8X57 Mauser and Brown Bear

"There's a big difference between a Griz and a Brownie too. Same beast, but a Brownie is much bigger."

Interesting.

I'd trust a full-powered 8mm Mauser with the proper bullet. The latter is critical. One needs to get into, and through, that bruin. It is a stout, efficient, round, maybe even better in some respects than the .30-06 AI I've used with the right bullet for HUNTING. Defense is different. Here you are the hunter. Expect to keep your distance.

And if you miss by much, bigger and/or faster bullets cannot make up much for your shortcomings.

And wouldn't that hot and heavy .32 8mm be better than a .44 Mag? Sure -- on a Griz. Or was that a Brownie? I get so confused which is which!
 
Last edited:
I would not hesitate to hunt even large coastal brown bears with a properly loaded 8x57 Mauser, as long as I had a guide with a 416, 458 or heavy loaded 45/70. If I was hunting alone, a 375 would be minimal, and I would prefer a short barreled 458 in a controlled round feed bolt action like a Model 70 Winchester.
 
Here is what Phil Shoemaker has to say about it in his equipment list.

Rifles: The 30-06 was large enough to kill the world’ record Brown bear and still is. Bring a rifle you are comfortable with and can shoot well: Alaskan game may be larger than you are used to but proper bullet placement is still more important than muzzle energy and bullet construction more important than bore size. Sight in for 100 yards and bring two boxes of ammunition with heavy premium bullets like Barnes TSX, Nosler Partitions, Swift A-Frames, Federal Trophy Bonded or Woodleighs. If you need or desire a new rifle I recommend the .338 Win or .375 Ruger or H&H. Don’t forget extra scope covers.
Click to expand...

Here is another quote from him:

For forty years the 30-06 was THE Alaskan Guides rifle of choice and worked just fine on big bears then and still does.
The 240 Woodleighs run around 2250 fps from a 22 inch bbl.


Anyone who claims the 30-06 is ineffective has either not tried one, or is unwittingly commenting on their own marksmanship
Phil Shoemaker www.grizzlyskinsofalaska.com
Click to expand...

So I'd imagine that he would say the same thing for a 8X57 being used properly.
 
tahunua001 said:
30-30 has killed more brown bear than any other cartridge in history.
I think you'll be fine with 8mm mauser.
Click to expand...

While I don't doubt the .30-30 has killed brownies. I seriously doubt there is an statistical proof behind your statement. While the .30-30 was a power house in its day it was followed up by the .30-40 rather quickly and the .30-06 not even 12 years later. I'm pretty sure that when available these larger cartridges were preferred over the .30-30 Win.
 
followed up by the military perhaps but in civilian hands 30-30 was still the most popular until surplus US arms began to flood the market and there was actually a demand for civilian companies to provide ammo. 30-40 was never nearly as popular of a sporting round but I will agree that 30-06 took a great chunk out of the civilian market when it finally became available.
 
Since the 5.45x39 has joined the ranks of bear gun along with the 30 Carbine and the 30-30, 8mm Mauser should be great
 
If you can guarantee a 100-yard shot at a stationary Brown Bear, why not use the 8mm Mauser? It's a good cartridge for elk, black bear, and such things.

Brown Bears, however, come under the heading of 'dangerous game', that is either likely to kill you or your hunting partner unless you drop it in it's tracks, or can escape and linger at life long enough to kill someone else who walks near.

Unless your guide is backing you up with something larger, and you promise up front to forego all attempts at shots that may wound the animal, suggest you bring another gun with you, a .375 or something similar.

Rule No. 1 is 'Use Enough Gun'.
 
358 Norma, 358 STA

I am no bear hunting expert by any means. I dont see why the .375's would be necessary for brown bear. .340 WBY Magnum, 350 Rem Mag, 8mm Rem mag, 358 Norma, 358 STA and several other 32-35 caliber cartridges are definitely more than adequate for the great bears when used with modern bullets.
I sold a doctor my 300 RUM. He killed a Brown with it. He said his guide said he had never seen one "drop instantly" until then.

An old man I used to work for who hunted Africa every year for over twenty years used to talk about the .340WBY on Cape Buffalo.
 
There is the "I"S 8mm, often written as "J"S 'cause the German scriptive letter kinda looks like a "J" to us. But the military load is not what one wants -- to be clear you want to get more than regular off the shelf 8mm ammo made for questionable 120 year old commission rifles and get premium quality and HARD, PENETRATING, BIG-GAME EFFECTIVE bullets.
 
