Yet another gun question

[jmg]

I see that there a few posts below regarding everyone's opinion on which gun is the best. I am considering doing a caribou hunt near Illiama in January or February. I know of one charter that does the same day hunts, or I might go stay with a friend that lives over in that area and stay a few days and hunt. On to the gun question. I have only been in Alaska 2 years and have not yet hunted up here. I used to hunt in Wyoming, Colorado and California each year for mule deer and the occasional elk. I generally hunted with a bow or my .30-.30 Marlin lever action. This rifle has dropped several mule deer, generally up to about 150-200 yards, and even an occasional elk at fairly short ranges.

My question is, will this be enough rifle for caribou? I have heard that the same day caribou hunts that time of year require fairly long shots sometimes. I am fairly confident with shot placement out to about 250 yards with this gun, but beyond I am not too sure, mostly because I have never had to go further than this. Any opinions? I know a few people here have done the same day hunts - what have your experiences been with shot distance?

Thanks in advance.

 

[gogoalie]

30-30...

30-30...

will be plenty if you know how to aim...

 

[BrownBear]

The power is ample if you get within your and cartridges range limits. The longer the range, the more critical your range estimates and the influence of wind drift. While I'd say you have pretty well maximized the effective range of the combo, your stalking skills from years of archery should help you stick to those limits.

Not my first choice for "long range" shooting, but with some good stalking mixed in that's entirely immaterial. Lots of sports with flatter shooting rounds couldn't reliably cut hair on a caribou within the effective range of the cartridge, much less make a clean killing shot. The effective range of the hunter is the most critical element.