30-06 enough for moose?

Detective_Special

Detective_Special

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My friend has a nice shooting Browning BAR in 3006 that he uses for deer and moose hunting. He wants to buy a bolt action Tikka or X-bolt in 300WSM or Win 300 Mag, and asked me what I think. I checked the ballistics between the 30 06, 300WSM and 300 Win Mag and found the 30 06 about 300fps slower than the other two, all with the same bullet weight. I'm not a serious hunter, having only hunted a handful of times so I want to give him the right advice. But I told him that I think his 30 06 is enough for moose with the right bullet and changing his rifle because of caliber may not be worth it, unless he just wants a bolt action. Am I correct in what I'm telling him? Thanks to all
 
30-06 is more than enough for moose. Some people like to go with the magnum cartridges if they are expecting to take longer shots over 200m. Within 200m you prolly wouldnt be doing yourself any favors. 30-06 is prolly considered to be one of the best cartridges for anything in N.A. Lots of guys like to have a magnum cartridge just cuz they can. 300 win mag is becoming the caliber of choice for moose from what I have seen.
 
Silly question. A 30-06 is God's right hand. It will smite any beast. You just need to help God out a bit and shoot well.
 
There's no game in North America that a .30-06 won't kill. Big bears included. Magnum use is about years and years of gun rag writers promoting 'em and marketing.
"...longer shots over 200m..." 200 meters is nothing to a .30-06. The bullet isn't stabalized yet.
Tell your buddy he should try and shoot a magnum before he buys one. There is a significant increase in felt recoil.
 
I would bet nickels to doughnuts that more moose were taken, cleanly, in the 20th century with...and in this order...30.30 Win., .303 Brit, and 30.06 Springfield than all others combined.

Indeed, I've often read that in Africa more elephants were killed over the last century with the .303 Brit and 7x57 Swede than any others.

We are all, to a great extent most of us wouldn't want to admit or would probably deny, more or less suckers for marketing and hype.

Lots of Inuit to this day still use .303s or .223s on everything from polar bears on down.

Shot placement trumps every other consideration, every time.

30.06 is still the most widely used caliber for good reason, 'cause it works well on pretty much anything one would want to hunt in N. America, and is still hugely popular in both Europe and Africa.
 
Go with the magnum. Real men shoot magnums and magnums kills game deader from any angle or distance. I read that in a shooting magazine once or twice.
:p

Seriously, 30/06 + 180gr bullet = dead moose.
 
Reminds me of a funny story when I was about 5-6 years old living in a small town in Northern Ontario. We lived about 3 doors down from the hospital. So one day I'm goofing off outside and this tow truck pulls up to the hospital towing a FRAME from a VW bug. This french Cdn. guy gets out of passenger side of tow truck with bruises and minor cuts (luckily no worse).
I ask him what the heck happened to his car? In very broken english he says" I hit a mouse with my bug"!. I ask, "you hit a mouse? How could a mouse do that"? Then I realized he was trying to say MOOSE.
Lucky bugger I tell ya. I mean him, not the car.

So yes, a 30-06 will kill a moose easily.

600
 
An increase of a couple of hundred feet per second with any given bullet flattens trajectory but does not increase terminal performance on game in any meaningful way. If you need more, go bigger, not necessarily faster, but as previouisly said the .30/06 will kill moose dead.
 
To kill that moose with a 30-06 all it takes is two things.
1) A Moose with in range
2) Your buddies ability to hit said moose in the vitals with said gun.
And the BAR in 30:06 is more than acceptable.
but, if he wants to buy a new gun then nothing will deter him from that quest ;)
Of course there is a plethora of expensive bullets and less expensive bullits available to aid in the job as well.
My Wby Vangaurd liked 165grn. corelocls from Remington , but truth be told never did see a bull moose that I was able to shoot due to never seeing a legal immature here in BC.
Tight Groups.
Rob
 
Speaking of moose, true story...

'Bout ten years back around mid winter, while working at a car dealership, a tow truck showed up on the lot with a Chevy half ton on the hook. Front end all smashed up. Got to chatting with the tow truck driver...

Just hauled it in from way back up in the woods off a logging road. Apparently a couple guys came around the corner to find a big bull moose standing in the road. With lots of snow banked up on each side, the moose turned and trotted down the road in front of them...so, yes, they thought it would be funny to put a bit of a run on it.

I guess the moose was not similarly amused.

Suddenly it slammed on the brakes, and turned on them. The bull proceeded to hang some whup-ass on the front end of their pick up!

Pretty impressive damage done!

Some people's kids, eh?
 
Boomer said:
An increase of a couple of hundred feet per second with any given bullet flattens trajectory but does not increase terminal performance on game in any meaningful way. If you need more, go bigger, not necessarily faster, but as previouisly said the .30/06 will kill moose dead.
Click to expand...

Bingo!

To paraphrase Townsend Whelen, the .30-06 is never a mistake for North American game.
 
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