I keep reading these stories of guys figuring you need a minimum of a 458 Lott to drop a moose. Personally, I have never seen a moose run very far at all after being shot. The furthest we ever tracked a moose was about 300 yards, but she had laid down immediately when shot and would have stayed right there if I had thought to tell my wife to wait if she shot a moose. When she saw the moose lie down, she thought it was dead. Anyhow, I've shot and seen moose shot with everything from a 30-30 to a 375 H&H and I'm always amazed at how fast they go down. What was your experience?
Have you ever shot a moose that was hard to kill
- Thread starter Papaclaude
- Start date
I have shot many moose over the years and have never had 1 that I thought was hard to kill, as in needing more than 1 or 2 shots. That being said I have encountered a few of them that were very spiteful in their last minute or 2. Wandering 100 feet out into a swamp or opting to pile up in the thickest bush in the area making recovery a royal PITA.
Shot lots of moose to feed the family over the years. Even shot one with a .243 in my younger years.. but shot it in the neck. I believe that was too light of a caliber, and got lucky that it dropped it only because it was last years calf.. So tender...lol .I do prefer the neck shot over the boiler room, if possible. I find alot of less meat damage/loss and always seems to drop them without a step.. 7MM Mag all the way.
I’ve never had that problem with a moose... Whitetails are a different story, I once shot a doe through both front shoulders and she fell to her chest with hind legs still standing and proceeded to make it about 600 yards before hitting a tree and dropping dead. She event kept up with the other does as they ran across the field.
Ive never had one go much of anywhere.
But
Ive run a mag of .338s into one while he was standing there deciding which way to fall over.
Ive seen a couple get back up.
Ive seen most of them get a shot in the head to speed things up.
They go down fast but they die real slow.
But
Ive run a mag of .338s into one while he was standing there deciding which way to fall over.
Ive seen a couple get back up.
Ive seen most of them get a shot in the head to speed things up.
They go down fast but they die real slow.
Trimmer 905
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Both Moose I've taken were hit with one shot just behind the front shoulder when they stepped forward using .30-06Sprg 165gr Remington Core-lokt @ 90M. Both dropped in their tracks.
I've killed/witnessed four moose getting shot. Compared to the dozens of whitetail/mule deer, antelopes and bears I have killed, they seem to be "easier" to kill with limited tracking.
I've shot two personally. The first with a bow (42 inch), one shot in the boiler room on top of a small hill, dropped dead 50 meters away trotting downhill. The second (49 inch) with a muzzleloader, I shot three times (yes three, I've never reloaded a muzzle loader that fast, kind of stupid thing to do, actually), he stood there getting shot for a solid 30 seconds, took all three shots in the lungs, walked maybe 5 passes and dropped. All three shots were very good hits, after the first shot, it stood there so I thought I had somehow missed, I reloaded and shot again, same thing, it stayed there so I reloaded and when I put the crosshairs on him, I could see steam coming out of it's chest, I let the ML rip one last time and he finally dropped. I strongly believe that moose would've maybe wandered a few steps away after the first shot and it would've been enough, it was "calm" and would've most likely collapsed soon after.
The other two were with a .308 win, my wife and a buddy and both with one shot. My wife's (37 inch) dropped on the spot and my buddy's slowly trotted 50 meters and dropped.
I've shot two personally. The first with a bow (42 inch), one shot in the boiler room on top of a small hill, dropped dead 50 meters away trotting downhill. The second (49 inch) with a muzzleloader, I shot three times (yes three, I've never reloaded a muzzle loader that fast, kind of stupid thing to do, actually), he stood there getting shot for a solid 30 seconds, took all three shots in the lungs, walked maybe 5 passes and dropped. All three shots were very good hits, after the first shot, it stood there so I thought I had somehow missed, I reloaded and shot again, same thing, it stayed there so I reloaded and when I put the crosshairs on him, I could see steam coming out of it's chest, I let the ML rip one last time and he finally dropped. I strongly believe that moose would've maybe wandered a few steps away after the first shot and it would've been enough, it was "calm" and would've most likely collapsed soon after.
The other two were with a .308 win, my wife and a buddy and both with one shot. My wife's (37 inch) dropped on the spot and my buddy's slowly trotted 50 meters and dropped.
Having shot over 50 of the big Cervids, with everything from the 6mm Remington up to the 338 Win Mag,
I do not consider moose hard to kill. However, I was present when a big cow was shot too far back, and
against my advice, the shooter rushed over to where she fell, and she got back up and took off. Now she
had her adrenaline up, and 6 shots later, she was finally down to stay.
Usually, a shot through the lungs, and the hard work begins shortly thereafter, lol. Dave.
I do not consider moose hard to kill. However, I was present when a big cow was shot too far back, and
against my advice, the shooter rushed over to where she fell, and she got back up and took off. Now she
had her adrenaline up, and 6 shots later, she was finally down to stay.
