Advice on Moose rifle

blargon

blargon

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Well I'm debating on picking up a new rifle for moose, but can't decide on caliber. I'm currently shooting a Sako .308. I had a .300WM Tikka that I traded on the Sako, so I'm back to the beginning. Should I go back to a .300WM, or go with something like a .338WM or larger. This rifle will really only be used 10 days a year for moose, other than targets. Or should I just load some premiums for the .308 and giver? HELP ME :runaway:
 
Just to use on Moose, .300wm or .338wm? Both are more than adequate. I guess for me it would partly depend on what other other rifles I 'have in the cabinet' and what I had planned to use them on.
 
Tod, use the rifle that you shoot best with "good" bullets, that are accurate as well as tough. Shot placement is far more critical than anything else.
If you're just looking to aquire another rifle, then maybe look at the 35 Whelan or the 338-06, both are fine "in between" cartridges that are at their best when handloaded.
On the other hand, the 308Win, 25-06 and 257 Roberts (again with good bullets) take moose and other large animals with aplomb.
I've seen plenty of moose taken with the ubiquitous 6mm Rem and 243Win, not to mention an old native friend that takes a couple every year with a 22 rimfire, he says the big rifles scare him and are not neccessary for a clean kill. Now understand, his style of hunting is far different than yours or mine and old Ned isn't restricted by season or ###. He just sits by a moose trail, close to home, in early August "before all those guys with their big guns and pickups start to scare everything back into the bush dureing the day, you sure don't want to have to clean one when it's getting dark." Ned has a completely different perspective on life.

As I printed above, shoot the rifle and calibre that you are most comfortable with. Get decent quality scope/mounts, bullets and practice with it at ranges from point blank to as far out as you comfortable shooting, both offhand and from a rest.
Have fun with it anyway. bearhunter
 
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Have shoot moose with the .308, long range (300 +) better with 300 Win Mag & not bad recoil, lots of power. I sold my .300 Win Mag for a .338 Win Mag. Too much, kicked the hell out of me. (had a Win M70 & Weatherby Vangaurd) Switched to a Weatherby Vangaurd 300 WSM, loved it. Very mild recoil , close ballistics to a 300 Win mag ,good except now my 13 year old son likes it better than his .308 Win - Weatherby Vangaurd. But I just got a .308 Tikka Tac. & will not buy anything else now. Kid can do the moose killin:D
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with a 308 for moose.
We use them all the time at Camp.
But, if you ever get to try a 338WM, you won't be dissapointed. Awesome cartridge, and no moose, properly hit, will go far after a 338WM hit.
 
Do yourself a favour and get a lever gun in either 30-30 or 45-70. Levers are light and a 30-30 is really all you need unless you plan on hunting in an area where the terrain has no cover as in an open plain.

I know guys in Ontario where among their hunting group they all carry 300 Winchester Magnums. I asked why and got a really pittying look.
They have never taken a moose under 200 yards but they feel the extra speed is somehow useful.

Caliber can sometimes be like fashion. ANY caliber can take a moose if you load it right and cap it with the proper bullet, even factory loads can do it.
 
Teapot said:
Do yourself a favour and get a lever gun in either 30-30 or 45-70. Levers are light and a 30-30 is really all you need unless you plan on hunting in an area where the terrain has no cover as in an open plain.

I know guys in Ontario where among their hunting group they all carry 300 Winchester Magnums. I asked why and got a really pittying look.
They have never taken a moose under 200 yards but they feel the extra speed is somehow useful.

Caliber can sometimes be like fashion. ANY caliber can take a moose if you load it right and cap it with the proper bullet, even factory loads can do it.
Click to expand...

:confused: :confused:

They have never taken a moose under 200 yards but they feel the extra speed is somehow useful.

And you confidently suggest a 30-30 :confused: & imply a 300WM is simply a fashion among moose hunters :rolleyes:

FYI..a good portion of Ont moose hunter do hunt large clear cuts or as you put it "where the terrain has no cover as in an open plain. " :p
 
I had a Remmingtom 742 in a 30.06 when I went for my first hunt ever and it was a Moose hunt up near Mt.Edzisa, a group of us were hiking a few miles away from our base camp when we came across a group of a dozen moose that the young moose that caught attention when they were playing led us to the rest.

They were all laying down for the afternoon when we krept up on to a large boulder (30' H - 50' W) that was just stuck in the middle of this large opening near a pond/swamp, a great vantage point indeed.

So being it was my first hunt I had the honours of the first kill I was told, so I got into a good position for a 100 yard shot and had choosen the biggest bad boy in the crowd, set the crosshairs on the back of his neck (as he was facing away from me) and for some reason he got up turned broadside for me and at the same time his head turned and he just looked straight at me, so I repositioned my crosshairs quickly to the heart and lungs area, and opened fire, now somehow I thought that I only pulled the trigger twice, but there were no more rounds in the magazine, I had shot five rounds thinking that I only pulled twice, the moose was in rough shape, probably wasn't going to far but was still limping away towards the pond/marsh, I looked over at the others and nodded to Mr.338WM next to me and he put the finishing shot into the hump, right there and then I gained a whole lot of respect for the 338.
I was glad that I didn't have to go into the water for retrieval of that monster.

The other moose in the group must not have seen much of man as they all just stood there wondering what the hell just happened and once a couple of them noticed that the big was twitching a bit on the ground, they simply mosied on away in no particular hurry.

So it is just now that I am adding a 340Wby Mag to my collection, more for the heck of it, and the 340Wby Mag just to out do the 338WM a little bit.

I have seen plenty of 7MM Rem Mags take a moose at long yardage also, and
the 303's have probably taken down the most (#"s) of big game from all around the World, in it's days of glory before some of these now older cartridges were ever around or just introduced.
I also have a Canadian Centenial (1967) Remmington 742 in 308win that I lent out to a buddy on a moose hunt and he had no problems controlling the shots, unlike me! and put the moose down right next a road from 200yards, one shot. Having the moose 20yards in from a road sure made loading the moose into the truck a sinch, easier than packing pieces a few miles each trip.

I'm sure that with the experiences I have to date, that first moose for me would have probably went down on one shot to the spine/hump with that 742 30.06, but you got to start somewhere.

So there you have it, the caliber game is up to you, lots to choose from but,
I'm voting for the 338. Just Because.
 
If your looking for a reason to buy a rifle go for it. I think the 338wm is a nice round for moose. It'll kicka a bit though.

If not, put some partitions in your .308 and go shoot a moose. People who say a .308win wont kill a moose need to stop shooting them in the ass.
 
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