First Moose Hunt: Any recommendations for .308 cartridges?

vorsicht!

vorsicht!

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After many years of waiting, I got my first moose license in Newfoundland. I have been shooting since I was 12, but this is my first time hunting. I am trying to decide on a cartridge to use with my Savage .308 Win.

My local Canadian Tire regularly carries 150 and 180 grain Federal Powershok for around $30 a box. As I have never hunted before, I am unsure if the bullet construction of the Powershok would be sufficient for moose. The one benefit I see with going with some cheaper ammo is that I could afford to put some more of it downrange before I go hunting in the fall.

On the other hand, I was looking at some 165 grain Hornady Superformance online, which is roughly double the price. I would feel more comfortable using a better bullet, but I wouldn't be able to put as many rounds down range due to the cost of the ammo.

I am also not sure if it would be better to have a heavier bullet moving slower, or a lighter one moving faster. I have done some reading online, and some blogs and forum posts have recommended a 165 grain .308 because it is a middle ground between speed and bullet weight.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this first-time hunter?
 
If it was me I would go with 180 gr. but no moose should get away when hit in the boiler room with a 150 gr. and up. Go with a reasonable priced ammo that you can shoot a lot for practice so that the one shot that counts goes where you want it to. Experiment with bullet drop if you can or at least memorize published ballistic tables. Remington Core Lokt has been reasonable ammunition but there are stories about Remington going downhill and I don't know about their ammunition these days.
Good Luck
 
Good luck on your hunt...180 would be my choice for moose, Federal Powershok will work just fine :)
 
Thats good to hear! I was leaning towards the 180 Powershok, to be honest. I have been shooting those at the range for the past 4 years, and I get pretty good accuracy with them. They are cheap and available enough that I could put a pile down range before the fall.
 
Push a regular bullet like a Federal Powershock too fast and excess expansion will limit penetration. At 308 velocities the 180 grain will work fine at reasonable range but don't try too drive it through the shoulder bones and muscle. bullet placement means everything. picture a soccer ball between the forelegs as your target, sight in for 200 yds, and get within 250 yds. The excitement in hunting is in watching your scent in the stalk and getting close enough for a clean kill, not in proving what a great shot you are and killing it in the next county. The Swedes have been killing their moose with 160 gr. regular cup & core bullets for about 120 years and their moose look just as dead as mine, all taken with regular 180 gr. Speer spitzers from my 30-06 when I was younger and premium bullets weren't an option. Good luck and welcome to the club.
 
You don't have to be crazy to hunt moose, but it sure helps...

150, 165, 180. All will work fine. Just focus on placement, that's 90% of the battle.

And have a couple young men with you, or on speed dial.
 
180gr cup and core should be fine at 308 velocity for moose, I'd use those powershock 180gr with confidence. I'm hunting moose with a 30-06 loaded with Speer 180gr hotcor bullets this year, they are probably the same bullet or very similar to the cup and core180gr bullets in the Federal powershock ammunition. The 150gr powershock would likely get more expansion & less penetration, I'd probably stick with the 180gr for moose.
 
vorsicht! said:
After many years of waiting, I got my first moose license in Newfoundland. I have been shooting since I was 12, but this is my first time hunting. I am trying to decide on a cartridge to use with my Savage .308 Win.

My local Canadian Tire regularly carries 150 and 180 grain Federal Powershok for around $30 a box. As I have never hunted before, I am unsure if the bullet construction of the Powershok would be sufficient for moose. The one benefit I see with going with some cheaper ammo is that I could afford to put some more of it downrange before I go hunting in the fall.

On the other hand, I was looking at some 165 grain Hornady Superformance online, which is roughly double the price. I would feel more comfortable using a better bullet, but I wouldn't be able to put as many rounds down range due to the cost of the ammo.

I am also not sure if it would be better to have a heavier bullet moving slower, or a lighter one moving faster. I have done some reading online, and some blogs and forum posts have recommended a 165 grain .308 because it is a middle ground between speed and bullet weight.

Does anyone have any suggestions for this first-time hunter?
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What area did you draw for? I have a Winchester XPR bolt-action in 308, I use 180 grain bullet weight, I'm in area 001, Goose Cove, my 2nd drawing for there
 
federal 180gr blue box will work just fine. Should be able to find it at most can. tire or Walmart stores.
 
