30-06 for moose

Just to point something out. I've been party to a few moose on the ground and a couple have had gross wounds. In the hump.

Shoot your moose in the boiler the first time and you'll not pack far and he'll die quickly.

Yep, moose are not hard to kill. Deer are a lot tougher - more adrenalin, I guess. Hit a moose in the boiler room, sit down for 10 minutes, and he'll be very close to where you shot him. On average, moose we shot didn't go over 100 yds. The one notable exception is the one my wife shot with the AK. She didn't wait. That moose went almost a mile, through some Gawd awful terrain. I kept thinking we'd need a helicopter to get it out. Waist-deep water, deadfalls, you name it. Fortunately for us, the moose died smack-dab in the middle of a logging road. We drove out to the highway, down the road a mile, into the next logging road, and there it was!

Pretty much same thing with bears. the one wild boar I shot was a bang-flop.To date, the toughest critter I've found to drop in its tracks is deer. They just seem to try to high-tail it rather than bedding down.
 
I know shot placement is what counts... sometimes shet happens and it's good to have a good bullet that won't go funky when you hit the shoulder, or a classic spine shot.

So far the most cost effective ammo I have found was 180 core-lokts at my LGS. $35 a box! Only a year ago it was $25.
 
Why not roll your own if you already have the components? Sure you don't have the time to tweak it and it won't be the ultimate pet load but would still be more consistent and have better components for a comparative price. Your going to have to sight in your gun anyway, be it untested factory ammo or handloads.. If you can, take the hour to load up a a few different increments, you'd be better off and only out a few hours of realoading. The amount of time it takes to get your boots on and out door and back form the LGS you coulda rolled your shells. I was in a similar predicament last year,so I loaded up 10 at 4 different .5 grain increments, I took and hour to load, test and sight in. I shot 3 of each round robin OCW, determined my best load and saved the rest to be pulled and re-charged when i got home, leaving me with a good load and allowed me a to take a certain rifle last minute. I Contemplated tweaking the load I settled in but for my purposes with that rifle 1.5" @ 100 was more than adequate. Whatever you end up doing, good luck! If your really pressed for time I've had and seen great success with the core-lokt offerings from Remington.
 
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Just to point something out. I've been party to a few moose on the ground and a couple have had gross wounds. In the hump.
Right! That's because the old fabled "Hump Shot" really isn't a good idea afterall. If you hit to high you don't break the spine but only hit the fins on top of the spine inflicting a gross wound and possibly lose the moose.
 
This year my moose was shot with Winchester Power Point 180gr from a 300WSM at a close range of around 80 yards. The bullet took out a rib on the way in, destroyed the lungs and split a rib on the way out. The hide on the off side stopped the bullet, retained weight was 127.3 grs so around 70%.

IHMO from past experiences, pretty much any heavier for caliber hunting bullet whether premium or not will work just fine for moose.
 
Why not roll your own if you already have the components? Sure you don't have the time to tweak it and it won't be the ultimate pet load but would still be more consistent and have better components for a comparative price. Your going to have to sight in your gun anyway, be it untested factory ammo or handloads.. If you can, take the hour to load up a a few different increments, you'd be better off and only out a few hours of realoading. The amount of time it takes to get your boots on and out door and back form the LGS you coulda rolled your shells. I was in a similar predicament last year,so I loaded up 10 at 4 different .5 grain increments, I took and hour to load, test and sight in. I shot 3 of each round robin OCW, determined my best load and saved the rest to be pulled and re-charged when i got home, leaving me with a good load and allowed me a to take a certain rifle last minute. I Contemplated tweaking the load I settled in but for my purposes with that rifle 1.5" @ 100 was more than adequate. Whatever you end up doing, good luck! If your really pressed for time I've had and seen great success with the core-lokt offerings from Remington.

Read first post. Have the equipment but is not setup yet and I've never hand loaded. Time is limited probably only hit the range once before hunting season.
 
I haven't broke ground on my 9.3x62 "large forest dweller" project and the season is fast approaching. So I'm going with either a Remington 760 or FN98 Mauser deluxe. Both in 30-06. Won't have time to do up some loads so I'm looking for a good factory load. I will be shooting short range only. 200 yards tops.

Any suggestions?

Thanks in advance

Nosler Accubonds in 165 grain. I've shot everything from deer to elk with them with no problems, just make sure its an accurate shot to the vitals.
 
I have some Sako 150 grain ammo for my 30-06, I have seen 180 and 220 grain Sako 30-06 at Canadian Tire as well. I bought it partly because of how good the brass is supposed to be for reloading, a very long case life I believe. I may pick up some 220 grain for my ZG-47 as I will be using that with open sights and don't need anything flatter shooting.
 
Try something lite but copper. There's a good selection of 150 gr. Solid expanding Copper bullets for the 30-06 now.
 
If you are using a 30-06 for moose, just go into your favourite sporting goods store and ask for a box of 30-06 cartridges with 180 grain bullets in them and go moose hunting.
If you are convinced the moose you hunt are not even remotely related to all those thousands of moose from former years that died after being hit with a 30-30 with 170 grain bullets and you are sure your moose have armour plating, then ask for a box of 30-06 Remington Core Lokt of 180 grains.
 
If you are using a 30-06 for moose, just go into your favourite sporting goods store and ask for a box of 30-06 cartridges with 180 grain bullets in them and go moose hunting.
If you are convinced the moose you hunt are not even remotely related to all those thousands of moose from former years that died after being hit with a 30-30 with 170 grain bullets and you are sure your moose have armour plating, then ask for a box of 30-06 Remington Core Lokt of 180 grains.

:) Well put Bruce. Oh, on the topic of the '06, I sent you a related quick PM yesterday.
 
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