Usually, a shot through the lungs, and the hard work begins shortly thereafter, lol. Dave.
This is very typical of moose that have taken a hit in the boiler room, especially through the lungs. Shoot enough of them, and you eventually come to the conclusion that if you have faith in the shot you've just taken, you can reliably wait for a few minutes for the moose to realize he's done.
Pretty much my experience as well. With the 2 crews I hunted with over 30+ years, we probably took well over 75 moose (I honestly can't remember 1 year that we didn't fill all our tags), most were taken with, in order of numbers: 7.62 X 54, 303, 30-30, 308, 30-06, 1 with a 338 WM, 2 with a 375 H&H. My wife's big (huge, actually) cow moose was shot with a 7.62 X 39 at 220 paces, 3 shots in the lungs. The cow took one step and laid down. When my wife went to tag it, it got up and ran a few hundred yards - through knee-to-hip deep water, "witch-heads", and swamp, but ended up dying right in the middle of a logging road. As we were chasing it, I kept thinking we'd need a bloody helicopter to haul it out, as you couldn't use a boat or ATV, but it died smack in the middle of a logging road, and we were able to drive right up to it - you could have driven a car in.
barry1974w
Regular
- Location
- Central B.C.
As mentioned, moose generally seem to take a little bit of time to die. Normally with a lung shot they seem to wander about 30 yards then go down, or at least stand there for as long as it would take them to wander 30 before going down.
One of my buddies shot his first moose with his BAR 30-06, had a mag in the rifle and one in each front pocket of his jacket, his first shot was good, but he managed to go through all three mags at about 60 yards before that poor little bull fell over..... what a mess.....
As for the original question, I think pound for pound elk and whitetail are way harder to kill than moose, but moose are big animals with big bones. I’ve shot moose with 303, 30-06, 280AI, 7mm rem mag, and 375 Ruger. There is a noticeable difference in how fast they go down with the 375 (only shot three with it so not definitive of course). I think the perfect moose round is probably the 338WM.
One of my buddies shot his first moose with his BAR 30-06, had a mag in the rifle and one in each front pocket of his jacket, his first shot was good, but he managed to go through all three mags at about 60 yards before that poor little bull fell over..... what a mess.....
As for the original question, I think pound for pound elk and whitetail are way harder to kill than moose, but moose are big animals with big bones. I’ve shot moose with 303, 30-06, 280AI, 7mm rem mag, and 375 Ruger. There is a noticeable difference in how fast they go down with the 375 (only shot three with it so not definitive of course). I think the perfect moose round is probably the 338WM.
barry1974w
Regular
- Location
- Central B.C.
Pretty much my experience as well. With the 2 crews I hunted with over 30+ years, we probably took well over 75 moose (I honestly can't remember 1 year that we didn't fill all our tags), most were taken with, in order of numbers: 7.62 X 54, 303, 30-30, 308, 30-06, 1 with a 338 WM, 2 with a 375 H&H. My wife's big (huge, actually) cow moose was shot with a 7.62 X 39 at 220 paces, 3 shots in the lungs. The cow took one step and laid down. When my wife went to tag it, it got up and ran a few hundred yards - through knee-to-hip deep water, "witch-heads", and swamp, but ended up dying right in the middle of a logging road. As we were chasing it, I kept thinking we'd need a bloody helicopter to haul it out, as you couldn't use a boat or ATV, but it died smack in the middle of a logging road, and we were able to drive right up to it - you could have driven a car in.
Gotta love it when stuff works out like that
The one I have shot and seen shot fell over with in eye sight
Came across a fellow how asked for some help , appparntly he shot a moose and couldn’t find it
We tracked it all morning,in alight skiff of snow,I finally had it cross the cut line 150 yds ahead of me
The front left leg was taken off at the joint, we never got close or saw that bull again
Came across a fellow how asked for some help , appparntly he shot a moose and couldn’t find it
We tracked it all morning,in alight skiff of snow,I finally had it cross the cut line 150 yds ahead of me
The front left leg was taken off at the joint, we never got close or saw that bull again
30-06 Barnes Vor-Tx at about 40 yards.
First one double lunged him would've done the job, the second sealed the deal and took him off his feet, I short stroked the 3rd and jammed my rifle while my hunting partners tried to tell me he was done.. it's a good thing cause I would've shot the gun dry.
I think peoples perception of the giant animal as being super tough causes them to put those extra good measure rounds in. In actuality today's high velocity hunting ammo is pretty effective regardless of animal size so long as you put it where it's needed.
First one double lunged him would've done the job, the second sealed the deal and took him off his feet, I short stroked the 3rd and jammed my rifle while my hunting partners tried to tell me he was done.. it's a good thing cause I would've shot the gun dry.
I think peoples perception of the giant animal as being super tough causes them to put those extra good measure rounds in. In actuality today's high velocity hunting ammo is pretty effective regardless of animal size so long as you put it where it's needed.
