I will primarily be hunting Reindeer and bear, but may eventually go for Moose and Ram.

Are you going to be moving or visiting?  They will both cause different issues.  Visiting and hunting bear is usually a no go, unless you want to spend a metric ton on a guide.  And the "reindeer" you are thinking of are just Caribou btw.  Tasty, tasty caribou

06 will do pretty much anything up here, provided you pick the right bullet for it.  IE 180 for moose and 220 for bear usually.  That said, its usually 50/50 with people running 06 or 300/338 wm.  Other thing to compare is how you hunt/terrain you will be hunting in.  If its a brush hunt/going for bear, personally, shorter and bigger caliber is the way to go.  I love the Ruger Alaskans in .375.  

I hunt from ridgetops more often then not, so a cannon isn't a necessity for me.  06 right now, but probably upgrading to a 300wsm at some point soon.  

Honestly, I'd pop into the AK HTF and ask the other guys, along with checking the Alaska outdoor forum.  Lot of answers, but it comes down to figuring it out yourself.  And thats coming from selling sporting goods in interior AK for nearly 10 years.

My calibers of choice for Alaska -  smallest to largest

.30-06
7mm rem mag
300 win mag. - personal favorite
338 win mag
375 H&H


Brands priced cheapest to expensive
Rugar American
Savage Axis
Remington m700 sps
Savage accustock/accutrigger models ( 11/111 long range hunter will be my next gun)
Remington  m700 cdl/bdl
Tika rifles
Blauser rifles

Scopes I would trust
Vortex
Nikon
Leupold
Some*  Bushnell models


Personally for that budget  I would buy:

Savage 11/111 long range hunter in 300  win mag and put a vortex mid range optic on it. 200 and 220 gr hand loads will knock  anything down bar none.

If you're worried about size go 375 h&h. Just be prepared for too much damage on smaller critters.

My gun right now is:
M700 bdl in 300 win mag  with a Nikon monarch 2.5x10-44. Older model m700. With 200 gr nosler partition hand loads I can get sub moa. Also pushing them with 80gr of h1000 at nearly 2900fps.

I have lived up here for two years and successfully harvested a caribou this fall.  I have tried moose and bear hunting, but have not been successful.  It seems most of the locals here in the interior make due just fine a the 30-06.  Personally I bought a 338 (killed the caribou with that rifle).  If I were to do it again, I would have went w a 30-06 or maybe a 300 win mag.  The 338 is simply too much gun.... Even for moose, unless you enjoy shooting the big boomers.  If I were you, I'd pick up a $500ish rifle in and put the rest of the money toward a Ziess Conquest scope.  Shoot the heaviest caliber you are comfortable with.

My "Fudd guns" are a browning BAR in .300 win mag, and a Remington 700...
The Browning BAR is a great gun, but doesn't meet your description. However, the barrel and overall quality of the firearm is excellent. If I were looking for another hunting gun I'd look at Browning.
The Remington is an SPS in .308. Very good trigger, accurate, action is meh. Way heavy to carry around.

I'd probably go with a Savage in .300 Win Mag If I were you. The more I shoot, the more value I place on a good trigger, and the accutrigger is supposed to be the best.

Leupold can't be beat as far as I'm concerned. I have a mark 4 4-14X for my long range rifles. They are excellent, and so is the TBR 1000 range finder that they make.

Best thing for you to do is compare them yourself, and go with your gut.

SS Winchester with the nicest scope you can buy on top of it. You'd have to be a fool to buy a Remongton over a Winchester right now.

I'm pretty close to one of the posters above, I'd get a Savage in 300winmag and since you have the $$$ top it off with a Zeiss.

tikka t3 lite stainless.

2x8 or thereabouts for the scope.

30-06 or 300 win mag

My partner has hunted quite a few times in Alaska, he brings 2 rifles:
Rem. 700 in 7mm Magnum with a Leupold 3.5-10x40 AO scope.
Sako in 375 with the same scope.

Take a look at Weatherby Vanguards.  They are high quality rifles.  I have one in .257 Wby and love it.  I'd grab one in .300 Win, .300 Wby, .338 Win or .340 Wby for around $850 and never look back.



