7x57, 270 or 280 for moose?

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Rugdoc

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Theoretically speaking if you were hunting moose and you had a choice between a 7x57 shooting 139 grain Hornady Interlocks, a 270 shooting 130 grain Grand Slams or a 280 shooting 165 grain Remington Core-Lokt bullets which would you go with?

The reason I ask about the 130 grain bullets is because I have about 10 boxes of those 270 cartridges and I intend to use them in my new 270.
 
My lifelong hunting buddy uses nothing but a .270 with 130 GS bullets for all his big game hunting, moose, elk, whatever. I am not aware of him ever losing a wounded animal. I would personally choose the 280/165gr. combination because it will theoretically give a little better penetration and break bones more reliably. But I doubt it would be a significant difference in the field. The 7x57 with the 140's would be at a small disadvantage to the other two.
 
Any of them will work. Which rifle do you shoot the best and have the most confidence in? That's the one I'd go with.
 
"Which rifle do you shoot the best and have the most confidence in?"

To be determined in my next few trips to the range.
 
If all you had to work with were the reactions of animals shot with each of the loads listed, there would be no way to tell which one you were using.
 
rral22 said:
If all you had to work with were the reactions of animals shot with each of the loads listed, there would be no way to tell which one you were using.
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I can't help it, these rifles almost literally fell into my hands and I couldn't resist keeping them. I realize they are pretty much the same, particularly since the 7x57 and 270 are even in the same model rifle.
 
if there was moose hunting around here, and if I could actually go, I'd take my M77 7x57. There is a 270 and a 280 here, but I would take the 7x57, just cause! My mouth is oh so watering for a moose steak!
 
Theoretically the .280 because its hard to argue bigger is better in theory. In an alternate theory its easy to argue that faster is better right up to where the bullet won't take it. In practice bullets matter more than cartridge choice. The 139 Interlock is a surprisingly sturdy bullet. It will lose about the same percentage of weight as a Partition. The 130 grain is all I used in the .270 for years, back when it was either my only rifle or at least primary rifle. That was almost entirely with Hornady Interlocks and Plain based Sierras. No moose asked for a refund.

If you like your .270 and shoot it well, take it and don't worry about it. The cartridges are too similar to sweat it.
 
The answer is of course yes. All work fine. My experience with Moose is that they are not particularly tough, a dozen or more calibers are excellent. All the OP's choices are fine, especially at close to medium range. On the low end, power wise of the dozens of calibers. Good bullets and placement would be key as always.
 
I have shot moose with all three of these chamberings.

However, I have taken 8 with the 7x57, and only one each with the 270 and 280.

The result has always been the same. Moose steaks and roasts to enjoy later. :)

There is so little "field" difference between these three that it matters not which one you pack.

Regards, Dave.
 
Moose really aren't that hard to kill. There's probably 10-15 thousand killed by sporterized. 303 British Lee-Enfield alone each fall in Newfoundland. So any one of the cals you mentioned will definitely work quite well as long as you put your bullet in the right place. That said, I'd prefer the. 280 with the heavier 165gr bullet weight, but that's just a personal preference. The moose will never know the difference! :)
 
7x57. 175grain nosler partition, do your bit, Mr Mauser has the rest covered for you. Easy to load wide variety of bullets light through to heavy, not as much powder, and just a ###y looking round that goes and goes
 
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