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AR popularity on Alaskan shows such as "Life Below Zero"
- Thread starter kcub
- Start date
dylank0723
New member
I've noticed that too, shine my grandpa used to kill deer with .22 LR
joe sixgun
New member
Who has an AR on "LBZ" all I ever see are bolt actions of the commercial variety or mosins. The one guy was using what appeared to be a suppressed bolt action. I could have missed one though.
I think you are thinking of Yukon Men. Regardless, I have seen the same thing on the Alaskan shows. I think that this may be due to product placement type advertising. Mike Row always drove brand new Ford. Same with several of the guys from Gold Rush. Other than that they are the "bling" that an Alaskan teen may want. ARs are versatile and easy to carry lots of ammo. Not to mention that cartridge can be changed over relatively inexpensively and they are robust accurate guns.
I don't really feel like we get into the "useless for hunting" until we start talking about 20mm 100+lb rifles that only really start to make sense if your target is a tank, Godzilla, or a mountain you want to create an avalanche on. Still fun to know they exist.
I've seen Erik Salitan and his wife carry an ar on their trapline, call in and pop the occasional fox or other predator that comes to investigate.
Also in the event your out in the long Alaska nights, there are hungry wolves out there. I don't know about other people but a real bright flashlight, on an ar-15 I trusted in that environment is a great thing to have when you realize the wolves have surrounded you.
The guy who lives alone in the Brooks range has been surrounded by a pack of wolves. Not a fun place to be, and I want as many rounds in that gun as possible in case the first one doesn't make them scatter.
I've seen Erik Salitan and his wife carry an ar on their trapline, call in and pop the occasional fox or other predator that comes to investigate.
Also in the event your out in the long Alaska nights, there are hungry wolves out there. I don't know about other people but a real bright flashlight, on an ar-15 I trusted in that environment is a great thing to have when you realize the wolves have surrounded you.
The guy who lives alone in the Brooks range has been surrounded by a pack of wolves. Not a fun place to be, and I want as many rounds in that gun as possible in case the first one doesn't make them scatter.
Who has an AR on "LBZ" all I ever see are bolt actions of the commercial variety or mosins.
I think the young fellow has a stainless barreled AR he used to shoot a fox while he was out on a snowmobile in one episode.
There are many such shows showing subsistence lifestyle in Alaska. I'm surprised to see so many ARs on these shows. So much for them being useless for hunting. * * *
No surprise to me at all.
If it's a quality AR build, one that's set-up right for its anticipated use, and assuming it's kept properly lubricated for the specific environment in which it will be deployed - say, coyote hunting in sub-zero temps in Montana - these rifles will run all day every day.
For hunting purposes (as opposed to a generic range blaster or 16" tactical training carbine), my preference is for an 18" 5.56 match-grade tube with a Wylde chambering.
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ARs in Alaska
I live in Sitka, Alaska. ARs are very popular, don't know anyone that does not have one or more. They are OK for the deer here and are very accurate. For other larger game or protection most use a larger caliber. Also, someone mentioned starting an avalanche with a large caliber rifle. I tried to do that with a 50 caliber, it will never work.
I live in Sitka, Alaska. ARs are very popular, don't know anyone that does not have one or more. They are OK for the deer here and are very accurate. For other larger game or protection most use a larger caliber. Also, someone mentioned starting an avalanche with a large caliber rifle. I tried to do that with a 50 caliber, it will never work.
Rangerrich99
New member
I'm pretty sure that there are at least two men on the show that have ARs; the younger guy with the wife that's already been mentioned and another man, but I can't remember exactly which one.
In the episode I saw the younger guy was trying to take a wolf and his AR froze (I think they said the OAT was around -50*F). He did get it running again after a bit, but I don't remember if he got his wolf that day.
In the episode I saw the younger guy was trying to take a wolf and his AR froze (I think they said the OAT was around -50*F). He did get it running again after a bit, but I don't remember if he got his wolf that day.
Frank I'm talking about shooting a mountain, like the rock rather than the snow with a high explosive 20mm projectile, that's 7mm wider than a .50, and dwarfs the bmg in the same sort of way the bmg dwarfs your average rifle round, big enough rounds to hold enough high explosive to ruin the day of someone driving a tank. Or into the rock of a mountain hitting so hard that it shakes the mountain enough to cause an avalanche.
If I was concerned about bears it wouldn't be my choice. Maybe they don't have a lot of bears wherever the shows are or carry an additional revolver or just risk it or whatever. When you get right down to it there's really no good way to use the same rifle for varmints and bear defense, so you're sort of stuck.
