the story and thanks to all for the thread, it's been a grand read.

Best to you all.

Dwayne

Probably the most used rifle is a Ruger 77 MK 2 LH in 35 Whelen Improved, it came that way used would have preferred the 35 Whelen standard. Accurate, reliable, and familiar.

Lately have several Tikka LH rifles that are accurate and reliable while most hate removable magazines there is something to be said about having xtra mags in a coat pocket in below zero conditions.

Dropped a round in the snow in an ADL-style rifle last winter would not chamber or eject till I thawed it out, did not care for that.

A bolt action and a container of Heet pretty easy to drop the bolt in the heet and thaw it out. In winter conditions. Which I have heard we have here in winter!

My primary go-to is a Ruger 77 MK 2 in 338 WM. It really likes 225 gr A-Frames....very accurate with those. I have 3 77's, the 338, a 7x57, and a custom built 450 Marlin on a 77 action. All have been very reliable, no failures of any sort.

Carried a 77 300WM more than any other while guiding. Killed sheep with a 77V 243. Hunted Kodiak a lot with a 77L in 257bob... I have seen many Rugers in the field

It's not Alaska but still there's bears they deal with and some of these folks also hunt.

The Russians use that old Mosin in their taiga and arctic for hunting and wolf and bear management.

On Svalbard 98 Mausers rebarreled to 30-06 are employed for bear duty.

The Sirius patrol in Greenland uses an M1917 30-06 and glock 20 for bear protection, emergency hunting, and engagement of foreign powers and enforcement in prot3cted areas and national parks preserves.

And we have the Canadian home guard or rangers that used an old 303 SMLE and only recently switched to an Tikka in 308win.

I shoot a fieldcraft more than anything nowdays. My 375 is a Rem 700 though, and I have shot and carried several other 700s without problems. I also carried a couple different Montanas for quite a bit.

I have a couple pre-64 model 70's, but never hunt them. I keep threatening to drag one to moose camp and wear nothing but filson clothes and take black and white pictures. Maybe this is the year.