Can the 30-06 show enough might to drop moose.

Use a 180 bullet. RN's hit like a train within a couple hundred yards. Boat tails are nice for further. In a 165 you should use a premium bullet, in a 180 don't worry. If you want to do further shots, use a 180 -190 BT. On a reloading forum I go on, a couple 1000 yard match shooters advised me they use 190 BT in a 30/06. My 2 cents.

Rob
 
I wonder how many thousands of moose have been taken with .30-30's? Occasionally you'll see a moose out in the distance along a lake shore or river, or perhaps across a stretch of tundra, but mostly hunting moose is a close range gig, although the experience might be different for mountain hunters.

While one must respect any wild animal, particularly one that weighs half a ton, moose aren't particularly dangerous and although death by moose is not completely unheard of, it certainly is rare. If you walk up on any game animal you have shot, be it a pronghorn, whitetail, moose or cape buffalo, without due caution, sooner or later you will get pounded.

I think the smallest bore suitable for these guys is probably a .270, although a .270 is by no means marginal, and lots of folks both here and in Europe have had good luck with 6.5's. I rate the .30-06 as the best choice, but that's because I've got more experience with it. I know what it can do, what I can do with it, and perhaps more importantly what I can't. The .270 hasn't been particularly lucky for me, despite a valiant effort on my part to embrace it. The only 6.5's I've owned were Swedish small ring Mausers. They would shoot, but when it came time to hunt I would always grab my '06. The only time I might be tempted to suggest more gun is if your moose hunting is in grizzly or polar bear habitat. Even then, a .30/06 with bullets weighing upwards of 180 grs is completely satisfactory.

So what would my dedicated moose rifle look like? I think it would be a bolt action CRF.30/06 with a 22 inch barrel. It would have a variable low powered scope in QD rings with a ghost ring and post iron sights for back up, or for use in very heavy cover. The stock would be synthetic, the barrel and action would be chrome-moly finished in one of the new bake on wonder coatings. I've had such good use from my Safari Ching Sling, I would stay with that as I prefer to shoot with the sling from supported positions. My go to bullet would be a Woodleigh 240 gr loaded to 2300. As it turns out, heading my way is an old beat up M-54 Winchester in .270 that is in desperate need of a make over and that is probably the rifle it will become.
 
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.3006 !!!!

I use the NOZZLER 180 Gr , Partitions in my .06 and it allway's knock's them down with ease , Most of the Shot's were between 100 yards and 200 yards , I did shoot one Bull across a large Cut Block , we paced it out at 380 yards , It only took two shot's to anchor him up :sniper: The 180 gr, Partition is a decent choise for the .06
 
I'm using a 300WM now but I'm very impressed with the accubonds

30-06 I think the 180grn accubond would be just right for moose, I dont own a 30-06 but I still think its one of the most versatile caliber/cartridge out there.
 
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I used a 30-06 loaded with Barnes TSX 180gr to shoot my LEH Bull moose last year with 1 shot killed through the heart at 266 yards according to my range finder. Drops some big Black bears with odd 06 (TSX 180gr)with 1 shot too.:D
 
Just curious as to why specifically 300 yards?
Does your ATV need a better muffler? :p

I know folks in our area that take Moose just fine with their 30/30's, so I can't see why a 30.06 wouldn't work.

Mind you you could also get a 300 Win Mag, and load it down to 30.06 specs. :p
 
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You can use .243 100gr or larger to hunt moose legally in NL. Unless you're a great shot, I wouldn't recommend it. While I'm a fan of larger calibres, my father, his brothers and his father have always hunted moose with .30-30 with ease. Got one last fall with his Win mod 94 actually.
 
Seriously, I would go with the one that shoots best in YOUR gun. The 165 or 180 will do the job, I would go with a premium bullet (take your pick).

Since you are talking about the 06' I wont' bring up any other calibers, and we dont' want to degenerate this thread into a "Best defense for Charging Moose" theme :D

:popCorn:
 
(1 x 180 gr. Nosler Accubond) + (1 x bull moose) = bang flop. I have never seen a moose drop so fast in my life, it literally fell out of my scope at the shot, distance was approx 175 yards.
 
