hey guys i am very new to hunting and am planning on going with an experienced hunter, can i take my mosin nagant with 200gr sp bullets? i am only planning on taking a shot from 100-150 yards but i was on chuck hawks website and he is saying .308 and 30-06 is bare miniumum and recomending big cannons. i was condifent i had it figured out until i read his article, is there anyone out there with real world experience? should i go with a mosin? or do i have to buy have to buy an anti aircraft gun
200 grain sp for moose
- Thread starter olympia
- Start date
dgradinaru
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- British Columbia
The mosin 7.62x54R will do the job perfectly. As long as your rifle is sighted in properly with the heavy bullets. 200Gr bullets are perfect for moose. Will a good shot you will drop a moose any time.
If weak 170gr Winchester 8MM Mauser 2350ft/s factory ammo took down my moose easily, the 7.62x54 2500ft/s Ammo will do better.
If weak 170gr Winchester 8MM Mauser 2350ft/s factory ammo took down my moose easily, the 7.62x54 2500ft/s Ammo will do better.
- Location
- Chilliwack,BC
I have a friend who took a large bull moose with .270 Winchester using a 130 grain bullet. Dropped it in its tracks.
The Mosin (203 grain) will do the job just
make sure you practice your shots from 50-150 at the range.
The Mosin (203 grain) will do the job just
make sure you practice your shots from 50-150 at the range.
NorthCoastBigBore
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Northwest BC (Rural) 103-I-##
You don't need a cannon to kill a moose. .303 British and .30-06 (180 grain) were the standard for moose not so long ago, anything larger was rare in my neck of the woods. Both calibers are ample for moose and no hesitation whatsoever on using anything comparable - .270 is also a useable moose gun, albeit a little less popular. A lot of trappers used (and still use) .30-30's even .32 Win Specials, that's close range/in the brush...not for someone who can't place a shot or get close though (probably unethical otherwise).
Nowadays everyone and his dog is buying magnums, maybe the shots are farther I dunno but you're Mosin Nagant will definitely do the job. Only my 0.02, lots of folks are quite strongly opinionated on the subject...
Nowadays everyone and his dog is buying magnums, maybe the shots are farther I dunno but you're Mosin Nagant will definitely do the job. Only my 0.02, lots of folks are quite strongly opinionated on the subject...
Take anything Chuck Hawks says with a large grain of salt. Like NorthCoastBigBore said, the 30/06 is more than capable of killing any moose. In my area 50 or 60 years ago the .30/06 was considered much to powerful to be used on whitetail deer but was deemed to be a real good moose gun. Seems like we have gradually gone power mad and now the .30/30 is considered by many to be a marginal deer cartridge. That one is really funny!!
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
The 7.62X54R has the same powder capacity as the .30/06 so is ballistically quite similar and the Mosen action is plenty strong enough to handle that cartridge's potential. Any bullet weight from 165 gr and up will do for moose, but bullets lighter than 200 grs might be easier to find if you want to use .310s. Although I didn't own one very long, I shot it quite a bit for a year or so, and could never get my .308 bullets to shoot with the factory .310s, ymmv.
Republic of Alberta
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- ,location, location
As long as your 200g bullets are soft point expanding bullets and your gun is hitting where you are aiming there will be absolutly no problems in taking a moose. Just hit it square in the lungs and you are laughing.
thanks guys, your comments are appreciated. when i first got into shooting 10 months ago i thought i was gonna be dealing with a bunch of rednecks at the range and online who would snicker and sneer at the sight of a newbie...boy was i wrong, some of the nicest people i have met has been at the gun range, complete strangers would offer to let me take a shot from their gun and thats how i ended up with a mosin, some old guy i was talking to out of the blue just said "wanna try a shot?" i hit the 200 metre gong first shot with open sights and i was instantly sold
gunrunner100
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- NW Ontario
Seems Chuck is believing his own press releases...
I shot moose for years with 270 Winchester handloads. Never an issue.
