Is a .308 capable of taking big game in my area?

[Bookworm]

308 will take ANYTHING on the North American continent with proper shot placement. One of the best hunting cartridges in the world.

 

[Diablo7101]

I've killed 8 so far with mine here in BC, and the moose we hunt are quite a bit larger than your eastern moose.

 

[archerynut]

using it for whitetail and moose is a .308 capable of dropping a moose out here?

don't listen to all these guys. you would have a better chance chucking a large rock and killing a moose than using a .308

 

[jethunter]

I wonder how many people offering advice here have actually shot a moose in their lifetime? Probably a lot less than the number of people offering advice on it, I'd bet.

If you are going to spend much time on CGN you'll have to learn that half the replies you get to any question are from smart-a$$ trolls; 40% of are from "internet experts" - people who learned everything they know by reading about it on a forum; and 10% might actually have real-world experience on the question you asked.

Yes, a .308 will do for moose just fine. Even for those monster-sized eastern moose.

 

[ciphery]

No, the 308 can not kill modern moose. That's what ultra-mags are for.

I thought that's why they brought out the 338 series of cartridges.....to combat the modern moose who wear kevlar under coats.


Seriously though 308win is quite adequate for any big game in north America,at appropriate distances.
I personally think that a 308 on a moose at 150 is a better gamble than a 300RUM or 338lap at 400+yds...a lot can happen between here and there. If you have trained to make those kinds of shots than fine to each their own.

 

[steveb67]

Okay I was just checking as I have had some people tell me that it's just capable but not suitable for it. I always liked it as a caliber so I thought I would go with it instead of 30-06 My grandfather has told me plenty of stories about moose and his 30-30.

I would go with the 30-06. 308 is a great round, but 30-06 is just a bit better, (IMHO) with a wider variety of rounds. I own a Rem 7600 carbine (30-06) and hunt everything with it, from yotes to moose. Ammo is good, plentyful, and cheap.

 

[great white]

excellent choice use 180 grn bullet for moose

 

[phinton81]

This moose tripped and fell, but I used my 308 to finish it off!

 

[Ghost65]

I`m thinking that the 308 win is the most underestimated cartridges out there. It is in my opinion one of the most accurate cartridges ever developed

I agree

 

[house of beers]

308 is totally inadequite, 20mm cannon or better yet 75mm howitzer at no more than 50yrds

 

[kayaker1]

I have also found it extremely easy easy to reload accurate ammo for. It does well with a wide range of powders and I have never loaded any .308 ammo that was 'terrible' in accuracy in three different .308's (2 of mine and 1 years ago for a friends).

 

[two-dogs]

I use 150 and 165 on Deer and if I was still young enough to go for moose, I'd use 180, but that would be MB moose monsters.

 

[Northman999]

I've killed lots of big game with a little short barrelled Rem 600 in .308, including a handful of large Yukon/Alaska bull moose. I've never had an issue putting anything down promptly.

 

[Boomer]

Shortly after its introduction, Stewart Edward White took his .30/06, a custom Springfield rifle to Africa. Over a period of several months, he took dozens of game animals weighing up to a ton, with only a few requiring a backup shot. He used the only .30/06 load that was available at the time, a 150 gr FMJ bullet at 2700 fps. A .308 as factory loaded today bests that velocity by 200 fps, and the choice of .30 caliber game bullets we have today can be appropriately matched to game of almost any size and weight. The .308 can be chambered in shorter, lighter, rifles than the .30/06, with no practical difference in performance on game out to 300 yards. Thus its pretty hard to argue against the choice of a .308 as a viable big game cartridge, and handloading only makes it better, due to the greater selection of bullets available to the handloader.

 

[ALBERTA BOY]

I don't always agree with Chuck but this is a pretty well thought out article. Draw your own conclusions from it:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm

 

[ptebonneville]

here is another good article form Longrranghunting.com on the 308 win .

http://www.longrangehunting.com/articles/308-winchester-1.php

i dont support long rang hunting but once again its has some good info .

bon

 

[Northman999]

I don't always agree with Chuck but this is a pretty well thought out article. Draw your own conclusions from it:

http://www.chuckhawks.com/myth_busting_calibers.htm

Interesting article.

There are plenty of ways to poke holes in it if you like, but I think generally his conclusions are on target.

 

[sobo4303]

Y'know what? at a reasonable distance, the 308 will get the job done for you. I have both (30-06 and 308) and tend to gravitate more to the 30-06 when I am after larger game but that's me and my opinion on the subject is certainly not definitive nor is it the absolute conclusion.

Your 308, with 150, 165 or 180 grain commercial ammo will be fine. Now go and tag a swamp donkey.

 

[Hellbroke]

Well I'm probably not going to be shooting anything bigger then Moose here in N.B. Might venture over to Newfoundland to shoot one but that would be it. Unless someone wants to send me off on a hunting trip

 

[Grizzly Adams]

Well I'm probably not going to be shooting anything bigger then Moose here in N.B. Might venture over to Newfoundland to shoot one but that would be it. Unless someone wants to send me off on a hunting trip

Not a big moose hunter, always figured them for the developmentally challenged members of the deer family. Shoot them once and just as likely as not, they'll stand there and wait for you to empty your rifle.

Grizz