Hey Don, haven't we plowed this ground before awhile back?

For starters, had I one caliber to hunt N. America, it'd be .30-06. That out of the way, I'm by no means a .243 hater. I've had better luck (and cleaner kills) on antelope and deer (both whitetail and mulies) with the .243 than I've had with my .30-06. Or, for that matter, my brother has with his .270. Ballistic arguments pro and con aside, might it be that I'm AWARE I'm hunting with a lighter caliber and more selective with the shots I DO take? And, as a result, those shots are more often KILLING shots than the sloppier ones I'll risk with a larger caliber?

The last elk I shot took a 300 grain .375 H&H through the heart and lungs and still ran almost 100 yards. I knew I shoulda got that .416 Remington or .458 WM!

They guy who invented/wildcated the 50 alaskan did so because he had been given 50 cal barrel He never felt undergunned with the 450 Alaskan. You may want to look at the 45 cal. Many more bullet weights to choose from. My brother and I both have a Model 71 in 450alaskan and this catridge can be loaded to a slightly higher than medium 458Win mag loads but in a lever action. This is a bear stopper and has the history to prove it and just like the 50 there are a few detached retinas to prove to everyone that these things kick.

hashing old thoughts here. When pressed to move the human heart pumps 6 to 8 times more blood than at rest if I recal correctly, also blood can clot much better if you are at rest thus stopping or slowing down the bleeding. Alabama did a study with 2 groups and around 600 shots I think. Group one wait 30 minutes after the shot. Group 2 go after deer immediatly. Group 2 found there deer closer and lost fewer. This is the only study I know of like this and the results are contrary to everything since Jack Oconner was writting. Indians never waited, African plains people do not wait. I know that there will be those me and cuz shot one and it got away cuz we did not wait. That is just it just one example or maybe even 5 not 300. Well maybe it was shot placement or a hundred other things but you will never know cuzzz because it got away. Just a thought for that have shot more than a few and have seen things that don't quite make sense and still have an open mind. Anyone know of any other studies that have been done like this?

Thanks for that information. Yes I had read something about that. It occurred back in the 60's if my memory is correct. I was hoping to get some more information as I have been trying to gather everything I can read about the 50 Alaskan for over a year now. I have been mulling this issue and understand that the porting, and the recoil pads reduce it to somewhere around the kick of a 12 Gauge shotgun. I am planning on having one of two custom guys make me a version of this fine gun. I truly wanted a bear stopper, so to speak but am going to hunt a few other species with it. It is going to be a custom job with all the bells and whistles in a lever action. So far there is only three drawbacks; one is as you stated. From what I know there is only about 4 different cartridges for this gun. Don't quote me exactly but I think there is a 400g, a 450g, a 500g, and a 525g bullet loaded from a couple of makers. There is also the reloading factor but I haven't gotten that far yet as far as research. Then there is all the ballistic data, which is what I am interested in right now, but sadly am having a ton of trouble finding. I can find some data from Nonnemanns web site about the testing done on energy, speed, and CUP but not much else. I am looking for everything else; from the TKO numbers, to the PBR, trajectory, etc. Sadly most everyone seems to be reloading this cartridge, and/or do not spend enough time with it to publish all the data on this cartridge. That was what I was hoping to find. The third drawback so far is the fact that I have not had the priviledge of comparing this to other rifles in it's classification to see if the difference is actually worth the price of having one custom made. Help me out here guys. What do you think? Should I spend the extra for a lever in this or just drop back to a 450 or 45-70 or something else in the 45 to 50 caliber range that does the job that the 50 Alaskan will, obviously be in a lever action, function within a MOA at a hundred yards, according to the data I have read, and anything else that I can't think of at the moment....Like most of you guys I don't have the change to drop 3 grand on a custom piece of work. I have been saving up for this and will more than likely be the only custom rifle I will ever invest in. It is something I have been wanting to do for a long, long time. Just up till now, I didn't know exactly what caliber I wanted it in.

or dont want to make an effort to learn to shoot.... the deadest deer i ever shoot was with the 243win.... if you take the time and mank an effort to use the right bullets and shoot it properly the 243 is as effective as any other round for deer the texas heart shot dont work for any caliber and is a very unethical way to shoot an animal.

Hummmmm! How dead was that deer?

I guess to each their own, but I usually like to shoot deer that are alive. I dunno, just think it is more challenging than shooting dead ones

there is an Alaska Forum I will try to find the web site they talk alot about the 50. There is definatly a fever about model 71's in 450 Alaskan and the 50. I had a job in AK where the bears outnumbered the people and I was going to be escorting people and expected to not just run away and leave the slow fat guy for lunch. A 45 cal seemed to be the best choice for me mostly due to the 5$ a bullet for the 50. I think they have come down. There is a company that makes a 458 Wild West I think thay call it which matches the 45AK in balistics but you can shoot 45-70 in it. This comes in a very small Marlin lever action package and even a scout scope on it muzzle brake recoil pad The whole nine yards. I think if I was to go back I would look at this rifle. As far as my 450AK I traded it in on a new canoe two rifles and a Nikon scope, hence the fever thing. I replaced the 450AK with a 45-70 for the simple reason that if you shoot a bear in self-defense he better be within 10 feet or have someone that has been chewed on any futher away than that you may be looking at jail time with a large fine. So a lighter 45-70 with some 405 grain solids would have done just as good as a 450AK. But in a lever there is none bigger than the 50AK just go shoot a full house load in a tshirt to see if ya realy want it.

Frankly, I would be a little hard pressed to say a smaller hole is better than a larger hole for killin'....
Then we can start throwing energy numbers out, bullet type, windy or not, sectional density, etc.....

This debate is as old as the hills, and twice as dusty, ha ha.
Just get 'er done.

dead as a door nail figure of speech, jk. but he dropped DRT, like he was pole axed!!!!