Best moose rifle for 300 plus yards
- Thread starter Leclairron
- Start date
ATRS Shaun
Business Member Rep.
- Location
- Calgary, AB
14.5x114. the only reasonable option really.
a 400 yd shot is fairly easy if it is a broad side shot with any 4-10 power scope if sited in to hit 3" high at 100 yds 180 gr bullet put the cross hairs on its back maybe a 1" or 2 of daylight and your are in the heart and lungs
A figure 12 target is about 17” wide and 21 inches high … thats about the vital area of an average Ontario moose …. The figure 11 target is about 17” wide and about 43” high .. so actually twice as high as the 12 target
I have seen self described ‘experienced hunters’ routinely miss a figure 11 target when shooting from the prone position on a manicured shooting range with scope and sandbag rests at a known 300 yds for which the rifle was pre-zero’d.
Now move that target to (a proper) 400 yds in a field expedient situation where the range might not be exact, the rest for the rifle was not ideal, the time was ticking away and rushing the shooter, the target was partially obscured and probably moving and the shooter was a little excited in addition to being cold/wet/hungry etc etc etc. and dealing with what is likely the only shot he/she will get for the 7 days of hunting.
My money is on the moose or an injured animal that finds the nearest thicket or swamp to expire in.
If you are extremely lucky and actually draw a moose in Ontario … thats not a favourable outcome
I have seen self described ‘experienced hunters’ routinely miss a figure 11 target when shooting from the prone position on a manicured shooting range with scope and sandbag rests at a known 300 yds for which the rifle was pre-zero’d.
Now move that target to (a proper) 400 yds in a field expedient situation where the range might not be exact, the rest for the rifle was not ideal, the time was ticking away and rushing the shooter, the target was partially obscured and probably moving and the shooter was a little excited in addition to being cold/wet/hungry etc etc etc. and dealing with what is likely the only shot he/she will get for the 7 days of hunting.
My money is on the moose or an injured animal that finds the nearest thicket or swamp to expire in.
If you are extremely lucky and actually draw a moose in Ontario … thats not a favourable outcome
Yep, even 300yds with a solid rest & lots of practice is a dam hard shot, & besides as pointed out above a hit at 300 & maybe another couple hundred before he's down is a long afternoons worth of work, even if you can cut a way in for an atv. Course there's always the chance which in my case is more the norm, is they tend to go down hill into the nastiest knee deep muck imaginable to man!
Downstream in the creek and expire on a beaverdam. Sigh. - dan
There is a guy and his wife up here that like to shoot them between 600 and 850 yards…. Big heavy rifles on tripods, I’ve seen the videos, it is impressive but to me it ain’t hunting and I can’t see my self getting rigged up with that kind of firearms and the rest that goes with it, scopes and Argos cause you need them to retrieve those moose where they shoot them.
I’m happy with my 30-06 and 9.3x62 inside 300m hunting with my canoe and with a rifle I like to carry, sub 9lbs all in!
I’m happy with my 30-06 and 9.3x62 inside 300m hunting with my canoe and with a rifle I like to carry, sub 9lbs all in!
It's a lot easier to pick a 300 yard moose cartridge if the shooter can actually accurately shoot at 300 yards.
Taking that for granted, on the average darned near any bigger cased cartridge with a well constructed bullet will do , and some of the 308 based cases as well.
Cat
Taking that for granted, on the average darned near any bigger cased cartridge with a well constructed bullet will do , and some of the 308 based cases as well.
Cat
Average Joe in a true hunting situation can't do that.
The average Joe doesn’t know what 300-400 yards looks like, he doesn’t even know what he is shooting for bullets lol… me: what do you shoot? Average joe: 300… me: 300 what? AJ: tikka. Me:
what bullet do you use? AJ: 300…. Me: never mind.Well at least it's up on the dam high & dry
Half in, half out of the water. - danWell at least it's up on the dam high & dry
LOL...... and if there is ice ... you will definitely break through with the weight of the moose.... and that's when you discover there is another 2-3 feet of 'loon shxt' under the water .... lots and lots of fun!!!!
Suddenly sitting around the fireplace at home with a cup of coffee and imagining those 400yd shots is a distant fantasy when your fingers start to go numb while trying to get that big bxstard out of the ice cold water and on to some level spot where you can start to gut it.
my biggest moose body wise(700+ lbs of dressed meat, no bones no hide no head) I crossed the river in front of me and I thought as soon as he step into the eddy I will put one in and then he will walk a dozen steps to dry land and be done…. Well he fell right where I hit him, not one step he went right down. We tried to winch it to shore, no go, zdrag and all. We found out quickly it was gonna be a long cold night since we were in the water about an inch or so above the top of our boots…. Anyway since then I always have chest waders with me.
I'm not a long range shooter, but 300yd is easy off a front bag for me to smack a pop can with factory ammo and a 4-12 hunting optic. I still wouldn't shoot at an animal any beyond that unless society was over and I was going to die without the meat. It's not ethical, but figuratively I would choose the .300 Bee.