Armed_Chicagoan
New member
As far as Life Below Zero IIRC Erik Salitan had an AR-10 he was using for hunting in one episode, but it froze up on him when he tried to take a shot at some animal (maybe a caribou, my memory is fuzzy). He blamed it on using the wrong lubricant.
eta: aha, found the clip of him using the AR-10 when it malfunctions taking a shot at a caribou: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/life-below-zero/videos/crazy-to-begin-with/
eta: aha, found the clip of him using the AR-10 when it malfunctions taking a shot at a caribou: http://channel.nationalgeographic.com/life-below-zero/videos/crazy-to-begin-with/
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Freethought
Moderator
Ok I'll weigh in on this , since of course I currently split my time between Alaska and Wyoming.
Yes there are folks utilising ARs up here , yes they are in a variety of chamberings.
As for bear defense , look here's the *reality* of that issue for you ( by the way I guide for Bear part of the year out of Larsens Bay and across the Shelikoff Strait on the main mostly between Chignik and on up as far north as Lime Village)............sure some folks will use .308 for bear defense , but you'd best have a cool head under stress and be able to hit what you're aiming at. *Repeatedly and quickly*.
While folks carry a wide variety of chamberings for bear defense there are two that come up repeatedly as the " gold standard " fir DLP scenarios , now keep in mind that such scenarios are distinctly *different* than hunting Bear or indeed even backing your hunters up.
Those two are a properly setup 12 gauge slug gun with *proper* slugs , you'll see a myriad of fishing guides equipped this way , the other that you'll see as a day to day , walking around all purpose defensive rifle with quite some frequency is the Marlin '95 Guide Gun in .45-70 with specific loading developed with an eye towards bear defense.
What you will most often see guides backing their hunters with as regards bear are heavy hardhitting caliber bolt rifles , you'll see more .375 h and Hs than you can shake a stick at , lotsa .416 rem mags , quite a lot of .338 win mags and the new Ruger .375 and .416s are starting to show up. Me ,well I generally switch around between 3 for that purpose , a custom in .375 RUM , a mildly modified .416 rem , or an old reliable BAR in .338 win mag.
Daily carry for me rifle wise during the off season and for tramping around is generally the aforementioned BAR or a Guide Gun in .45-70. If i'm out for something that require a smaller rifle i.e. Caribou , Deer...running traps etc.etc. there is NEVER a time when there is not a .44 mag sidearm present , generally loaded with a 300 grain Swift A-Frame of 300 grain XTP loading that has proven to be an adequate bear defensive load.
A word of that difference between scenarios , there is a HUGE difference between "hunting" i.e. shooting a grazing Brownie a hundred plus yards out and a DLP scenario wherein you have to stop one at close range that's decided that he wants YOUR ass specifically. HUGE HUGE difference.
Yes there are folks utilising ARs up here , yes they are in a variety of chamberings.
As for bear defense , look here's the *reality* of that issue for you ( by the way I guide for Bear part of the year out of Larsens Bay and across the Shelikoff Strait on the main mostly between Chignik and on up as far north as Lime Village)............sure some folks will use .308 for bear defense , but you'd best have a cool head under stress and be able to hit what you're aiming at. *Repeatedly and quickly*.
While folks carry a wide variety of chamberings for bear defense there are two that come up repeatedly as the " gold standard " fir DLP scenarios , now keep in mind that such scenarios are distinctly *different* than hunting Bear or indeed even backing your hunters up.
Those two are a properly setup 12 gauge slug gun with *proper* slugs , you'll see a myriad of fishing guides equipped this way , the other that you'll see as a day to day , walking around all purpose defensive rifle with quite some frequency is the Marlin '95 Guide Gun in .45-70 with specific loading developed with an eye towards bear defense.
What you will most often see guides backing their hunters with as regards bear are heavy hardhitting caliber bolt rifles , you'll see more .375 h and Hs than you can shake a stick at , lotsa .416 rem mags , quite a lot of .338 win mags and the new Ruger .375 and .416s are starting to show up. Me ,well I generally switch around between 3 for that purpose , a custom in .375 RUM , a mildly modified .416 rem , or an old reliable BAR in .338 win mag.
Daily carry for me rifle wise during the off season and for tramping around is generally the aforementioned BAR or a Guide Gun in .45-70. If i'm out for something that require a smaller rifle i.e. Caribou , Deer...running traps etc.etc. there is NEVER a time when there is not a .44 mag sidearm present , generally loaded with a 300 grain Swift A-Frame of 300 grain XTP loading that has proven to be an adequate bear defensive load.
A word of that difference between scenarios , there is a HUGE difference between "hunting" i.e. shooting a grazing Brownie a hundred plus yards out and a DLP scenario wherein you have to stop one at close range that's decided that he wants YOUR ass specifically. HUGE HUGE difference.
i read this one on line, the best way to tell if its a black or brown bear is to check its poop, if its black bear the poop will have berries and grass in it, if its brown bear poop it will have little bells and smell like pepper spray with little pieces of cloth in it. eastbank.