Of the scopes listed, my .300 H&H shot a Burris apart.  Never had the same problem with my Leupold.

My meat guns are Ruger 77's in 30-06 and 338 Win. I trust them in foul weather more than any other rifle period. They are affordable and robust.

I bought the stainless Ruger .338 win.  I beat it to death chasing the 40 mile caribou herd this year.  It went bang when I needed it to and placed those 225 grain slugs where I wanted them, even after bouncing across the tundra for a few days.  And it gave me a very nice scope brow to boot.

I live along the upper Yukon, 4 miles from Canadian Border.  We mostly hunt with ARs of late, Acog red dot/horse shoe on every one of them 4-32, 3.5x35.  Often moose don't move until after dark, like 10:30. You see the moose, them white horns, but can't see cross hairs. You need an illuminated scope; why I like acogs.  We have .556s we never use anymore, 6.8 stags, 338 fed Armalite, and I got a 308 Scar last year.  We killed a bunch of caribou, couple blk bear and my nephew got a grizzly bear with the 308 this season.  Most shots are under 200 yards, but for my longer shots I use a 7 mag & 30-378 and have 4-12's leupolds on those guns, illuminated. I have a bunch of guns that never leave the vault too.  You don't need 458 win mags on bear, you need to make good shots.  My kids have shot 15-20 blk bear with our 6.8s, they collapse in 20 yards and let out their bawl.  Moose go down easy if you hit the pie plate size kill zone and if you can't hit that at 400 yards, what are you doing in the woods anyway? I don't even like using the 7 mag on caribou anymore, too much gun.  No joke, if you live here, get one of those new S&W MP-10s in 308, put a good 4 power scope on it and got get some fresh meat.

My LGS has Savage 300 Win Mag rifles with scope and accutrigger for 500 out the door.  But I bought a Browning Stainless Stalker in 300 Win Mag instead.

If I was going to Alaska I would have a few calibers in mind:

.338 Win Mag - .338 very popular,  relatively flat shooting, common in Alaska

9.3x62 - one of the most popular med/lg bore calibers in the world, gaining popularity in the US, less recoil than a .338WM - like a firm 06, heavier bullet- more penetration, non mag - can carry +1 extra rd compared to .338

375 h&h- overall the caliber that can do it all. The most recoil out of all 3, can take it anywhere in the world and hunt anything, people often have wrote if you had ONE hunting rifle it should be .375 for hunting across the world. Not pleasant to shoot off a bench.

I like that list of calibers.

This seems like one of those long dead resurrected threads.  The OP was something like four months ago.  People are back in it, so I'll chime in,

I wanted a new rifle for caribou and deer.  It will also be used on eastern Canada moose, potentially elk as well.  I absolutely love 7mm calibers and they work wonderfully.  A 7mm Rem Mag or a 280 AI would work quite well on all of those.  However, I wanted a little more bullet diameter and weight for those moose.  I've opted for 30-06.  With modern bullet designs just about every caliber has increased its lethality.  I've owned Magnums, included 7mm Rem and 350, but just don't see the need.  In addition I wanted a lighter weight rifle  A belted magnum in a light weight rifle usually isn't pleasant to shoot.

Picking a rifle isn't easy today.  Many of our traditional quality names have gone to shit.  20 years ago the answer was simple.  Go buy a Remington 700 in whatever model suited.  That advice doesn't hold today,  Remington has been bought out, and new management is running it into the ground.  New rifle build quality is compete SHIT.   The accountants running the factory are cutting corners everywhere possible. DO not buy a new rem.  Savage makes an accurate rifle but it's clunky and the bolt binds.

