30-06 or 300 wsm for moose and elk

scott_r

scott_r

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If you had to choose between these 2 cals for moose/elk rifle would you go 30-06 or 300 wsm? I've shot both in the past but only for mulies and whitetail, I'm going for elk this fall and hoping to get drawn for moose. Recoil didn't bother me with the 300 wsm but am wondering if there really is any advantage to the 300 wsm. I do have a bunch of 300 wsm brass and hate to have to buy 30-06 brass but it is plentiful and cheap.

Cheers!!
 
scott_r said:
If you had to choose between these 2 cals for moose/elk rifle would you go 30-06 or 300 wsm? I've shot both in the past but only for mulies and whitetail, I'm going for elk this fall and hoping to get drawn for moose. Recoil didn't bother me with the 300 wsm but am wondering if there really is any advantage to the 300 wsm. I do have a bunch of 300 wsm brass and hate to have to buy 30-06 brass but it is plentiful and cheap.

Cheers!!
Click to expand...

Scott, It all boils down to how badly you think you need the extra 150-200 fps. If your shots will all be taken within 400 meters,
the 30-06 will work every bit as well as the 300 WSM.

If you might have to take a longer shot, then the 30 cal magnum will be a slightly better choice. In either case, choose a decent bullet.

regards, Dave.
 
With my reloads and the same 180 grain bullets, 30-06 2775 to 2800 fps, 300 wsm 2950 to 2980 fps. Can't go wrong with either. I like my 300 wsm but reloading and accuracy has been better in my 06. Best advice I have for what it's worth is which rifle fits you best. That would be more important to me that 150 fps. Just my small two bits!!
 
I chose the 300WSM over the 30-06. I shot a pile of moose in the past with the 06 when I lived in Sk but that was because I hunted both moose and WT at the same time. When I moved to MB and the seasons are now at different dates I bought the WSM for an elk -moose rifle. I never got to shoot a lot of moose with the WSM as we have no real huntable population within 6 hrs of me but I did take a couple before the closures. I have taken a few elk over the years with the WSM but I never shot one with the 06. I would also say rifle fit and bullet choice are more important than caliber in this case. I did however chose the 300 WSM for the couple buffalo hunts we got to go on after BSE hit and a local reserve opened their gates and released their heard. Farmers were having all kinds of trouble with them and NR wanted nothing to do with it as they were not game animals. I found if you shot them behind the ear or in the ribs with the WSM they died quite quickly and tasted quite well.
 
Scott..........you can never go wrong with an extra 150-200 fps as long as both rifles are equally accurate for the task. Your bullet arrives at the target with higher energy and a shorter time of flight giving Mother Nature (gravity and wind) less time to affect the bullets course. These are just the laws of physics. You also get greater bullet upset and impart more shock and potentially more organ damage to your target given the same bullet and same point of impact.
 
Whatever you can shoot better. Both are adequate. If you're going to push out to longer ranges, maybe the 300WSM is a better choice. My -06 pushes a 168TSX at 2970 fps and the 300WSM I had pushed a 165TSX to 3030 fps. I probably could have pushed the 300WSM faster but it was dead accurate. My -06 is very accurate. So, how much of a gain do I achieve with the WSM?
 
scott_r said:
If you had to choose between these 2 cals for moose/elk rifle would you go 30-06 or 300 wsm? I've shot both in the past but only for mulies and whitetail, I'm going for elk this fall and hoping to get drawn for moose. Recoil didn't bother me with the 300 wsm but am wondering if there really is any advantage to the 300 wsm. I do have a bunch of 300 wsm brass and hate to have to buy 30-06 brass but it is plentiful and cheap.

Cheers!!
Click to expand...

It sounds like you currently own neither but are looking to add one. I'd decide on the rifle first and base my chamberring on what it is available in. Now I'm sure some of the looneys here(myself included) have purchased rifles for the simple fact we had brass on hand for it.
 
I don't have any wsm experience but I've had some 30-06 experience and all of them have been favourable. Must be why I had 4 of them in the safe at one time.
 
I like the extra zip of the 300wsm for launching the 180s, but most moose hunting is in the thick stuff at close range. 30-06 is perfect for reasonable hunting ranges, even with a heavy bullet. Plus, the 30-06 is much easier to find on the shelf than is the 300wsm. Too many shooters have been convinced that the 30-06 is antiquated and incapable of killing moose and elk. It's a beautiful, do it all cartridge.

If you really wanted the magnum punch, my suggestion is to go straight to the 300winmag. Recoil is really not much different than a 30-06 with a hot load, it puts some velocity behind the heavier bullets, and ammo is easy to find.
 
The moose will never tell the difference;- and since you handload I think it will boil down to which rifle/caliber you shoot the best. Should you opt not to reload, the .30-06 is the way to go given the easy availability of factory ammo and broad choice of bullet weights.
 
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