I prefer 165gr for optimal performance in 308Win. You can get factory 165gr loads in both partitions or scirroccos..
Though 150-165-180gr will do just fine.,.
 
At the end of the day, even expensive ammo only costs $3 a shot. How much money are you going to spend on licenses, tags, gas, and whatever other gear?

That said, I'm pretty sure my friends are planning to bring 180gr federal blue box for their 30-06's on our moose hunt this year... I'll be shooting a new-to-me 7mm-08 with a 139gr GMX (assuming the GMX can go fast enough and group well enough)... Put the bullet where its supposed to go and it'll die...
 
Suther said:
At the end of the day, even expensive ammo only costs $3 a shot. How much money are you going to spend on licenses, tags, gas, and whatever other gear?

That said, I'm pretty sure my friends are planning to bring 180gr federal blue box for their 30-06's on our moose hunt this year... I'll be shooting a new-to-me 7mm-08 with a 139gr GMX (assuming the GMX can go fast enough and group well enough)... Put the bullet where its supposed to go and it'll die...
Click to expand...

And I will be using a 140 gr Sierra Pro Hunter in my 7-08 with the '06 for a backup gun spitting 180 Pro Hunters (2150)
 
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Suther said:
At the end of the day, even expensive ammo only costs $3 a shot. How much money are you going to spend on licenses, tags, gas, and whatever other gear?

That said, I'm pretty sure my friends are planning to bring 180gr federal blue box for their 30-06's on our moose hunt this year... I'll be shooting a new-to-me 7mm-08 with a 139gr GMX (assuming the GMX can go fast enough and group well enough)... Put the bullet where its supposed to go and it'll die...
Click to expand...

I suppose I could always put in some range time with the Federal Blue Box over the summer, and then switch to a "premium" bullet like Federal's trophy bonded tip shortly before I go hunting. They would both be 180 grain.
 
guy329 said:
150, 165, 180. All will work fine. Just focus on placement, that's 90% of the battle.
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100% agreed. It's an extreme example, but a well placed round from a .223 will anchor a moose more effectively than a poorly placed round from a .375 H&H.

One part of good shot placement is knowing where your bullet will hit at various distances compared to your point of aim. I'm not smart enough to do that sort of figuring on the fly, so I zero my .308's for 200 yards - that way I know that from point blank all the way out to 225 yards, the bullet will always be within two inches of my line of sight. Put your crosshairs in the center of your target area, break a clean shot, and get ready for a bunch of work.

300_savage said:
180gr cup and core should be fine at 308 velocity for moose, I'd use those powershock 180gr with confidence. I'm hunting moose with a 30-06 loaded with Speer 180gr hotcor bullets this year, they are probably the same bullet or very similar to the cup and core180gr bullets in the Federal powershock ammunition. The 150gr powershock would likely get more expansion & less penetration, I'd probably stick with the 180gr for moose.
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That's good advice too.

I'm personally a fan of the Barnes 168 grain TTSX - but part of that is that the ballistics are almost identical to my practice ammo, and the honest truth is that I shoot a lot more than I hunt.
 
I once lost a big bull moose that took 3 bullets in the chest from a 308 with 180 gr Winchesters at 150-200 yards. Up to that point all the moose I shot with those bullets died like they were suppose to, I imagine bullet placement was a bit off on the one I lost, probably hit the shoulder blade with the first broadside shot, the 2nd and 3rd were as he was running away, quartering shots. Once I looked at the ballistics for that round I realized there were better choices. I went to a better Winchester load that fired well in my gun and eventually I started reloading.

Federal 180's will work, however there are better choices in my eyes. Even Rem Corelokts are better imho. When I shot factory ammo I would practice with cheaper rounds (Remington Eagles) then I sighted in with premium rounds for the hunt.
 
w squared said:
One part of good shot placement is knowing where your bullet will hit at various distances compared to your point of aim. I'm not smart enough to do that sort of figuring on the fly, so I zero my .308's for 200 yards - that way I know that from point blank all the way out to 225 yards, the bullet will always be within two inches of my line of sight. Put your crosshairs in the center of your target area, break a clean shot, and get ready for a bunch of work
Click to expand...

That's was my plan. My rifle is currently sighted for 200, which is the max distance at my local range. I like to set up my 8x8 gong at the end of the range and watch it swing.
 
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