US Soldier, you have been given tons of advice and a lot of it is debatable as to the best cartridge, some based on personal experience, ballistic tables, and loyalty to a certain cartridge. I'm not gonna tell ya what the best caliber and rifle will be for you. What I will say is I was in a similiar situation as you a few years back. I just received orders to Korea and was able to pick my follow on any air force assignment to anywhere in the world that had satellite communications (unlike the Army who picks for you based soley on manning requirements (spent first 4 years of military in the Army so I can relate). I picked Elmendorf AFB in Alaska only to find out I had to extend my enlistment or reinlist then found out I had too much time left to reenlist so that option was ruled out. In the meantime, I purchased a 338 Win Mag and a box of 225 grain bullets all stoked about going to Alaska. Long story short, because of the parameters, I chose Colorado instead (at that time there was a bonus to reinlist I didn't want to give up by extending my enlistment). My recommendation is wait until you get to Alaska and buy something once your feet are on the ground. Although the 338 would be perfectly fine for elk or deer hunting here, I prefer to use the 7 Mag or 30-06 because it suits my preference a little better for combined deer and elk seasons and is quite versatile. Truth be told I could definitely have one or the other and be in good shape but I like having choices and ringing out several different calibers to their best potential. Good luck on your quest and wherever the military takes you!
Some very interesting reading here. I have spent the last several years living/hunting in Alaska. Hunting anything and everything, and being in every corner of the state. So with that knowledge I have decided to add my 2 cents............................for whats it's worth.
Some very important topics have not been covered here, like do you hand load? If not, cancel out about every caliber that has been mentioned here. Alaska does not have a Sporting Goods store on every street corner with a huge supply of all different kinds of ammo. Yes, in the big cities you have a few stores but still nothing like what we have down here. You are only going to find the common calibers and only the popular factory loadings in those calibers. If you handload, then the world is at your finger tips.
As far as caliber choice, there are many different opinions there as well. There is not a big, hairy,pissed off Brown Bear around every corner as some might think. So you do not NEED a 338 or 375, but it is nice to have one.
A good common,all-around caliber would be the 7mm Mag that you have now. You can buy ammo anywhere for it, with all different bullets and weights. I hunted and successfully took animals with a 300 Weatherby, 300 WSM and my bow. My last all-around gun for Alaska was a 308, so take that for whats its worth.
Finally, type of gun, that is a purely personal choice. We can all sit here and tell you what WE think is the best and spend YOUR money, but that is for you too decide. If you are comfortable with your current rifle,USE IT!! Plain and simple. If you are not, I suggest going to a big store and handle as many different guns as you can. Everybody is different and everybody likes different things in their rifles.
Hope this helps, hope I didnt step on anyone's toes, but I thought this was getting a little out of hand. If you would like to talk in private, shoot me a PM and we can discuss it further. Alaska is the most beautiful place on Earth, and hopefully when this assignment is up I will be heading back.
Good luck- Tim
For a all round gun the 30-06 can't be beat. For Kentucky or Alaska it will handle all hooved big game out to 300 yards and if you where to inconter a big bear it will be at close range and the 06 is just as good or better at close range than a 300mag.
I say pick from these cartridges leaning upward for larger game.
270win, 280rem, 30-06, or 35whelen. The 270/280 will go 400 yards easy.
And the 700 Rem's a great choice. The 7mm rem mag is to with 150-160gr bullets.
For a .338, I really like my M700 XCR. It's very accurate, the XCR coating is for real and works great, and with a Zeiss 3.5x10 with the Rapid-Z 600 reticle it's deadly out to 600 yards with the 225-gn AccuBond.
I also have a Kimber Montana .325 WSM, and it's my main hunting rifle this year. That's an amazing package right there. 200-gn Partitions at 2930 fps, or 180-gn TSX's at 3100 fps. (C'mon Nosler, make me that 8mm E-Tip!).
Either would be a fine Alaska rifle, if i'm understanding what Alaska is all about. I'd give the edge to the .338 for ammo availability.
338 Win Mag is really no big deal as far as recoil... IMHO. Some practice and as 25-06 says, "not letting it get in your head".
I have to be careful not to shoot my .338 too MUCH.
