First Moose Hunt: Any recommendations for .308 cartridges?

vorsicht! said:
I like to set up my 8x8 gong at the end of the range and watch it swing.
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That's good practice. Are you able to use a variety of shooting positions at your range?

I always use the steadiest position available to me - but in most of the places that I have hunted, you can't assume the prone position due to foliage and I end up taking shots from the sitting or kneeling position. If you can ring an 8X8 gong 10 for 10 at 200 yards from the kneeling position, you won't have any issues putting a round into the boiler room of a moose when you're in the field.
 
w squared said:
That's good practice. Are you able to use a variety of shooting positions at your range?

I always use the steadiest position available to me - but in most of the places that I have hunted, you can't assume the prone position due to foliage and I end up taking shots from the sitting or kneeling position. If you can ring an 8X8 gong 10 for 10 at 200 yards from the kneeling position, you won't have any issues putting a round into the boiler room of a moose when you're in the field.
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I generally only shoot in the prone position or off a bench, and hitting the gong at 200 is too easy in those positions. I am going to pick up a Primos trigger stick to use as a shooting rest for varied positions. I plan on putting some practice in this summer to see how my accuracy is with the Primos when I am sitting, kneeling, and standing.
 
vorsicht! said:
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.
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For a premium bullet I would drop to the 165gr class in a 308. More velocity never hurts, and the reduction in weight will be more than made up for by the better bullet. Cheap bullets perform well in 180gr in a 308 due to the lower velocity, but if you get a better bullet then you can increase the velocity without fear of inadequate penetration.

That said I took my first bear with a 130gr CoreLokt out of my 270win, and that penetrated just fine (pass through on a double lung shot) despite being a cheap bullet going at a pretty good speed, so bullet placement counts more than bullet construction (assuming the bullet construction meets a minimum level of performance)

vorsicht! said:
I generally only shoot in the prone position or off a bench, and hitting the gong at 200 is too easy in those positions. I am going to pick up a Primos trigger stick to use as a shooting rest for varied positions. I plan on putting some practice in this summer to see how my accuracy is with the Primos when I am sitting, kneeling, and standing.
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Have you looked at the reviews for the Trigger sticks? I wanted one for the longest time, and still really like the idea, but a lot of reviews I've seen say the adjustment mechanism fails randomly. I saw a lot of reviews that said things along the lines of "It worked great last year, this year it doesn't work at all!" and they cost too much for me to take a gamble on.

I've been thinking about making some shooting sticks out of bamboo from the dollar store. Two pieces of bamboo and some rubber tubing can get you some sticks pretty easy, basically make a copy of this for $5: https://www.amazon.ca/Johnny-Stewart-Specialties-Quik-Shot-Predator/dp/B000KKAA46 Hell I might make two sets, one shorter for sitting and one longer for standing shots....
 
Suther said:
Have you looked at the reviews for the Trigger sticks? I wanted one for the longest time, and still really like the idea, but a lot of reviews I've seen say the adjustment mechanism fails randomly. I saw a lot of reviews that said things along the lines of "It worked great last year, this year it doesn't work at all!" and they cost too much for me to take a gamble on.
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I saw a couple of reviews where people complained about the lowering mechanism seizing up, but they were few and far in between. It gets an average of 4.5 stars on Amazon with over 400 reviews. Hopefully they work out, lol.
 
Yeah I'm gonna echo everyone else and say go with the 180gr Federal blue box stuff, I've used it in a ton of cartridges (.243, .270, .303, .308, .30-06) at a bunch of ranges and never had a problem with them. I would only consider something tougher in a magnum loading, for "regular" cartridges they'll hold up fine. Power Points, Interlocks, and Core Lokts same thing - just as effective as they've always been, get whatever is cheap and practice more.

Only time I've ever gone for pricey factory ammo is 1) Weatherby or other especially hot rounds, or 2) getting bonded or partition loads for close range stuff.
 
Federal 180s will work fine. Just remember you have to hit the boileroom.

Do you do any hunting from the sitting position? I like to sit on the top edge of a tram or gully and wait for them to come to me.

If you sit, practice taking a couple shots form the other shoulder. If you are right handed, and a moose approaches from your right, it is a much easier shot to take from the left shoulder.

Take a good shot and then stay put for a few minutes. Mr. moose will take a few steps and then sit down to think about what happened.

If you jump up and run towards him, he will run to the crappiest place he can find.
 
Ganderite said:
Federal 180s will work fine. Just remember you have to hit the boileroom.

Do you do any hunting from the sitting position? I like to sit on the top edge of a tram or gully and wait for them to come to me.

If you sit, practice taking a couple shots form the other shoulder. If you are right handed, and a moose approaches from your right, it is a much easier shot to take from the left shoulder.

Take a good shot and then stay put for a few minutes. Mr. moose will take a few steps and then sit down to think about what happened.

If you jump up and run towards him, he will run to the crappiest place he can find.
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This ^^

I availed myself of a moose hunt last fall... spent lots of time in the six months leading up to that trying handloads with 180gr Interbonds. I was told that moose were easy to bring down (they knew my shooting was acceptable) Incidentally I could not find a load that passed my accuracy criteria of 1moa or better (oddly) but even more odd was that the rifle did fine with Winchester 180gr PP (30-06sprg). I was troubled for same reason OP was: these are listed as being for smaller big game. I chose accuracy and expending a few boxes verifying impact points to 300y and practice off sticks etc. One frontal shot about 120y and as you said: Watch Mr. Moose... he turned, took a few steps and did the onerous weak knee wobble about 15y further and fell over to not really think about anything.

Moose aren't Abrams tanks, though you'd think that walking down what they call a trail... fascinating and tasty animals. Just be sure you can place the bullet in the right spot... I don't think it's possible to teach someone to overcome buck fever except breath and just think about the task, circumstance and just doing it right: no one wants to chase a wounded animal but must if it goes pear shaped.
 
Put a 308 150-180 soft point through both lungs = DEAD Moose.

Dont take frontal or quartering towards shots at longer ranges +250 yards and those shots will be fine as well.

As with any game Shot Placement is far more important than anything else...
 
I have shot moose with 30 cal bullets from 150-200 grains. Most often from the 30-06 or 308 Norma Magnum. However, I shot 4 moose with the 308 Winchester.
Two were with 150 Partitions, and 2 were with 165 Partitions. None traveled more than 25 feet before pitching on their nose. FWIW, all were
double-lunged. I recovered only 1 bullet, the others made exit. Dave.
 
vorsicht! said:
That's good to hear. I was a little concerned because the box states that the ammo is recommended for "Medium Game" like deer and black bear not "Large Game" like elk and moose.
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The last moose I shot with those 180gr blue box bullets went about 10yrds and dropped dead.
 
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