I spent several years as first, an XO then CO of Alaskan Native National Guard units on Seward Penn. (Nome Area, on the Bering Sea.
First of its a MYTH that semis don't work in the Arctic, they do, M16/ARs work well.
The natives seem to switch guns through the years, the most popular was the 30-06, then the 308, and on to the 223.
Why those rounds, simple, that's what the NG furnished. First the M1s then the M14s, and then the M16s.
We were lax in ammo accountability. The only cash paying jobs most of these people had was their Guard Checks, and selling of carved ivory. So the tended to use the guns that they could get free ammo for. When you add the air freight, ammo is expensive in these villages.
Now with the introduction of cheap mosin's and ammo, they are showing up, but still on the Bering sea, even Mosin ammo isn't cheap.
I've been hunting with these guys, being white, I couldn't hunt, but I could go with them. Its a whole new world.
Back to polar bears. They hunt them with the same rifle they hunt seals walrus and everything else. Mostly when I was there it was the 223.
Its not about how big the gun is, its knowing the animal. Polar bears are a good example of knowing the animal. Polar bears will not turn right. Meaning you can chase them all day on a snow machine and they wont turn right. You can get on the right side of the bear, they'll run straight, they'll turn left, but they will not turn right, so you can take a 22 pistol saying with them until you kill them. You're safe as lone as you stay on the right side of the bear.
Don't ask me why, I never found the answer, but its true, I've seen it several times, polar bears wont turn right when being pursued so it really doesn't matter what you hunt them with.
But Alaska natives don't use the biggest gun, they use what they can get ammo for.
When I was the XO on St Lawrence Island one of my guys some how got hold of a 458 Win. Problem is, ammo was out of the picture, quite expensive. On the south side of the Island someone laid a cable for something or other across the island. I told my Sgt with the 458 to go cut off chunks of the lead cable and I'd fix him up. So I when I got to Anchorage I hit up all the gun stores picking up once fired 458 brass, bought him a Lee 458 500 Gr mold, Lee hand loader, some primers and powder. Got back to gamble and got him to casting and loading 458s. He was one happy camper.
He was one of the senior boat captains in the Village and I showed up after they brought in a whale. He was telling me how good a shot he was, killing the whale and all.
I ask him how many times he shot the whale, he says 'a box and a half of 458 and 2 1/2 boxes of 223" I kidded him telling him he couldn't shoot good, just shoots "lots'. There were 7 other guys in the boat shooting the whale.
Some of my best times in the NG was the time I spent with these natives, great bunch of people.
First of its a MYTH that semis don't work in the Arctic, they do, M16/ARs work well.
The natives seem to switch guns through the years, the most popular was the 30-06, then the 308, and on to the 223.
Why those rounds, simple, that's what the NG furnished. First the M1s then the M14s, and then the M16s.
We were lax in ammo accountability. The only cash paying jobs most of these people had was their Guard Checks, and selling of carved ivory. So the tended to use the guns that they could get free ammo for. When you add the air freight, ammo is expensive in these villages.
Now with the introduction of cheap mosin's and ammo, they are showing up, but still on the Bering sea, even Mosin ammo isn't cheap.
I've been hunting with these guys, being white, I couldn't hunt, but I could go with them. Its a whole new world.
Back to polar bears. They hunt them with the same rifle they hunt seals walrus and everything else. Mostly when I was there it was the 223.
Its not about how big the gun is, its knowing the animal. Polar bears are a good example of knowing the animal. Polar bears will not turn right. Meaning you can chase them all day on a snow machine and they wont turn right. You can get on the right side of the bear, they'll run straight, they'll turn left, but they will not turn right, so you can take a 22 pistol saying with them until you kill them. You're safe as lone as you stay on the right side of the bear.
Don't ask me why, I never found the answer, but its true, I've seen it several times, polar bears wont turn right when being pursued so it really doesn't matter what you hunt them with.
But Alaska natives don't use the biggest gun, they use what they can get ammo for.
When I was the XO on St Lawrence Island one of my guys some how got hold of a 458 Win. Problem is, ammo was out of the picture, quite expensive. On the south side of the Island someone laid a cable for something or other across the island. I told my Sgt with the 458 to go cut off chunks of the lead cable and I'd fix him up. So I when I got to Anchorage I hit up all the gun stores picking up once fired 458 brass, bought him a Lee 458 500 Gr mold, Lee hand loader, some primers and powder. Got back to gamble and got him to casting and loading 458s. He was one happy camper.
He was one of the senior boat captains in the Village and I showed up after they brought in a whale. He was telling me how good a shot he was, killing the whale and all.
I ask him how many times he shot the whale, he says 'a box and a half of 458 and 2 1/2 boxes of 223" I kidded him telling him he couldn't shoot good, just shoots "lots'. There were 7 other guys in the boat shooting the whale.
Some of my best times in the NG was the time I spent with these natives, great bunch of people.
