What moose cartridge?

Ill definitely be getting a light weight rifle for hunting in the future. I just finished school so money's a little tight and I can only afford to buy one rifle before the season.
 
grit said:
The 308 will work fine , good shot placement and you will enjoy a freezer full of moose.Id keep the ranges sensible same as any caliber ... If you have to take a 500 yd shot there might be better tools but if you need to shoot a moose at 500yds your missing the best part of moose hunting .. The stalk.
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The average hunter could not hit a barn door at 500 yards.
 
DES0LAT0R said:
Ill definitely be getting a light weight rifle for hunting in the future. I just finished school so money's a little tight and I can only afford to buy one rifle before the season.
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I'd buy the hunting rifle first. Target later. You can always shoot targets with a hunting rifle.
 
Most everyone knows the difference between the 3 cartridges you mention. "Better" is in the opinion of the user. If a 308 kills a moose at 200 yards, does the 300 kill it "better"?

The Outsider said:
.308, 30-06 and 300 WM will shoot the same 30 cal bullet, to certain degrees.

the kinetic energy that creates knockdown power is based on velocity and weight of the bullet,

given that all 3 cartridges shoot the same bullet to different velocities, they should perform the same way at different ranges, more or less.

The 30-06 is about 200 fps faster than .308, and 300 WM is about 200 fps faster than 30-06.
They all loose about 200 fps velocity every 100 yards.

So what the 308 does at 100 yrds, the 30-06 does at 200 yrds, and the 300 wm does at 300 yrds.

Basically each step up in cartridge gives you another 100 yards of effective range.

If your moose hunt takes place in dense woods at close range,you probably won't need the longer range capability,
so it all depends on the situation.

For me though, I'd prefer not to limit myself.
Where I hunt, I'm more comfortable taking my '06 or my 300 WM, loaded up with a premium 180 - 200 grain bullet.
I don't want an animal running away after it's been hit.

For moose, I use a "heavy for caliber" bullet, preferably a bonded core or copper bullet.

If you're comfortable hunting moose with your .308, and you can put the bullet where it counts, good luck.

I know of an "old timer" who has shot dozens of moose with a 300 Savage, and who knows how many have been killed with 30-30's.

Then again, some guys swear by the 7 MM or even the 338......
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nowarningshot said:
Any number of.calibers .....say 6.5 and above.

I could frame the shop with my wife's tiny hammer. I will stick to a.framing hammer. Use the right.tool. 300 wm, coincidentally also a popular target caliber.
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I can't help but feel like your analogy is a bit off. In my eyes, the 308, 3006 and 300wm are all framing hammers, they are just different weights (ie 18oz, 20oz, 24oz). They all do the job, just certain people prefer one over the other. I swung a 24oz steel hammer for a while, but my titanium hammer is only 16 or 18oz and drives nails better with less fatigue on my part. Bigger isn't always better.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with a 300wm if you can shoot it accurately though.
 
My grandfather shot 50 moose with his 30-30. Only one required a second shot. Those were northern BC moose. Full-sized.

He was a good shot and preferred a head shot.

I have used 6.5x55, 7x57, 308, 303 Brit and 35 Whelan. All but one were one shot kills. The exception was a shot just after I had taken a tumble and knocked the front sight off the rifle.

308 with a 180 gr bullet would be excellent for putting down a moose. I think one of the reasons it gets good results is that it does not kick too hard, which promotes better shooting.

Clean kills are 95% hitting the boiler room withe the first shot and 5% the caliber.

Practice your shooting from the standing position.
 
nowarningshot said:
Any number of.calibers .....say 6.5 and above.

I could frame the shop with my wife's tiny hammer. I will stick to a.framing hammer. Use the right.tool. 300 wm, coincidentally also a popular target caliber.
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I guess that someone should have informed generations of hunters who killed moose with the .30-06 that they were seriously under-gunned. :rolleyes:
 
shootist1876 said:
I guess that someone should have informed generations of hunters who killed moose with the .30-06 that they were seriously under-gunned. :rolleyes:
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I know this is ancient history, but my grandfather told ne he was happy as hell when he swapped his old Snyder for a Henry brass-framed 44-40 - a much better moose gun. Then, he swapped that (an original, in pretty good shape according to my Dad) for an Enfield worth all of $9.99. I guess to him, the value of a gun was in what it could put on the table.

How many moose hunters, other than in the tundra/muskeg, regularly take shots at moose over 200 yards?
 
Papaclaude said:
I know this is ancient history, but my grandfather told ne he was happy as hell when he swapped his old Snyder for a Henry brass-framed 44-40 - a much better moose gun. Then, he swapped that (an original, in pretty good shape according to my Dad) for an Enfield worth all of $9.99. I guess to him, the value of a gun was in what it could put on the table.

How many moose hunters, other than in the tundra/muskeg, regularly take shots at moose over 200 yards?
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How many hunters take anything regularly at over 200 yards?
 
I know a very nice senior lady who is 95 now who killed moose with a a Marlin Glenfield 30-30.
 
Papaclaude said:
I know this is ancient history, but my grandfather told ne he was happy as hell when he swapped his old Snyder for a Henry brass-framed 44-40 - a much better moose gun. Then, he swapped that (an original, in pretty good shape according to my Dad) for an Enfield worth all of $9.99. I guess to him, the value of a gun was in what it could put on the table.

How many moose hunters, other than in the tundra/muskeg, regularly take shots at moose over 200 yards?
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I agree with your take on the 200 yd range. For me over the years, there have been VERY few occasions when I've taken shots at game over 200 yds. Three times only that I can recall.
The first centre fire rifle I ever shot was an old Marlin 1894 in 44-40. I got it recently when the relative/family member passed away. Apparently it it did the job very effectively on a number of Moose, Deer and Black Bear.



My first big game rifle was a Simpon-Sears 'special' sporterized Lee Enfield in 303Br. It proved itself more than adequate on my first few Moose.



A present day favorite of mine today for Moose, where a bit of distance is very likely is a model 65DL Schultz & Larsen in 308 Norma Mag.



And, where the ranges would be closer, my Winchester model 71 could quite likely 'get the call'.

 
A cartridge that is common in every store in Moose country because I have been with a few guys who forgot to pack their ammo. Remember the toilet paper, but hell not the ammo.

.308 is great along with the .270, 30-06 and lastly the .300WM which is great for long range and kicks like a horse. My preference is the .270 and .308
 
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