Freethought
Moderator
Eastbank , old joke. But it offers the opportunity to cite some of the differences between the two.
The Black bears will quite often run off if you even yell BOO at them , and in the lower 48 they are seldom very large nor are they often aggressive in nature.
A Brownie on the other hand is the biggest ,meanest Junkyard Dog one can encounter , and armed with multiple razors on all four corners and spikes in a large oral cavity..............and he KNOWS this. If he decides to take exception to your presence it's not a 300 lb ( that't middling large by the way) black bear you're facing , it's a 700 lb plus ( mostly plus and perhaps a 1000 or over) top tier predator that once the adrenaline is up is ***exceedingly*** hard to stop.
Common sense will keep one out of trouble with 'em in the first place ,*for the most part* , but there are those times when it cannot be avoided and most folks have ZERO concept of how fast the big bears can move and how hard they can be to stop.
Can a handgun be used , yes in a pinch and yes I have had to do so. Is it ideal..........NO...........again NO........there is NO handgun that is anything less than a compromise , and there is ample reason that most folks in the Far North consider .44 mag with stout loads to be the *minimum* , yeah , yeah I've heard the myriad stories as regards other calibers and YES I stopped one a few years back with a .45 acp , note that it was all I had on me at the time , it took a whole mag and repeated head shots , the damn bear DID knock me on my ass as it died..........and it was only a two year old and only around the 600 lb mark.
Situational awareness , stay the hell out of the berry patch when the bears are feeding ( so to speak) can carry one a LLLLOOONNNGGG way in avoidance of such scenarios.
In the above case I was equipped for social work (taking a trip to town) , took the garbage out prior to leaving and got jumped from the brush line.
NOTE that after that incident said brushline got pushed back another hundred feet and social work sidearms are personally restricted to city and social usage , a Bear DLP sidearm is utilised until a presence within the urban environment is achieved.
Another thing that folks do that is out and out stupid , if you're fishing and the bear comes along and wants your fishing spot and/or fish , *Give it the hell up* , there are more fish and more spots. And if you take a deer , caribou ,moose etc...............best have your head on a swivel while you're field dressing your game and a rifle AND sidearm to ready hand , this goes TEN times over if you're by yourself. And NO it's not a " myth" that in some locales these bears treat a gunshot as a call to dinner. Come to it , give up the damn deer , there are more and you really don't want the hassle and paperwork of the DLP scenario.
The Black bears will quite often run off if you even yell BOO at them , and in the lower 48 they are seldom very large nor are they often aggressive in nature.
A Brownie on the other hand is the biggest ,meanest Junkyard Dog one can encounter , and armed with multiple razors on all four corners and spikes in a large oral cavity..............and he KNOWS this. If he decides to take exception to your presence it's not a 300 lb ( that't middling large by the way) black bear you're facing , it's a 700 lb plus ( mostly plus and perhaps a 1000 or over) top tier predator that once the adrenaline is up is ***exceedingly*** hard to stop.
Common sense will keep one out of trouble with 'em in the first place ,*for the most part* , but there are those times when it cannot be avoided and most folks have ZERO concept of how fast the big bears can move and how hard they can be to stop.
Can a handgun be used , yes in a pinch and yes I have had to do so. Is it ideal..........NO...........again NO........there is NO handgun that is anything less than a compromise , and there is ample reason that most folks in the Far North consider .44 mag with stout loads to be the *minimum* , yeah , yeah I've heard the myriad stories as regards other calibers and YES I stopped one a few years back with a .45 acp , note that it was all I had on me at the time , it took a whole mag and repeated head shots , the damn bear DID knock me on my ass as it died..........and it was only a two year old and only around the 600 lb mark.
Situational awareness , stay the hell out of the berry patch when the bears are feeding ( so to speak) can carry one a LLLLOOONNNGGG way in avoidance of such scenarios.
In the above case I was equipped for social work (taking a trip to town) , took the garbage out prior to leaving and got jumped from the brush line.
NOTE that after that incident said brushline got pushed back another hundred feet and social work sidearms are personally restricted to city and social usage , a Bear DLP sidearm is utilised until a presence within the urban environment is achieved.
Another thing that folks do that is out and out stupid , if you're fishing and the bear comes along and wants your fishing spot and/or fish , *Give it the hell up* , there are more fish and more spots. And if you take a deer , caribou ,moose etc...............best have your head on a swivel while you're field dressing your game and a rifle AND sidearm to ready hand , this goes TEN times over if you're by yourself. And NO it's not a " myth" that in some locales these bears treat a gunshot as a call to dinner. Come to it , give up the damn deer , there are more and you really don't want the hassle and paperwork of the DLP scenario.
2damnold4this
New member
Sue killed a brown bear with an AR10 on the show.