.44 mag for Moose?

What is the general use lever gun cartidge of choice, for deer, bear and moose?

  • .45-70

    Votes: 135 61.1%

  • .45 LC

    Votes: 1 0.5%

  • .44 magnum

    Votes: 22 10.0%

  • .454 Casull

    Votes: 5 2.3%

  • .30-30

    Votes: 55 24.9%

  • .444

    Votes: 32 14.5%
  • Total voters
    221
canadaman30 said:
I guess I can't stalk and I can't shoot, cause I use a 450 and a 338mag. Maybe you could teach us all here how to accomplish these tasks......:jerkit:
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OK, let me ask you: WHY do you need the magnums? Please...enlighten us. Give me one good reason why your magnums are superior to a non magnum cartridge at the ranges we are talking about in the OP.....just one.

Meh...doesn't matter anyway. There are two types of guys here.....those that like to talk about it and those of us that actually *do* it. :)
 
I have a 'magnum' cartridge rifle but not like most would picture in thier hunting/shooting minds.
My wildcat 458x2inch American is basically a 450 Marlin. My single greatest advantage I like is my brass comes from everyone's thrown away 7mm Rem Mag and 300 Win Magnum casings.
I cut&file off and ream these out to my needs. The money I save in brass can go towards powder & primers. I even have a few .459 moulds for it.
Another reason I have it was cost, I bought it year 2000 when alot of people were unloading guns cheap. Rifle and RCBS Class f three die set and 44 loaded rounds for an enormous cost of $400.
 
Brutus said:
I have a 'magnum' cartridge rifle but not like most would picture in thier hunting/shooting minds.
My wildcat 458x2inch American is basically a 450 Marlin. My single greatest advantage I like is my brass comes from everyone's thrown away 7mm Rem Mag and 300 Win Magnum casings.
I cut&file off and ream these out to my needs. The money I save in brass can go towards powder & primers. I even have a few .459 moulds for it.
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OK, now that is cool. Are you running hard cast? What weight?
 
Wrong Way said:
OK, now that is cool. Are you running hard cast? What weight?
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Man I have various weights, 405, 522 (pointy target bullet) and a Lyman 545(??) grain WFN design. That last one is my favorite. This rifle is unbloddied, I wish to change that fact, this fall. It's drilled & tapped as I found even the really good peep sights harder in the dusky hours. Now a Leupold 2.5-8 power sits on it. Wrong Way, I have a Winchester 44 Magnum Trapper that was my carry along carbine in the woods. A friend loaded for me some hard cast 300 grain ammo over 18.5 grains of AA#9 and I had this for a long time while a friend and myself cut wood in a rural acerage using a portable outdoor mill about 20 miles from town. Provided some comfort nearby as curious bears were a routine occurance. This was before I had any decent 12 gauge pump action.
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As you can guess that's a Boyd's laminate, it has one Benelli mercury recoil reducer as well. Shoots really fine if the shooter is performing up to speed.
 
The .450 Marlin is the Lawyer's Guide Gun. It exists because somebody was afraid of the liability that might result if hot 45/70 loads found their way into older trapdoor actions.
 
i don't shoot magnums b/c i'm a CHEAP OLD FART- 70 grains of powder at a whack, and the bullets cost twice as much as my 30's - when that magnum comes off the shelf, there had better be a darned good reason- and yes, i reload as well
 
skokie said:
He makes a good point, if you are talking "original loadings" than your talking black powder rounds, with cast lead bullets 400 to 500 grains and velocities in the area of 1400 to 1600 fps. This round was first a military, but subsequently a BUFFALO round, and they dropped bison by the thousands. I think the venerable "old soldier" will always have an advantage over a .45LC.
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Huh, not trying to make a point... I stated "orignal" loadings, not original. As we all know, orignal means moose in French. My poor attempt at a play on words obviously failed miserably...:)

Black powder is for sissy's...:p
 
I have faith in the 3030, 45-70 even the 303. They've been kicken ass world wide for in some case 4.5x as I've been alive. They'll be killing animals long after I'm dead to. I vote for the 45-70. A heavy hard cast bullet suffers less deflection agaisnt small brush and is inherently more accurate in a bush gun before everyone says there supermags shoot .3" groups let me explain. I hunt north ontario I've fallen dropped my gun even got my leg stuck in a skidder path trap and used my gun as a prybar. If you bang up the crown and bur it up with a 45 no big deal it will still go where it needs to. The same thing happensto my 300win mag that lil bur makes a big difference on a small fast bullet. I've read this whole thread and what people are failing to see (the hi velocity guys) is that the numbers may not be impressive on paper but a big heavy slow bullet plows thru heavy muscle and bone at close range. Light fast bullets break up at close range. They may work. They may turn a bear. But I'd rather know I can drive my 4-500gr bullet right thru him at 20' I've not killed a grizzly or any dangerous african game but I know ppl that have and no ph in africa carries a small-medium bore magnum (except the 375hh) on a dangerous game hunt. His gun will be throwing heavy slow lead. If one wants to question the effects of properly loaded bullets for the 44 or 45-70 call randy garret of garret cartridges. He will tell you how his 45-70 dropped elephants and lions and moose and buffalo american and cape. That is what says it for the big slow heavys. I just bought a 45-70 and will be loading it up with big bullets. Moose and bear are not bullet proof and a short barrel lever gun is a lot nicer in thick cover then a scoped bolt gun. As for 1 shot kills ill end with experiences last fall. Not with a cartridge gun but a muzzleloading 50 cal 338gr platinum power belts over 150gr 777 pellets. I'm not sure of actual velocities or impact energies but I killed 1 big doe shot at 80yards for a tree stand the bullet hit her on the right shoulder smashing thru taking out the heart and lungs and exiting the lower rib cage on the off side she knocked over got up and ran nearly 200yards. How I do not know. And lastly a small fawn shot running at me at less then 5yards complete penetration with the same load she rolled past me got up gave me the stupidest grin and ran away for a 110 yards. She had powder burns on the chest and a new 3/4" ####### right beside her original one with chunks of lung hanging out of it. I've seen black bear run a 100yards with a hole the size of a grape fruit thru there chest from my 300 win mag. I think the 44 mag will do the job and I think the 45-70 will do that job and more. Put a big hole in the vitals and they will die. They may run but they will die Happy hunting.
 
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