[SoylentGreen]

Dang... Wish you could hunt another month to keep the daily updates coming.

Is that book performance or what you actually clocked out of your rifle? 2650 is extremely slow for the bullet weight/type and cartridge. I have two loads in front of me clocking over 2800. IMR4955, 61 gr., 2828 fps. Superformance 59.7 gr., 2840 fps. Stats.... 24 inch barrel, Winchester brass, cartridge LOA, 3.3", lead core bullets.

Harvey-- me too! Alas, the trip had to end

On the hand loads-- I have clocked these but it has been a while. IMR 4064 48 grains is the max load from the Barnes book -- it says 2600 but I have a 26" barrel and that data is 24" barrel. I have not optimized the seating depth.

The Barnes load in the book has 180 gr over 60 grains of Superformance getting 2800 FPS, so I don't doubt what you're saying. But I did a final bench test with this load and could cover a 4 shot group at 100 yards with a quarter, so I stuck with it.

Good feedback on pressure, thank you.

 

[unclesteve]

What an epic adventure. The surf and turf thing was awesome. Thanks for sharing--This makes me think I need to started increase the rate in which we're building our Alaska fund!

 

[SteelCityIrish]

Epic story for sure... man, sounds like such a sweet trip!

Someday I hope to go up as well....

S.C.I.

 

[Elk Camp Rodge]

This is amazing. Congrats to you guys. What an experience. :applause:

 

[millsymojo]

Quite the adventure Sam! Not sure if I should compliment you on the big, brass set you have or chide you Five animals at once for three guys . . . . . yikes.
And I know some guys do solo here, but I am not a fan of solo in AK, especially on Kodiak. There's an awful lot AK will throw at you, including the bears.

Glad you made it back safe with a full heart and freezer! Thanks for sharing.

 

[morelk]

Thanks for taking the time to post this. I really enjoyed reading it. During my AK Caribou trip I considered carrying both rifle and handgun. I went with just rifle and happened to never see a bear. Reading about your encounter makes me reconsider that decision. 8 more rounds ready to fire after you empty the rifle would be a nice option to have!

 

[SoylentGreen]

thanks for the feedback guys!

Reading about your encounter makes me reconsider that decision. 8 more rounds ready to fire after you empty the rifle would be a nice option to have!

What I would have given for 8 more shots!! Never again on Kodiak with one weapon, that's for sure.

Quite the adventure Sam! Not sure if I should compliment you on the big, brass set you have or chide you Five animals at once for three guys . . . . . yikes.
And I know some guys do solo here, but I am not a fan of solo in AK, especially on Kodiak. There's an awful lot AK will throw at you, including the bears.

Glad you found this-- I was hoping you would see it Brannon. Five animals down could have gone very differently but we had moderately high confidence (as much confidence as I ever have in a hunting plan) that things would work out. If we had not shot the deer in a creek (and if the creek were not chock full of rotting salmon) then we might have made a different decision. Even in retrospect I would not change the decision.

Deciding on a solo hike on Kodiak, however, is a different matter.

 

[From High Desert to Ocean]

Epic adventure!

 

[P.B.O]

Thanks for the awesome write up!

 

[458win]

Your captain wasn’t Johnny was it?

 

[SoylentGreen]

Your captain wasn’t Johnny was it?

Johnny was on the boat, but he was the deckhand on this trip. Jamie was captain. I think this was the last season before Johnny became a captain on these trips.

 

[458win]

Shucks you missed Lieutenant Dan then.

 

[redfish89]

Great story!! Thanks for sharing

 

[Revulshawn]

My dad and I are hunting Kodiak during the first week of December this year. I was hoping to book a boat based trip but he’s not getting any younger, and the best boat transporters are booked out 1-3 years. This story sure is getting me excited. I’m glad most of the teddy bears will be snoozing by then!

 

[michael rankin]

Great story. What a dream hunt. Thanks for taking the time to write it up!