What guns would you take on an expedition to Alaska?

If I was going to carry something I already own, it would be either a Ruger 77 in 338 mag or a 12 ga with slugs and shot. For pure survival purposes, the 12 ga would likely better given it's versatility...the 338 if I was primarily looking for protection from bears and/or hunting Caribou, Moose or even bear.
I think my 460 would be a bit bulky (8-3/8" barrel) so probably my SW 629.

The 5.7 discussion was interesting (although it wouldn't be my choice) and made me think about a Tokarev. Wonder how they might do penetrating a bear skull?

If fishing or just hiking, maybe just carry the shotty and extra ammo...

AND... I would likely carry a bear spray.

sxs said:

If I was going to carry something I already own, it would be either a Ruger 77 in 338 mag or a 12 ga with slugs and shot. For pure survival purposes, the 12 ga would likely better given it's versatility...the 338 if I was primarily looking for protection from bears and/or hunting Caribou, Moose or even bear.
I think my 460 would be a bit bulky (8-3/8" barrel) so probably my SW 629.

The 5.7 discussion was interesting (although it wouldn't be my choice) and made me think about a Tokarev. Wonder how they might do penetrating a bear skull?

If fishing or just hiking, maybe just carry the shotty and extra ammo...

AND... I would likely carry a bear spray.

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Definitely bear spray.

Good point fab is making about penetration; it would be critical for any bear defense scenario. I've seen videos of 5.7 only penetrating one 1gal jug of water, whereas a .45 penetrated three. I've also seen video of the 5.7 penetrating IIIA vest and penetrating two water jugs after. So many variables, but I have enough confidence in the gun and the round (several varieties to choose from), that I would seriously consider it an option.

Plus the long range (for a handgun), super light weight and low recoil; added to that the possibility of massive (30 rounds) firepower. I think any animal on the planet would have a hard time charging this shooter:

30 rounds is all well and good, however a full grown grizz goes from 0 to 30 mph in a split second and covers ground really really fast. By the time you clear your holster get sights on target and get the trigger pulled you'll get 1 or if you're fast 2 shots before the bear is on you.

I know a lot of guys who carry their Glock 10mm for bear protection with the idea that they have 15 rounds to stop a bear if it's charging. I understand their thinking behind this logic, but most of the guys doing this have never seen a grizz come at them at full speed before, and until they do you'll never convince them otherwise.

I've heard guys make the argument that they'll try pepperspray first and the gun as a back up. Again, they've never seen a bear charge before and don't realize, it's one or the other. And if you haven't been training with the gun, you're better off with the pepperspray.

Most of the guides up there carry 45/70 lever guns when they're hunting moose or bear, especially in the south central part of the state where it's much thicker. Fish and game and the Alaska State Troopers also carry either 12 gauge with slugs or 45/70 lever guns. They have a pretty cool way of training them to shoot too. They've got targets on tracks that come towards them really fast. They have to unshoulder the gun, and get a shot or two off on target before it gets to them.

In reality you're not very likely to be attacked by a bear in AK, I think on average they only maul 3-5 people per year, and usually it's because the human did something stupid. Usually its somebody trying to get pics of the cute cubs. You're far more likely to get attacked my a moose than anything. People see them up there and think they're these slow docile friendly creatures and figure out really quick that they're none of the above. Moose are especially aggressive if they have calves, or are experiencing a hard winter. Bulls in rut can be pretty bad too. Sometimes the moose is just having a bad day and somebody gets to close to them. The ears go back, the hackles raise and watch the heck out!

Excellent points.

I'm certain I can shoot 20 rounds of 5.7 faster than I can unload a lever gun (also an excellent choice).

This scenario is not limited to guns you currently own; and again, I appreciate the variety of options and analytical discussion.

Is there such thing as an 'air weight' .44 Magnum?

I must admit, my suggestion of the FN5.7 pistol is heavily influenced by the extreme unlikelihood that this exhibition would encounter a grizzly, if I knew a such an was going to happen, I'd go big.

Smith and Wesson has one, It has a titanium cylinder and a scandium alloy frame. I've heard they're not fun to shoot.

duckslayer56 said:

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In reality you're not very likely to be attacked by a bear in AK, I think on average they only maul 3-5 people per year, and usually it's because the human did something stupid. Usually its somebody trying to get pics of the cute cubs. You're far more likely to get attacked my a moose than anything. People see them up there and think they're these slow docile friendly creatures and figure out really quick that they're none of the above. Moose are especially aggressive if they have calves, or are experiencing a hard winter. Bulls in rut can be pretty bad too. Sometimes the moose is just having a bad day and somebody gets to close to them. The ears go back, the hackles raise and watch the heck out!

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In fact, we nearly got trampled by a bull moose in Denali park on one trip up there. We were making progress toward a desired campsite on higher ground where there was a clearing, passing some dense foliage on the way up, and making plenty of noise so we wouldn't surprise a bear. Instead we startled a bull moose that charged out of the brush within a few feet of us. It was amazingly fast. It kept going and was more than a 100 yards away into a valley before we could raise a camera to take a picture of its rapidly disappearing rear end.

