44mag for moose?

inadequate weapons

boxcoach,

you have obviously never bowhunted. I have bowhunted longer than I have with a gun and can tell you from personal experience it is not hard to shoot through a moose. I have killed bear, deer and moose with my bow and have yet to lose an animal. My dad has killed 22 moose with his bow and has yet to lose one. I use a bow because I enjoy the challenge. Getting within 40 yds of a wild animal and dropping it with 1 arrow through its heart/lungs is to me the ultimate. If I wanted to drop a moose at 300 yds. I would use the appropriate tool. By stating that bows are inadequate does a great disservice to the hunting community and only fuels the antis debates. Foolish statements like this should be removed from this forum before they can do harm.
 
I wonder rather out loud how many moose, bison and other big critters fell to the 44-40.

In other words, of course it's adequate for moose if you respect it's limitations, just like every cartridge out there.
 
Lefty #### said:
I wonder rather out loud how many moose, bison and other big critters fell to the 44-40.

In other words, of course it's adequate for moose if you respect it's limitations, just like every cartridge out there.
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Times were different. Lots of folks had no other choice. Yes, the traditional black powder 44-40 took plenty of moose.
I've used it on deer. I won't use it on moose. Not that it can't do the job, just that cleanly killing a moose with such a cartridge has too many variables for me. AT BP velocities, a 215 grain 44-40 is turning 1200fps at the muzzle if you're lucky.
It's true that the 44-40 can be loaded to approach the 44 mag in strong rifles, but I'll leave that alone for now.

The 44 Mag is a different animal. 240 grain bullets moving in the 1600 to 1800 fps range. I'm sure a hunter that is careful with his shot placement, very close, and willing to let moose walk that are not just right, would have no trouble.
Getting close isn't difficult. I've shot two inside 30 feet so far. Good for the heart rate. :eek:
 
boxcoach said:
Sorry to be the only counter point, but moose deserve a quick death. You can kill a moose with a 44 mag., but you'll probably never find it. It'll run for 10 minutes, after it's hit. I've seen a guy lose a moose, after he hit it clean, with a .243. People who kill moose with a bow, or other inadequate weapons, forget to mention they wound several, before they actually drop one.

Moose are extremely tough. Use a real rifle, .308 minimum.
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You have obviously not killed many moose, nor have you seen a lot of moose killed. No moose, properly hit [key point] goes very far. 10 minutes.....not a chance with a good lung shot. 2-10 steps, maybe. You say, and I quote: "I've seen a guy lose a moose, after he hit it clean, with a 243." How do you know it was a clean hit if it was lost? On the shooter's say-so? I know that that shot was far from "clean" if the moose escaped. After 50+ moose on the ground without one lost, and seeing an additional 40+ shot by hunting partners and others, I have a fair idea of how moose react to a good shot. Oh, BTW, the bow is hardly an inadequate weapon, used properly. Death comes quickly from a broadhead in the lungs. Eagleye.
 
Bone said:
Hornady has an informatative site. It states that the H.I.T.S. for the following leverevolution rounds is

.44 mag = 485
Small Game
less than 500 H.I.T.S.
The basic rule of thumb is that a H.I.T.S. rating of 500 or below describes a bullet/cartridge combination best suited for small game animals weighing less than 50 pounds.

.30-30 = 826
Medium Game
500-900 H.I.T.S.
A rating of 501 to 900 applies to bullet/cartridge combinations that are applicable for medium-sized game such as deer, antelope, black bear, and caribou, or game weighing 50 to 300 pounds.

.45-70 = 1242
Large Game
901-1,500 H.I.T.S.
A rating of 901 to 1,500 specifies cartridge/bullet combinations well-suited for large and heavy, but not generally considered dangerous game. This includes elk, moose, African plains game, red stag, American bison, and other animals weighing between 300 to 2,000 pounds.


http://www.hornady.com/store/44-Mag-225-gr-FTX-LEVERevolution/
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AS has already so eloquently stated, these types of charts are mostly for amusement, and any resemblance to actual fact is accidental. The animals cannot read nor interpret these types of charts, thus do not follow the set guidelines, thank goodness! Let's get realistic, a 44 mag only good for 50 lb animals??? Whatever happened to the man-stopping ability of this fine chambering? Eagleye.
 
Northman999 said:
We've all seen these sorts of things before and I just can't help but find them laughable. I'm sure that rifle and ammunition manufacturers build these sorts of silly things just to sell their latest ultra magnums. I don't think we're going anyone any good bringing them up here on these forums. 44 magnum only good for animals less than 50 pounds, my ass!
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Jimbo - "SQUIRREL!!!" *blam blam blam*

I always wondered with people commenting about needing these massive calibers to drop game cleanly, just how many deer, elk, moose, etc has been taken out with .30-30s or lesser cartridges over the years. If you can't hit it right, get closer. Problem solved.
 
todbartell said:
I wonder how many moose have hit the dirt from a 44/40
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My dad used a .44/40 to kill moose between 1928 and 1931 because that was the only gun they had. His comment was that if you were under fifty yards and put a bullet into the lungs the moose fell over and died. If you were much over fifty yards and put a bullet into the lungs and hit a rib, the rib would stop the bullet. And if you do shoot a moose and wound it to wait at least 1/2 hour then track it - you will either find it dead or bedded down and you can get to within twenty or thirty yards before it attempts to get up. He thought the 38-55 was a much better moose rifle as it would drop moose out to 175 yards with one shot.
 