I'd go with Pathfinder's suggestion. Find a bullet, be it premium or not, that shoots the most accurately in YOUR gun! Use whatever weight of bullet that is the most accurate. Bullet placement is EVERYTHING! A .375 H&H badly placed does not guarantee a moose. A .243 well placed will. Shoot it often and at unknown distances, unless you have a rangefinder, but I prefer to "eye" up the distance and see where I hit. Practice in "real world" situations. You don't always have time for the range finder. Become confident with your abilities and with your gun and go get yourself a moose. (I expect pics this fall!;) ) Good luck,

-Jason
 
accuracy is great, but a premium bullet that shoots 2" groups at 100 yards will be WAY more than accurate enough to nail a mooses vitals out to 300 yards or so. Some of the more accurate bullets arent the best choice for 1000 lb+ animals. We're talking moose here, no gophers
 
todbartell said:
accuracy is great, but a premium bullet that shoots 2" groups at 100 yards will be WAY more than accurate enough to nail a mooses vitals out to 300 yards or so. Some of the more accurate bullets arent the best choice for 1000 lb+ animals. We're talking moose here, no gophers
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+1

I`d rather hunt the rest of my life with a 30-06 that shoots 180 gr Partitions into 2" than a .222 that shoots 1".
 
My friend shot his moose last year with 30-06 180 gr. at about 300 yds. took 2 shots though and it ran in the field about 60 yds. before dropping. So the 30-06 will work fine a magnum like the 300 is a better choice more ump! and longer ranges however if you shoot alot with your 30-06 you should have no problem out to about 250 yrds. enjoy.
 
jjsharpshooter said:
My friend shot his moose last year with 30-06 180 gr. at about 300 yds. took 2 shots though and it ran in the field about 60 yds. before dropping. So the 30-06 will work fine a magnum like the 300 is a better choice more ump! and longer ranges however if you shoot alot with your 30-06 you should have no problem out to about 250 yrds. enjoy.
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I highly doubt that the same bullet moving 200 fps faster would make a difference. The amount of energy that we are talking about there amounts to less than half of a .22 Long Rifle at the muzzle.
 
jjsharpshooter said:
My friend shot his moose last year with 30-06 180 gr. at about 300 yds. took 2 shots though and it ran in the field about 60 yds. before dropping. So the 30-06 will work fine a magnum like the 300 is a better choice more ump! and longer ranges however if you shoot alot with your 30-06 you should have no problem out to about 250 yrds. enjoy.
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I find your post funny, thanks for the laugh :wave:
 
todbartell said:
P17

you would also probably agree that a 6.5x55 is a fair moose cartridge too, and that shot placement is the biggest key in the outcome of the hunt. We tend to over analyze muzzle velocity and bullet weight. Moose dont know what type of bullet hit them. They do react to bullets placed into their vitals.

:wave:
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No, I don't think that a 6.5x55 is a "fair" moose cartridge. History has proven it to be an outstanding moose cartridge, if the number of moose taken with it over the years is any indication of its effectiveness. ;)

I agree that any of the commonly used big game cartridges is perfectly fine for moose at 300 yards. Premium bullets like the TSX just add an extra measure of insurance, virtually guaranteeing performance, and they are accurate, too. The nice thing about the new premiums is that you can go with a lighter weight and still achieve the penetration and tissue destruction of the old-fashioned heavy bullets. This lets you flatten trajectory a bit over the short ranges (i.e., inside 500 yards), which is where our hunting shots are taken, and it also potentially reduces recoil a bit.

As everyone has said, take a .30-06 and any decent 165 to 200 grain bullet, and you're good to go to 300 yards on ANY game animal in North America, as long as you can make the shot. As you said, shot placement is the real issue in all hunting.
 
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The biggest moose I have ever seen, In the top 50 of all time for Ontario according to a small group called Boone and Crocket was shot with a 303. That being said I watched a decent sized bull walk away from two good shots with a 338 win mag. Point being--Luck and shot placement have a lot to do with killing anything. My personal feeling-- bigger gun is better despite what I just wrote:D
 
Calum said:
Just curious as to why specifically 300 yards?
Does your ATV need a better muffler? :p
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30-06 is ample in 165, 168 or 180 grn.
My question is why do you want to take such a long shot? Bow hunters have taken trophy moose at less than 40 yds. I would think that with a bit of stalking you could easily close the distance on your moose and create a better quality shot opportunity.
 
The 30-06 with 165's is a great all around moose combo. The only total bang-flop I've ever done, or seen done, I did this year with my Garand shooting 165gr failsafes. That said... I've shot moose with .270 rem, .308 win, 30-06 spr, .338 win mag and .375 H&H and shot placement trumps the cartridge you are using, period. (Assuming you aren't a nut job who swears a .22 Hornet is a great moose gun...don't laugh, I've seen it, and it ain't funny.)
 
John Marshall said:
The biggest moose I have ever seen, In the top 50 of all time for Ontario according to a small group called Boone and Crocket was shot with a 303. That being said I watched a decent sized bull walk away from two good shots with a 338 win mag. Point being--Luck and shot placement have a lot to do with killing anything. My personal feeling-- bigger gun is better despite what I just wrote:D
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Was the .338 loaded with blanks? That don't smell right brother......
 
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