Bears are all over Denali, and although we saw fresh scat and prints a few times, we only saw them on that trip via the busses that take you to different parts of the park. Otherwise, the bear "technicians" do an excellent job in training these bears to stay away from humans, and teach the humans things to do to minimize encounters while camping in the park (use BRCs hoisted up on trees, cook sites downwind far from camp sites, etc).

Minuteman said:

Excellent points.

I'm certain I can shoot 20 rounds of 5.7 faster than I can unload a lever gun (also an excellent choice).

...

I must admit, my suggestion of the FN5.7 pistol is heavily influenced by the extreme unlikelihood that this exhibition would encounter a grizzly, if I knew a such an was going to happen, I'd go big.

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Yes, there will only be a few seconds with a charging grizzly from a 100 yards away, when you're deciding whether you will need to shoot, use pepper spray, etc. In the video of the guy shooting the FiveSeveN (somewhat slowly in my opinion), he took approx 40 seconds for 60 rounds, so approx 1.5 rounds/second. So maybe he would get 5 shots at a grizzly once it charged, and amped on adrenalin, it's unclear how many would hit. In the Ft. Hood story that you were citing, the unarmed soldier that rushed the shooter was shot 12 times. It's possible that it took 12 shots to stop him, and the average grizz would be 4 times heavier and much stronger. Unless using the FiveSeveN as a noisemaker, for grizzly defense, there are better firearm options, as I think you're agreeing. If walking in the bush, it might be more likely that you have a rifle in your hands and the pepper spray and sidearm holstered, so the best option would be the rifle when seconds count.

Anchorage, AK (AP) A hiker from Maryland was found deceased on the banks of the Tuklat river today. At his side, wildlife troopers found a handgun with 27 bullets still in the clip. Nearby, troopers located a deceased brown bear with three lead pellets stuck in his coat. Necropsy of the bear indicated human remains in his stomach and evidence that the bear died of laughter.
////AP

My wife and I watch Alaska State Troopers all the time, so I'll play internet expert too. I would expect more trouble from meth addicts than wildlife, based on that show.

yeah, meth heads and yetis.

traveller said:

Anchorage, AK (AP) A hiker from Maryland was found deceased on the banks of the Tuklat river today. At his side, wildlife troopers found a handgun with 27 bullets still in the clip. Nearby, troopers located a deceased brown bear with three lead pellets stuck in his coat. Necropsy of the bear indicated human remains in his stomach and evidence that the bear died of laughter.
////AP

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What's a 'clip'??

Mr H said:

What's a 'clip'??

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According to the press, it holds the bullets.

When fishing, we always have at least one shotgun(tactical) with a slug backed up with 00buck, and most of us carry .44 mags on our sides and of course, bear spray.

Hunting depends on the game you are pursuing plus, a .45/70 or .44/40(not sure how to write but know how to shoot'm) lever actions bear protection.

traveller said:

It holds the boolits.

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FIFY

45 long slide, Uzi 9mm and a plasma rifle in the 40 watt range. They got big animals up there that want to eat you.

Saiga 12 - Brenneke Slugs for Bear Defense, Shot for small game.

Browning BAR 30-06 - Longer distances, or Bear Defense

Glock 20 - Game and People Defense

Rambo Knife - last resort.

SAM7SF w/ an Aimpoint, a 10mm Glock and someone slower than me...

So with my very limited hunting/survival/gun experience I have some idea of what i would want. I have done some camping and backpacking in Alaska so I am familiar with the very real threat of bears up there. That being said, I wouldn't carry anything less than a .44mag has a defensive hand gun up there. I pick this caliber because I want something big enough to take down a bear. Even something like a 45 is just going to piss it off. I might have to put all five shots of .44 mag in to the guy but at least the chances of him going down are much higher.

As for hunting in a survival situation, I would probably go with a trusty .22lr rifle with a decent scope. Its powerful enough that I could take down some medium to largerish sized game with a head shot if I was close enough and small enough that I can still take small game if the need arised. Also the ammo is plentiful, cheap and light. The rifle itself is pretty light and nimble.

375 H&H and 460 mag.

I like the Mosin Nagant suggestion. I'd still go with my .44 lever gun and .44 revolver combo, but a Mosin is an excellent hunting rifle, it works in bad weather and the ammo is cheap and easy to obtain. I confidently took mine whitetail hunting twice last year, but never had an opportunity to use it.

Do any of you watch Life Below Zero? My favorite group on that show is the family from Noorvik. The Inupiaq mother of the family, Agnes Hailstone picks off Caribou at 200+ yards with open sites using her Mosin. She's awesome! http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/channel/life-below-zero/articles/chip-hailstone/

Rifle: 300 Win Mag Remington 700
Handgun: Ruger Super Redhawk Alaskan .454 Casull
Remington: 870 12 gauge shotgun