.44 mag for Moose?

[bone-collector]

I am a DEDICATED 44 mag hunter....and I would not hesitate to make a close/clear shot on a moose with the cartridge......and hands-down I would take the 44 over a 30-30. I would not however, use the leverevolution on moose sized game. Deer/bear, no problem, but I would much rather have a 240-260 JSP. Put it in the boiler room and bullwinkle will go down.... .44 dia holes tend to have that effect

a 44 will leave a culvert in the boiler room @ 100 yards on a moose and the wonderful thing you can eat right up to the bullet hole!

 

[steve62]

My father took a Moose every year, his choice was a Marlin leveraction in 35 Rem.

 

[skokie]

Pretty sure it's the same old problem of the deer and moose having internet access and finding out that they shouldn't die when they get a bloody great hole through them.

If the OP is a competent shot, a 44 Mag will be fine.

Were I in his position, I suspect I'd burn a fair amount of the midnight oil, trying to figure out the pros and cons between that and the 45-70.

Loading down is easy, loading up, easier in the bigger cartridge, I suspect.

Cheers
Trev

Thats what I'm starting to think, looks like the .45-70 beckons. Thanks, by the way I am a decent shot, nothing special but good 'nough.

 

[RememberTheSomme]

x2. A good stout 44 mag to the boiler room will result in .44 mag hole going in and bigger one probably going out. Moose is going to be in your freezer.

These Boiler room shots you talk of limit the hunter to a very precise set of varibles.

- Broad side and 0-40 yds?

So every hunt will offer him this? I think not.

- Frontal hits in that big sternum from a low velocity low sectional density bulley could mean a downward deflected bullet into the ground. In the neck, in the head, hows your Buck fever? Mines doing great and I've hunted big Game for over 30years. Saw the results of Cow moose hit in the head at 75 yards with an 1894 .30WCF half magazine carbine. The 170gr Winchester Silver tip grazed along the nose ,entering just center of right eye and did not exit. The moose turned away and trotted of as if not hit. A salvo from the Winchester and co partner's Parker Hale .303 finally brought it down . Luckily this incredible feat of under penetration, under gun, was revealed.

How many moose were killed with these underpowered lever guns ? Lot's for sure

How many are hit, sometimes repeatedly and lost in thick brush by over excited and inexperienced hunters? Lot's I didn't see any blood ,no hair. It's hard to find sometimes and the Big animal can be lost very close at hand!



I thought the days of the under powered Deer Class Rifles being used on Moose firing Grandpa's green tinted Dominion Ammunition were over. I don't want to see a new generation beginning.

I understand everyones enthusism for the .44 Mag. Mine was in a S&W 629. And I know you die hard fans who reload and shoot often, can squeeze every kilowatt out of the case, but seeing its Big- Bore for him and nothing else,....... then let it be the cartridge that was at home in a trap door springfield.


We all know what some have killed moose with. Lets not start that one. I had an M-1 carbine one time.........

 

[skokie]

Well said I think.

 

[RememberTheSomme]

Well said I think.

Welcome to the Forums, where opinions abound! It's all free so use with caution. No guarantees.

Lots of knowledgeable hunters /shooters here. Read it all and digest. Look for the common threads in the fabric and there usually is your best answer/solution.

 

[skokie]

Welcome to the Forums, where opinions abound! It's all free so use with caution. No guarantees.

Lots of knowledgeable hunters /shooters here. Read it all and digest. Look for the common threads in the fabric and there usually is your best answer/solution.

Fair enough, all should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[troutseeker]

Why on Earth would anyone need a .45/70 in Ontario? And for moose to boot, it's not like they are hard to kill... Within the OP's parameters of 100 yards or so shots, the .44 mag will do just fine.

Now if he is worried about grizzly bears, I guess a .45/70 might be required, haha.

 

[captonion]

Saw the results of Cow moose hit in the head at 75 yards with an 1894 .30WCF half magazine carbine. The 170gr Winchester Silver tip grazed along the nose ,entering just center of right eye and did not exit.
....

This was the result of hunter error. The shooter should have never taken a head shot unless the moose had been wounded.

I can just picture the hunter in question, heart pumping, taking an off hand shot at this moose facing him head on with an open sight 30-30.

 

[skokie]

Why on Earth would anyone need a .45/70 in Ontario? And for moose to boot, it's not like they are hard to kill... Within the OP's parameters of 100 yards or so shots, the .44 mag will do just fine.

Now if he is worried about grizzly bears, I guess a .45/70 might be required, haha.

Well to be honest I do some Riding out west , and my outfitter buddy and I were thinking elk next year, so yeah I might get some Griz on, though that is not the primary use of the rifle.

 

[RememberTheSomme]

This was the result of hunter error. The shooter should have never taken a head shot unless the moose had been wounded.

I can just picture the hunter in question, heart pumping, taking an off hand shot at this moose facing him head on with an open sight 30-30.