I shot moose for years with 270 Winchester handloads. Never an issue.
my father believes that he shot 4 moose over the years with a .30-30. Of course, no else believes that and the meat we all ate during those years was simply a case of mass-hysteria, brought on by the absolute lack of meat in our household.
As I read this thread I was thinking about the many hundreds (probably thousands) of moose that have been taken with the 30-30. In close, with good shot placement it is more than adequate. Moose are not tough animals to kill at all, any decent .30 cal rifle with a proper bullet and correct shot placement will do the job just fine.
I think people have just lost the patience to do it right and work to get a good shot at less than artillery range. They think that the latest super whizzy wonder magnum will do all the work for them with no effort on their part.
+1. The ones I have seen tend to be very complacent and relaxed about their environment. Even the ones that run away do it at a slow trot at most.
I have not hunted a huge amount, but in 3 seasons have only shot one deer (out of 5 total) at significantly more than 100yds and I am hunting in eastern Alberta on mostly open farmland with small patches of bush. The moose I have seen could all have been taken at far less than 100yds (some as close as 10yds), again in open farmland. In heavier bush that should be the norm.
Practice shooting field positions at your expected ranges to be certain of making a good shot. I like to use an 8" paper plate at 100yds as a baseline for the vital zone. Expect a less than perfect shot in the field and know where to aim to hit the vitals from various locations and angles including a broadside shot, front quartering, rear quartering and head on.
Mark
Moose aren't particularily hard to kill, and your Mosin is fine.
Recomending cartridges would be simple if everyone's situation was exactly the same. The guy who hunts close to home for the price of a $30 tag, has the whole season to play, is happy with any legal moose within his comfortable range could be well served with a 30-30 like my dad used for all his hunting.
On the other hand, the guy who spends 10s of thousands trying for the biggest moose he can find in the Yukon or Alaska or nothing, is hunting in grizzly country, in an unknown area where his shots might be at 50 or 500 yards is in a completely different situation. He'd have to have rocks in his head to take dad's 30-30.
Recomending cartridges would be simple if everyone's situation was exactly the same. The guy who hunts close to home for the price of a $30 tag, has the whole season to play, is happy with any legal moose within his comfortable range could be well served with a 30-30 like my dad used for all his hunting.
On the other hand, the guy who spends 10s of thousands trying for the biggest moose he can find in the Yukon or Alaska or nothing, is hunting in grizzly country, in an unknown area where his shots might be at 50 or 500 yards is in a completely different situation. He'd have to have rocks in his head to take dad's 30-30.
i think chuck hawks is a bit of a goof most of the time. 200 grain .311 bullet put deep enough through the lungs of anything is gonna make it very dead. Also that 7.62x54r is close enough to a 30-06. Cartridges are often compared by velocity ect. but if you cronograph loads you'll see that in some loads the max Deviation in velocity maybe the same as the difference in listed velocitys of the factory loads. This isn't always the case by any means but in a bad load it can happen
- Location
- Yellowknife, NWT
I actually read Chuck's stuff, most of which is quite sensible. The OP has omitted a whole bunch of info in his post; check out what Chuck recommends in reality.
I think it might be wise to divide moose cartridges into three categories as follows:
1. All-around cartridges that, although more powerful than strictly necessary for medium size game like deer, are often used on them as well as for larger game like elk and moose. These are powerful general purpose cartridges and they have proven adequate for shooting moose at reasonable distances. While they are not necessarily perfect, they are the minimum recommended moose cartridges. This category includes such cartridges as the .264 Winchester Magnum, .270 Winchester, the .270 Magnums, .280 Remington, the 7mm Magnums, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .303 British and 8x57JS.
2. Short to medium range (100-200 yard) moose cartridges. These medium and big bore cartridges strike a solid blow as long as the range is not excessive. Examples are the .338 Marlin Express, .338 Federal, .338-06, .348 Winchester, .358 Winchester, .35 Whelen, .350 Rem. Magnum, 9.3x62mm, 9.3x74R, .405 Winchester, .444 Marlin, .450 Marlin and .45-70 Government.
