Re: Alaskan rifle
As several have pointed out shot placement is the key by the guys that live up there.
Ken Corcoran is a outstanding gunsmith up that way (Fairbanks) and he told me that the 300 Win Mag was THE No 1 favorite up there.
Others pointed out ammo availability is also critical. I couldn't agree more.
The guys up there will also tell you that you cannot get a rifle out of a box and head out in cold weather unless you have the right set up. The factory grease will freeze up in the winter time and that includes about all of the commercial gun oil. I suspect the guys up there are all using LAW on their weapons.
If I didn't have LAW it would be Ed's Red and nothing else. Yes there is one well known brand that advertises or used to that said it is good to -60F. I have personally tested it at -60,-45,-30 and no ignition. -15 would be about it.
A sluggish striker movement is guaranteed to give you a click and that is when you become their meal because you are hunting with a stick. Oil thickening inside the bolt will do it as well.
Whatever you get I would waterproof the ammo best I could. Commerical hunting ammo does not have waterproof primers and ammo + water = OS.
Assuming you get a rifle that is not some off the wall oddball I would get hold of Wolfe Springs and get a higher energy striker spring and install it. Rationale is the industry has reduced their firing pin energy recommendations from .020” striker indent on copper to .016”. The military requirement is .020” min and more on M16 variants. This is for striker ignition reliability in ALL conditions.
You can waterproof your ammo by taking clear nail polish and painting the heads of your ammo and then dragging the head of the case across a newspaper which will remove the lacquer from the case head but leave it in place around the primer. Look at ammo to make sure there is lacquer 360 deg around the crevice between primer and case head. It rains up there and a fall in a stream could make all your ammo into divers weights.
One writer pointed out the 30.06. I can agree with this as I once had a opportunity to do a ammo test on a dead horse who was only expired a few hours. I shot him in the chest with a round of 30.06 AP (from 30 yards) and the round went clean through him, out his ass and went 75 yards and kicked dirt five feet in the air. That is about six feet of meat and there is not much walking around in the Americas that has over six feet cross section.
For those that are not familiar with the work of the Army Wound Ballistic Lab, they found during high speed photography through gelatin that military ammo tumbles internally and exits the body point towards the shooter. Thusly a 30.06 goes from a .308 bullet to .100" plus bullet when it turns sideways which is about six inches in. Hunting bullets (expanding types) start to mushroom immediately and won't attain .100"+ diameter. Thusly if I had a 30.06 I would have a handful of 30.06 AP as backup or 30.06 LC Match and then M2 ball.
Safety is to be considered. I would personally only consider a action with a P O S I T I V E type safety that is not subject to going off from being dropped, banged etc. There are only four actions that are chambered in the right calibers that come to mind that will not go off when dropped with safety on. The 1903 Springfield, the Model 70 Winchester and the Ruger 77 MK II and the 98 Mauser.
All three of these designs physically lock the striker to the rear. In bad country where your life may well depend on what you or your buddies are carrying you don't want anything less.
You also want a safety that can be operated with a gloved hand.
I have seen far too many problems with rifles that have systems that do not physically lock the striker from being seared off when bolt is slammed home (read OS I missed, I need to shoot again and five seconds ago)
The 98 Mauser is basically out because most of the variations of it are limited to rounds that are shorter than 8MM unless you get a Mod 98/34 in 30.06.
All four of these have trigger groups that are basically very simple, very rugged and very reliable.
The new extra energy striker spring is also a must even in these.
Stock design is to be considered as well. That removes most of the plastic stocks unless they have aluminum liners with sling swivels you know are not going to let go at wrong time. To eliminate all potential problems I would go with a McMillan stock. I have several of them and they are the best in my opinion.
One piece wood stocks are a little better than the black plastic poly ones but before I carried one in that country I would have a 3/8" steel rod (slotted on one end for screwdriver to move it) epoxied from the action well down through the pistol grip as this is the weak spot in bolt guns. After the hole is drilled mix Devcon 2 Ton epoxy with acetone and thin it down to about the consistancy of water. Pour action hole about 1/3rd full and ease bolt (all thread works for this as well) down in. If you don't get epoxy out the top of the hole pour mixture in top of hole. The thinned epoxy will seap into the now exposed end grain of the wood, the acetone will evaporate and you have a pistol grip you will never have to worry about.
If not that I would only have a laminated stock. But McMillan is it insofar as I am concerned.
Next comes sling swivels. There are only two types of swivels you can count on. Military sling swivels for 1903,M1917 etc and if not them I would only have MILSPEC swivels by Uncle Mike that are forged.
For a sling I would use the M16 silent sling for several reasons. It is quiet, it is hell for strong, won't deteriorate when wet and is rough weave so it won't slide around. The sling can be quickly removed for stopping blood loss etc.
Personally I would rebarrel whatever I got with a medium weight stainless varmint barrel. On such a rifle I would want a SAAMI spec chamber. Now is not the time for tight match chambers as the ammo you pick up in a hurry may well have crud on it and if you need it in a hurry muddy ammo will bind and you are back to the stick in hand for imminent social event that is sure to go South.
On my barrel it would be dual cut as a follows. I would have it turned cylinder 1.150" for about ten inches in front of action. The turn a radiused step down to .840 for the last 12" to 14". The last two inches of barrel would be .750" diameter. You can get very rugged chair leg caps from Lowes, (black or white) that make very durable muzzle cover/protectors. Pack of four is like a buck and rifle will take a hard ram into dirt, etc and remain in tact. I would also have a 11 degree target crown.
The most rugged scope mount system which also happens to be the least expensive is a Weaver #92A base (fits a Thompson Contender Super 14 barrel). Mount this on the .840 section and go with a good quality scout scope (IER). I have a Leupold Scout, a Burris Scout and have also used LER pistol scopes both B&L and NC Star.
On top of this would be a Rock River Arms Flat Top Riser Base. It mounts on Weaver Mount, has a 3/8" hole through base and Weaver mount on top for scope rings. The 3/8" hole provides a very fast sighting system for close in shots as if you can see the target through this hole, pull the trigger and you should be on the money. See pics
http://www.aimtech-mounts.com/Rifle%20Mounts.htm I am not sure if Aimtech makes the RRA base for them or not but is on same principle.
I have several of these Aimtech bases and they are the best I have seen for fast first shots at close range.
Some may wonder why this combo for close heavy brush range. Take your present rifle and try to load it with gloved hands and time how long it takes you to get rounds under the scope and into the mag.
My first choice would be a 1903 action followed by a 98/34 as both can be reloaded in a just a few seconds with five round stripper clips that holds five rounds and you can open the bidding with six rounds on each. The Mod 70 if found in a pre war action has clip slot reload capability. I am not sure if a clip slot could be milled in a Ruger 77MKII.
I would also mount iron sights on it which can be left on while using the scope, thus if you damage scope you can pull it off and go with irons. You can also carry a pre zeroed light weight red dot scope for fast change out. Carry extra batts and keep them warm.
Whatever your final choice is, it needs to be tested well. Not only for pinpoint accuracy but how accurate you are in a short period of time otherwise known as Crisis Management ROE with all shots being taken in under 1.5 seconds(first shot off) and all rounds fed from magazine.
http://www.frfrogspad.com/courses.htm Check out the above http for courses to test your skills which are simple. If you can do well on these courses you will do well under pressure.
There are several speed timers you can use. Mine is a R U Ready and works slick but there are other good ones as well.