Last edited:
95 percent of my hunting has been done with 3 Cartridge and two black powder calibres.
30-30 150g RN
30-06 150g SP or ballistic tip
7mm mag 139g SP or ballistic tip

Black powder
.58 440-565g bullet
.62 900g bullet

Even when I'm not hunting bear, where I hunt there are bear. Even when I'm hunting with my 30-30 I'm not worried. Even the highly underestimated 30-30 will kill a bear at close range. Well the 30-30 it would never be my first choice for brown bear it will and has done the job.

For your 8mm I'd recommend a nosler partition 180 grain or larger as optimum and I wouldn't even think twice about taking a bear with it.

MHO Boomer
 
Hornady and Sellier & Bellot make good, closer to max factory loads for the 8x57 js, but even they are a bit conservative. The only way to get the full potential out of an 8mm Mauser in good condition with a sound action is to hand load for it. 200 gr bullets loaded near redline at 2600+ MV is what I would take to the brown bear woods. We only have black bear where I live so I'm no brown bear hunter by any means, but I have faith in the old 8mm ;)
 
I've been reading through this list of comments and I have to ask. How many here have even killed a coastal Grizzly Bear or even the smaller inland version?
I freely admit I have not and frankly have no intention of ever doing so.
However, I do have over 60 years of hunting behind me and have been a shooter, reloader and even had a small custom handloading business for a while.
The question was, "Is the 8MM Mauser round big enough for Brown Bear?"

Certainly with these caveats. A properly constructed bullet properly placed to preferably instantly kill said bear or break down the skeletal structure sufficiently to either immobilize or greatly slow the bear down so more shots can be taken. If I were to have to hunt with the 8x57MM, I'd be looking at a 200 to 220 gr. bullet loaded to the highest safe maximum load my rifle would handle. I'd do some serious study of the bear's anatomy and lot's of very serious practice, especially in quick off hand shots. Maybe do some running in place to get the heart beating then pick up the rifle and take the shot.
These days with my arthritis in my right should compling about heavy recoil I would personally take my .35 Whelen with my pet load using the 225 gr. barnest TSX at 2710 FPS MV. I figure if that bullet can travel though an elk from appetite to exhaust pipe, it shouldn't have any trouble poking holes in one of the great bears. But then again, as I said, i don'r ever plan on hunting one anyway. Why? Because I like to eat what I kill and I don't want to eat one of those tough old buggers. :rolleyes:;)
Paul B.
 
Paul B. said:
I've been reading through this list of comments and I have to ask. How many here have even killed a coastal Grizzly Bear or even the smaller inland version?
I freely admit I have not and frankly have no intention of ever doing so.
Click to expand...

Paul, I'm sure you are right there are very few if any who posted that have killed a grizzly or brown bear. My own experience is limited to a SE Alaskan black bear killed in 2006. That is why I pulled out the opinions of one of Alaska's premier hunting guides Phil Shoemaker. He post on several forums as .458 Win and even most Alaskans will defer to his opinion on the subject of hunting Brown Bear and his record of success in the subject matter.

From what I've read that Phil has posted he wouldn't hesitate to take anyone hunting with an 8X57/8mm Mauser as long as you shot it well and used a proper bullet for the task. There is little difference between the .30-06 and 8X57, and as long as the hunter is up to the task I'm sure the cartridge is.

I hopefully will get to hunt coastal brownies someday as it is on my bucket list along with a Alaskan Moose. I have a .338-06, .35 Whelen or .375 Ruger that will get the nod for that critter if I'm still able to shoot them well when the time comes. If not I have the perfect back up in a .30-06 sitting in the safe as well.
 
Yeah I'm sticking my muzzleloaders. Call me old school but there's something about a big fat 440-900g bullet that makes me feel better. I've never had a critter take more than one step after being hit with my 900 grainer. ;)

But that's a Ginuwine 8mm Mauser sir I think you'll do fine.

Boomer
 
My brother does fine with black bear with a 250 savage and I have a 25-35 that has killed more black bear than most people see in 5 life times so a 8mm pick the shot I am sure it will do fine on anyting you can point it at if you can shoot the thing. A 30-06 will kill a half track at 100yds so why cant a 8mm that hits harder kill a bear?
 
You are going to pay a lot of money for this brown bear hunt. You are going to prepare for an entire year. You will probably only get to do it once, and you will probably only get one chance. Why would you take a rifle that you need to ask this bunch whether or not it's adequate? It's not about the bear eating you, it's about being absolutely sure, if you are lucky enough to reach that moment, that you put your trophy down. I grew up with an old Mauser. Love that rifle. But no, it's not for brown bear.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top