I opted for a Weatherby Vanguard Series 2, Backcountry.  These new vanguards are dramatically improved over the old vanguards.  I am quite impressed with the rifle.  It's build quality is a fair bit higher that most of the production rifles out there.  The new series two has a wonderful trigger!  And the barrel looks very much like it was fully and properly lapped and honed before hammer forging:  there are NO machining marks, which is something I cannot say of most rifles out there today.  Barrel is fluted heavily enough for real weight reduction, yet its still a full 24" for good velocities.  The stock design is very very good -  its comfortable and handles recoil well. The Backcountry weighs about 6.25 lbs.  Not a fly weight,, but certainly noticeably easier to haul around than a 7.5 rifle. Light enough to carry, heavy enough to handle recoil and to shoot well.  

Not my pic.  But the rifle looks as good as it shoots.


Scope:  I opted for a Leupold VX3 2.5-8X.  There is little point in buying a light rifle and then sticking a 22 ounce scope on it.  The little leupold is light (12 ounces), and really works well at all reasonable ranges (0-300 yards).  Wide enough field of view for close in brush work, but plenty of zoom for longer shots.  This scope does have one issue:  The straight tube portions for mounting is short.  A little over 5".  When mounting on a long action rifle Warne one piece bases and rings work well.  Other systems place the rings too far apart for this particular scope.  With the rifle, base, rings and this scope, the package comes in at about 7.25 lbs total.  It's noticeably light and handy, but recoil is managed very well.  Overall I am quite pleased with the package.

The weatherby ($1100) and this scope ($400) will run almost exactly 1500.  Add another 100 for bases/rings.  The regular vanilla Vanguard and this same scope with bases can be had  for right at $1000 total.  

As for ammo:  Match the bullet to the game.  The use of premium bonded bullets on deer is a mistake.  I like those explosive DRT kills, and I don't need a magnum to get them.  I use a Nosler 165 Ballistic Tip.  Boom-flop.  Everything bigger and heavier gets a Nosler Partition or an Accubond.  I don't have grizzlies to worry about here, so its not an  issue.  If they are a concern, then 200 Partitions are in order.

Light weight.  Great handling.  Great shooting.  Power enough to flatten anything, but no excess recoil.  What's not to like?

Fro

I hope to take this combo to Alaska one day.  CZ 550 American chambered in 9.3x62 with Talley rings and a Leupold 3x20.

mmm I have thought long and hard about buying that exact rifle. 550 american in 9.3x62. Seems like everytime I see a 550 I debate for a minute "which 550 : the american or the full stock?"

nice rifle

I hunt for meat, not trophies.  With that said I stayed hunting with an 06 and 45/70 when I moved up here.  They work, and you can usually find ammo for them, however they trend to destroy more meat than I feel is necessary. This fall I plan to use my 6.8.  Moose die easy if you're patient ( very low pulse rate so they take a min or two to die).  Just remember, everything you plan to hunt up here has been killed with an arrow and spear. You don't need a 458 Super Nitro Express Space Nuclear Mag to kill stuff.  They're are still more 30-30s being used up here than everything else.

My weatherby is an awesome gun, shoots excellent groups and priced well. Mine is also in 257wby, a 90gr bullet going 3600fps is my preferred coyote medication.

CZ 550 American in 9.3 x 62   $990
Leupold 2.5-8 x 39                  $400

Will handle any animal in North America, including the largest bears. Not a magnum so it won't beat you up. When I bought mine a few years ago, good Prvi Partisan ammo was available from Graf & Sons for slightly more than $20/ box. I can make brass from .30-06 shells if need be, simply by running them though a sizing die. It doesn't eat magnum loads of powder either, so a pound goes further.

nm

9.3x62 has a larger base than 30-06 and you'd need to fireform it to move the shoulder forward. All in all it's a bad choice.

Personally if it were me, and I couldn't just grab a gun out of my safe currently, I buy a Tikka stainless in 300 Win Mag and then look on ebay for a nice used Kahles scope in the 2.2-9 or 3-12 range. That would cover all of Alaska's big game.

If you bring a 9.3x62 bring your ammo and hope it doesn't get lost.
My abolt 300wm is fine. 3x9
Moose go down pretty easy, if a moose had a heart like whitetail you'd need a 20MM.
CARRY a big pistol, my 460sw works there.

Lots of 9.3s in Alaska lately, and more every year. It's hell on moose.