Yukon Men and AR's

[ALCOAR]

I really like Yukon Men the show, but I wouldn't base anything on what your "seeing" as reality.

In terms of firearms they use........Experience usually trumps most everything else. Those local Yukon men have most likely shot hundreds of bears every since they were knee high to a grasshopper.

A novice or rookie hunter out in the Yukon needs all the advantages they can muster imo. This includes beef'd up calibers.

[docsherm]

I'd rather have something like a .45-70 for Alaska wildlife.

I am with you on that. That is actually going to be my next firearm purchase.

[DeltaSierra]

There's at least one Alaskan LEO on here that has had to put down 5 bears, one of which he used 75gr TAP on after his 12 gauge failed.

Shot placement is apparently what these guys believe in. Not explicitly endorsing their exact choices but I've lost count of the times I've seen locals outshoot out of staters with battered old hunting rifles that are less powerful and have far less glass than the out of stater's fancy rigs.

Well, I personally know a former Alaska Department of Fish and Game pilot that has used an AR chambered in .223 to kill everything from foxes to caribou.

Shot placement is key...

Next time you are out this way, we should go up to this guys place for a visit...

[hunt_ak]

Just like anywhere else, there is varying opinion on what is 'required' for big game hunting up here in Alaska, but don't let a 'reality' show lead you to believe it is the norm up here. I was involved in a 'reality' show that is supposed to be airing next month and the only reality is that we were actually out hunting and my wife laid down a few deer. Great trip, but I don't doubt that I'll look like a goon when it's all said and done.

Most hunters up here use a calibers that start with a 3....

[Caduceus]

Not trying to start an argument (nor have I seen the episodes you reference), but are you sure about the ammo?

With the dozens of calibers available on an AR platform, I wonder if they're truly shooting .223, at least on the show. All the anecdotes I figure are probably accurate.

[PA PATRIOT]

Not trying to start an argument (nor have I seen the episodes you reference), but are you sure about the ammo?

With the dozens of calibers available on an AR platform, I wonder if they're truly shooting .223, at least on the show. All the anecdotes I figure are probably accurate.

Watch the RRA being loaded with a 30rd magazine with "Green tip" M-855 5.56 ammo clearly seen as the top rounds.

Also seen the 20rd magazine for the A-1 AR being loaded out of a Remington .223 box.

[AKDoug]

Hunt_AK and I are friends, but I am going to disagree with him. The .223 is most likely the most prevalent round in rural Alaska. Yes, larger rounds are used by most of us highway system hunters, but once you travel to the far outlying areas the .223 becomes more and more common.

The reason is simple. It's cheap. Rural Alaska is one of the poorest regions in the U.S. and ammo cost is a real deal to them. The other issue is that many Native Alaskans do not share a common cultural/ethical ideal about killing animals quickly and humanely like many western culture hunters do. They have a great respect for the game they kill, but don't get overly emotionally about the process. If it takes a few holes to kill something, they really don't care. Many non-Natives that live in those areas soon adopt a similar mindset.

I personally have watched moose, caribou, and even a polar bear killed with one or two shots from a .223

These are just my observations after living 8 summers in various remote Alaskan Native villages.

[Gramps]

What I noticed on that "Show", was ONE person on a hunt, WITH a "Bolt" gun, and ONLY a bolt gun, then all of the sudden, they dub in a rail mounted camera showing an "AR Flash Hider". I don't think whoever is producing these "Reality" show's, has a clue about "Reality".

[AKDoug]

There is no doubt about that. They insert footage wherever they need filler. You'll see brands and types of snowmobiles switch during scenes also. I can't stand most of these shows, but it sure has been good for tourism in Alaska.

[NWPilgrim]

Hunt_AK and I are friends, but I am going to disagree with him. The .223 is most likely the most prevalent round in rural Alaska. Yes, larger rounds are used by most of us highway system hunters, but once you travel to the far outlying areas the .223 becomes more and more common.

The reason is simple. It's cheap. Rural Alaska is one of the poorest regions in the U.S. and ammo cost is a real deal to them. The other issue is that many Native Alaskans do not share a common cultural/ethical ideal about killing animals quickly and humanely like many western culture hunters do. They have a great respect for the game they kill, but don't get overly emotionally about the process. If it takes a few holes to kill something, they really don't care. Many non-Natives that live in those areas soon adopt a similar mindset.

I personally have watched moose, caribou, and even a polar bear killed with one or two shots from a .223

These are just my observations after living 8 summers in various remote Alaskan Native villages.

That was my impression from watching several episodes. These are subsistence villagers who live on a few thousand a year apparently from fur, firewood, sled dogs, etc. A 14 yr old went looking for black bear with his Dad's .300 WM bolt action, but I was surprised at how often the AR15 is taken out.

The episode in question stunned me because Joey takes an AR to go after a grizzly haunting their fresh racks, while his dad Stan takes a bolt action. It appears that Joey shoots the griz with one shot to the head and it is DRT. I wondered if it might be a .458 SOCOM but doubted that. In another Episode Charlie Wright and his son Bob go after a black bear that has been lurking around the village garage dump. IIRC, one of them had a bolt action and the other an AR15, apparently the same one Charlie used another time to take down a wolf. And I think Joey and a friend went hunting bears in their winter dens using an AR15. Cajones.

I would have thought a lever action .30-30 would be an inexpensive go to rifle in the far north, but you sure can't beat the price of .223 or 7.62x39. I didn't see any cold weather jams are failures on the AR15!