Correct on all of the above. First moose license @ 18 years old.

The Cow was standing facing him with head betwwen Fir trees and low seedling tree in front of body. I can't remember if he fired for neck and struck high or not.
This was in 1978-79??
It was just used to give an example of low-medium power "Deer class Rifles on large boned large mass animals. Even the headshot was not enough lol!
The broadside is always desirable, like in the Days of Nelson, but unfortunatly we can not get those sweet shots all the time. Don't shoot then you say! Well if it's the only chance in a season of a lottery draw, as in OPs province, then the slightly quartering, slightly up /down ,I'll leave it to my 7mmRem Mag with TSX or partition to get through much and still upset the vitals. I'd save my .44 Mag Marlin for Still hunting where it will be 60 yds or less on deer. Those open hardwoods are better left to a Lever in .308 class anyhow.
.......BLR81 anyone?........

 

[Wrong Way]

Meh.....the above aside, I have more notches in my deerfield .44 than most guys will ever take, and I never had ONE animal walk away. Deer-bear-moose-yotes-and a grouse or fifty

 

[RememberTheSomme]

Meh.....the above aside, I have more notches in my deerfield .44 than most guys will ever take, and I never had ONE animal walk away. Deer-bear-moose-yotes-and a grouse or fifty

How many moose have you taken with the Rotary .44MAG? I love the 10/22.

Some particulars on the Moose kills, like range, bullet type, number of rounds fired etc would be nice. I'd love to compare notes on bullet performance and how far I had to look versus actual damage with similar energy carbines.. You said they never walked away and I've only seen that with a .308WIN and up, on Whitetail Deer for me. Actually one ran over 100 yds before expiring from the .308 BLR on a foggy morning just after legal shooting time , but he was clipped through the windpipe from the side only.

Notches on your pistol(grip) don't count unless you're Marty Robbins, and they have to number "1 and 19 more".

 

[skokie]

At least for tonight it looks as though the .45-70 is winning the poll, with the .30-30 in second. I think it's because the large case can be loaded up or down to suit the task, and with a small variety of cast and factory bullets it is really up to just about any challenge in North America. Not to mention the multitude of firearms chambered for it this versitle cartridge.

 

[Rembo]

I didn't see the 356 Win or the 375 Win in the poll,...so I had to go 30-30..a truly underrated cartridge...those long 170 grainers at 2000 fps should out penetrate a lot of the bigger bores,....assuming similiar bullet construction of course

 

[Gatehouse]

How many moose have you taken with the Rotary .44MAG? I love the 10/22.

Some particulars on the Moose kills, like range, bullet type, number of rounds fired etc would be nice. I'd love to compare notes on bullet performance and how far I had to look versus actual damage with similar energy carbines.. You said they never walked away and I've only seen that with a .308WIN and up, on Whitetail Deer for me. Actually one ran over 100 yds before expiring from the .308 BLR on a foggy morning just after legal shooting time , but he was clipped through the windpipe from the side only.

Notches on your pistol(grip) don't count unless you're Marty Robbins, and they have to number "1 and 19 more".

Lots of guys have cleanly taken moose and elk with 44 Magnums and 45 Colts, both rifles and revolvers. So it's interesting to hear someone say it's such a bad idea.

To make this determination, you must have used the 44 Magnum extensively on game including moose, so it would be interesting to hear of your first hand experiences.

 

[GunGuy34]

Delete

 

[RememberTheSomme]

Lots of guys have cleanly taken moose and elk with 44 Magnums and 45 Colts, both rifles and revolvers. So it's interesting to hear someone say it's such a bad idea.

To make this determination, you must have used the 44 Magnum extensively on game including moose, so it would be interesting to hear of your first hand experiences.

I have not used the .44 MAG on moose and have no first hand experience thus the invite to hear of the ranges , rounds fired, shot angle, humane kill, tracking etc to compare with my lever carbine experience in other calibers. You read all my post right?



Gatehouse have you personally taken, or witnesses moose taken with a .44MAG , and could you comment on its dispatching abilities?

 

[bisonhd]

I have seen a small blacktail buck taken with a 44 mag. Lot's of big holes including lung hits and the deer did manage to travel 100 yards. No doubt it was gonna die or any animal hit in those area's would, but it was more like an archery kill than the smack down of HV bullet.

Sorry, don't have any random moose kill photo's to post.

 

[GunGuy34]

I have seen a small blacktail buck taken with a 44 mag. Lot's of big holes including lung hits and the deer did manage to travel 100 yards. No doubt it was gonna die or any animal hit in those area's would, but it was more like an archery kill than the smack down of HV bullet.

Sorry, don't have any random moose kill photo's to post.

Nothing random about them, they are exactly what i said they were. You wanna be a dickhead about it then fine. Never fails that an ####### always surfaces in these posts. I'll remove the pictures seeing as they bother you so much.