3. Long range moose cartridges. These cartridges offer the power and trajectory for 200+ yard shots. These are good cartridges to consider if you are buying a rifle specifically for moose hunting and don't mind substantial recoil and muzzle blast. Their principle drawback is that most shooters do mind the recoil and muzzle blast and simply cannot do their best shooting with these cartridges. For relatively long range moose shooting, the list includes the various .300 Magnums, 8x68S, 8mm Rem. Magnum, the .338 Magnums, .358 Norma Magnum and 9.3x64. Most of the .375 Magnums could also be included in this category, but such powerful cartridges are simply not necessary.
Bullet placement is the most important factor in killing power.
Chuck goes on to say that one reason the all-around cartridges work so well is because so many hunters can shoot them well. And he also opines that in a perfect world where everyone could shoot big boomers well, .338 Mags might be even better....but we can't all shoot like that.
A Mosin is lots of moose rifle for your purposes for sure.
I think it might be wise to divide moose cartridges into three categories as follows:
1. All-around cartridges that, although more powerful than strictly necessary for medium size game like deer, are often used on them as well as for larger game like elk and moose. These are powerful general purpose cartridges and they have proven adequate for shooting moose at reasonable distances. While they are not necessarily perfect, they are the minimum recommended moose cartridges. This category includes such cartridges as the .264 Winchester Magnum, .270 Winchester, the .270 Magnums, .280 Remington, the 7mm Magnums, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .303 British and 8x57JS.
2. Short to medium range (100-200 yard) moose cartridges. These medium and big bore cartridges strike a solid blow as long as the range is not excessive. Examples are the .338 Marlin Express, .338 Federal, .338-06, .348 Winchester, .358 Winchester, .35 Whelen, .350 Rem. Magnum, 9.3x62mm, 9.3x74R, .405 Winchester, .444 Marlin, .450 Marlin and .45-70 Government.
3. Long range moose cartridges. These cartridges offer the power and trajectory for 200+ yard shots. These are good cartridges to consider if you are buying a rifle specifically for moose hunting and don't mind substantial recoil and muzzle blast. Their principle drawback is that most shooters do mind the recoil and muzzle blast and simply cannot do their best shooting with these cartridges. For relatively long range moose shooting, the list includes the various .300 Magnums, 8x68S, 8mm Rem. Magnum, the .338 Magnums, .358 Norma Magnum and 9.3x64. Most of the .375 Magnums could also be included in this category, but such powerful cartridges are simply not necessary.
Bullet placement is the most important factor in killing power.
Chuck goes on to say that one reason the all-around cartridges work so well is because so many hunters can shoot them well. And he also opines that in a perfect world where everyone could shoot big boomers well, .338 Mags might be even better....but we can't all shoot like that.
A Mosin is lots of moose rifle for your purposes for sure.
Anyone who thinks you need a cannon to kill a moose has certainly not shot many of them.
I have shot 8 or so with the 7x57, a couple with 6mm's [not ideal, but will work]
several with various 6.5mm's [6.5x55 works fine right out to 300 yards]
Many with the 30-06 with bullets from 150 gr to 200 gr.
4 at least with the 303 British.
Quite a few with the 300 Win Mag and with the 308 Norma Mag.
Your 7.62x54R will work just great on moose.
Put a bullet through the lungs, and you'll be enjoying moose steak!!
Regards, Eagleye.
I have shot 8 or so with the 7x57, a couple with 6mm's [not ideal, but will work]
several with various 6.5mm's [6.5x55 works fine right out to 300 yards]
Many with the 30-06 with bullets from 150 gr to 200 gr.
4 at least with the 303 British.
Quite a few with the 300 Win Mag and with the 308 Norma Mag.
Your 7.62x54R will work just great on moose.
Put a bullet through the lungs, and you'll be enjoying moose steak!!
Regards, Eagleye.
Northman999
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Yukon
Good logic here.
And of course, a mosin with 200 gr SP bullets is just fine for moose. Throw a scope on it and I'd shoot a moose with it at 300 yards any day of the week.