10x said:
My dad used a .44/40 to kill moose between 1928 and 1931 because that was the only gun they had. His comment was that if you were under fifty yards and put a bullet into the lungs the moose fell over and died. If you were much over fifty yards and put a bullet into the lungs and hit a rib, the rib would stop the bullet. And if you do shoot a moose and wound it to wait at least 1/2 hour then track it - you will either find it dead or bedded down and you can get to within twenty or thirty yards before it attempts to get up. He thought the 38-55 was a much better moose rifle as it would drop moose out to 175 yards with one shot.
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I like hearing these older hunting stories. All about ancestors getting by as minimalist subsistance hunters.
How originally Canadian! :)
 
I have hunted/killed enough moose to know the difference. Shot placement is key with any rifle. However I feel more comfortable with a little bigger rifle than a 30-30 or the like. I know at 150 yards with a .308 or 30-06 or the like when I hit the vitals mr. moose is going down. With a 30-30 maybe....maybe not. I like a little fudge factor in there. Around here most shots are 100-250 yards. My old man always said why would you buy a 400 dollar 30-30 when you can get a 30-06 for the same price? Makes sense to me.
 
13589moose3_2005.jpg


30-30 moose :p
 
Brutus said:
I like hearing these older hunting stories. All about ancestors getting by as minimalist subsistance hunters.
How originally Canadian! :)
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"minimalist subsistence" ???
My, my, how you understate.

My father was sixteen and spent the winter of 1929-30 alone in a homestead cabin in the bush in the Peace River Country. My grandfather left him and his seventeen year old brother to take care of the livestock while my grandfather finished up business in Southern Alberta. My uncle had a broken leg and it got infected shortly after my Grandfather went South in November. My uncle spent the winter in Keg River with Dr. Jackson recovering from the infection - remember they didn't have antibiotics in those days and an infection of any sort was sometimes a death sentence. My dad told me about my uncle spending the winter in Keg River but it wasn't until after he died that I discovered that my Grandfather had left and spent the winter with the rest of the family in the South. I found that out at a family reunion when one of my aunts told me the story of how they moved to the Peace Country. My uncle was pronounced "cured" in March and that is the month that my Grandfather returned to the homestead. I never knew my dad had a brother who died in 1923 as well until that reunion. I guess there are some things the old timers kept to themselves.

BTW: When my dad did use that .44/40 to hunt and did get a moose, the meat got shared with the neighboring homesteaders. That gun was very popular among the homesteaders as you could get 50 rounds for the same price as 20 38-55 rounds. It got borrowed a lot and when it was returned there was usually some moose meat with it.

A 44 magnum will kill a moose. You had better do your part and get close enough and then get in a killing shot.
 
10x said:
"minimalist subsistence" ???
My, my, how you understate.


A 44 magnum will kill a moose. You had better do your part and get close enough and then get in a killing shot.
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Calm down now ;)........in spirit I liked very much, your story.
If you don't like the 'degree' of this compliment, well, offending your sensibilities, was not my intent.

Have a good day!
 
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Brutus said:
Calm down now ;)........in spirit I liked very much, your story.
If you don't like the 'degree' of this compliment, well, offending your sensibilities, was not my intent.

Have a good day!
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Thank you for the compliment.
I never heard my dad complain about this time - he did mention that his family "had it good" compared to others who had children sick (some died) of malnutrition.
 
I have a browning model 92 in 44 mag and I would say it will definately kill a moose out to about 100 yards easily. But use good bullets, such as the nosler 250gr Partition handgun bullet, or a Barnes 225gr X pistol bullet. Close range and proper bullet placement are critical. My browning is a joy to shoot with and is very accurate.
 
God!!!!!!! All these answers, gotta get back down to basics...... first off in the province of Quebec it is permitted for moose and caribou .Rifles of a 6 mm (.243) calibre or greater: centre-fire cartridges .44 mag is a heavy bullet I must agree that it is not for long shots, but I have no problem up to 150 meters. I am sure that 240gr jacketed hollow point will put it down. I personnally go for deer with a .44mag and shots vary between 100 / 125 meters, with the damage I have seen in deer I am confident that even out to 150 meters these bullets will down a moose with one shot.

All boils down to one question ''where and how do you hunt'' heavy brush, open valley, small lake, in a blind or stalking will vary a lot on what kind of rifle, scope, caliber, bullet weight ''combo'' you should use. Not to forget the semi auto versus the single shot and everything in between. Still can't get over how ''some'' hunters out there will ''shoot til it drops''.......


One last thing, almost forgot.......shot placement, a .44mag is not very permissive don't miss or you will lose a lot of meat.
 
Northman999 said:
OMG!

We've all seen these sorts of things before and I just can't help but find them laughable. I'm sure that rifle and ammunition manufacturers build these sorts of silly things just to sell their latest ultra magnums. I don't think we're going anyone any good bringing them up here on these forums. 44 magnum only good for animals less than 50 pounds, my ass!
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I know it works on 200lb punks who can't remember if Harry fired 6 shots or only five... lol

Jeff
 
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