With the hunting season coming on soon, I thought you might enjoy the results of an extensive survey of North American Guides and Outfitters, regardless if you reload your own ammo or not.

First let’s talk about the “Cold Weather” hunts, which are for Polar Bear and Muskox. Temperatures usually range from 0 F. to –30 F. What this means to your ammo is that it will be equally as cold, and this means that the powder is harder to ignite.

Now the “artic” is not the only place it get very cold. Elk hunting can produce 0 Deg F temperatures sometimes too.

If you are using reloaded ammo, I strongly recommend that you use Federal 215 primers.

If you are using factory ammo, this means you will have to use a Magnum Caliber, either a belted case, or the new WSM or RUM calibers, as usually they have hotter primers than standard 30-06 type cases.

If using a non-magnum cartridge, then use either Federal or Winchester factory ammo, as their primers are hotter than Remington’s.

If reloading your own ammo, don’t use “Ball” powder, because it is harder to ignite when cold than are “stick” or extruded powders. If you think cold weather and primers are not important, consider this. The military actually loads a “cold weather” primer in ammo destined for use in the Arctic, as it is very hard to get ammo to perform under extremely cold conditions.

ALSO, be sure and take the bolt out of your gun and “de-grease” it completely. Take the bolt apart if possible, and get every last bit of oil out of it. Soak it in “white gas” and/or clean with “Gun Scrubber” or Carburetor cleaner. Blow it dry, and do not put any oil or lube on it at all. Just the slightest bit of lube will freeze up your firing pin in extremely cold weather.

BUT, just recently when doing this to a Browning Stainless A-Bolt, we found that when the bolt was perfectly dry, we had difficulty getting the bolt to open. When a single drop of “Rem Oil” was applied to the camming surfaces, it worked just fine. I was told later that “Stainless” A-Bolts tend to do that. So we live and learn again.

Of the Outfitters surveyed, 17 out of 30 recommended a 338 Win Mag or bigger for Polar bear and Brown Bear. Second choice was the 375 H&H followed by the 300 Magnums.

Brown Bear are hunted under entirely different conditions, be it spring or fall, you will usually get WET, but not have the cold weather of Polar Bear hunts.

Black Bear are hunted all over North America, and Outfitters recommended the 30-06 on up for them, and interior Grizzly’s are usually taken with 300 Magnums on up too.

Moose and Caribou are quite often hunted together in Alaska, and the survey showed most guides recommend a 30-06 or larger for the Moose, but no particular preference for Caribou, except quite often they are shot at long ranges and a 270 Win or a 7mm Magnum was justified.

Mule Deer and Antelope rifles and ammo were barely touched on, as just about anything from a 270 Win on up will do the job.

The Deer hunting Outfitters, ranged from Texas and Georgia to Alberta, and we got a wide range of information.

The ones in the south, said “don’t bring too large of a gun”, while the ones up north said, “bring enough gun”, because the Deer up there tend to be much larger in body than the ones in the south.

One of the Deer guides in Alberta told me that for their 240+ pound bucks, he recommends a 270 Win with 150 gr “premium” bullets or larger, and his favorite was the 7mm Rem Mag, or 300 Win Mag, and don’t even think of bringing your little 243 Win.

He also mentioned that is amazing how many clients show up with the wrong ammo for their rifle.

This is especially true now with all the 300 Magnums available. When they go to purchase ammo, and ask for a box or two of 180gr 300
”magnum” ammo. Unless he or the store clerk is wide awake, he could very easily get 300 Winchester as 300 Wby, or 300 WSM, as 300 RUM ammo, and not know the difference until it is too late.

Be very specific as to exactly what you want, and then double check to be sure that is what you got, as there is no bringing it back to the store if it is wrong. The law says, “No returns on ammo”.

A few questions relating to guns, scopes and ammo were also quite interesting.

The questions were:

Do hunters bring scopes that are too big?

8 said yes, and 15 said no.

Should hunters have quick detachable scopes or mounts?

10 yes, 5 maybe, and 4 said no.

What is the most troublesome scope?

Brand of scope was not really important to them, but “Variables”, and/or those with range finders are the biggest problem. They are always “set” too high at the wrong time.

However, why a hunter would bring a “cheap” scope into the wet conditions that might be encountered baffled many of them. You certainly want a high quality scope capable of not fogging up at the most inopportune moment.

Do, very many hunters bring reloaded ammo? 18 yes.

Do you recall any misfires with Reloaded ammo? 4 yes.

Do you recall any misfires with Factory ammo? 25 no

Do reloaders tend to be better shots than those who do not reload? 16 said yes.

Do you think that “Premium” bullets are worth the extra cost? 19 yes.

What is the biggest problem you see with reloaded ammo?

Consistently, the answers were that ammo is loaded with bullet seated out too far and they jammed in the rifle’s magazine. (Which means the client did not run every round thru the gun before the hunt). This means that the client never put one in his rifle’s magazine to see if it would fit, but only shot them one at a time from a bench.

Is there any general problem you see?

Yes, it is the fact that the clients are velocity crazy. They bring 300 Magnums with 150 gr bullets instead of 180 gr or 200 gr. Or they bring a 7mm Magnum with 120 gr bullets when then should use 160 gr or 175 gr.

They have been known to bring a 270 Win with cheap 100 gr or 130 gr bullets when they should be using 150 gr Premium bullets.

Should all hunters practice more before coming to hunt? 26 yes.

FIRST SHOT BULLET PLACEMENT, is the most important part of the hunt. It is imperative that the first one be right, also it is the easiest to make right, as you can choose when to shoot, or even if to shoot. Once the shot has been fired, anything can and will happen.

This has been but a sample of the questions asked of many Guides and Outfitters. If you would like any help with your upcoming hunt just write to address below.

Feel free to contact Terry by calling days to 616-896-6500 or E-mail to tblauwkamp@superior-sales.com