Well any thing in the .300 cal. range + Should do the trick but its more a matter of shooters ability to place the shot especially at 600 Yrds iff you are not shooting ragged one hole groups at a hundred then picture your group opening up at 600. Could you still hit the kill zone? There are plenty of Cals big enough to get the job done but you need a balistic program wind speed meter and a good range finder to get the job done correctly at that distance . We have all seen the lucky bullet hold over theory in action and once in a while some one connects and drops his Deer ,Moose ETC . but the misses and the wounded animals windmilling legs those are the stories He won't tell you about.
MOOSE AT 550 yards
- Thread starter goring
- Start date
For 500yard shots you better know the exact distance of the animal and know your bullets trajectory intimately!!!! A cross wind could also mean 2ft of lateral drift at 500....
IMO 99.9% of shooters are totally ill-prepared for a 500yard shot at an animal.In fact from a field positon most are incapable of RELIABLE 300yard shots, myself included. Sure, ring 500yard gongs all day at the range, who cares if you make a marginal hit but trying a 'flyer' at a long range animal is quite unethical.
You made a good decison to not send a bullet in the hope of killing it!
IF I was to try that shot I think any of the mid magnums from .300wsm - .338 Ultra would have enough clout, the key is accuracy and most importantly knowing the trajectory. A range finder would be imperative! A miscaculation of 50yards could mean a wounded animal.
IMO 99.9% of shooters are totally ill-prepared for a 500yard shot at an animal.In fact from a field positon most are incapable of RELIABLE 300yard shots, myself included. Sure, ring 500yard gongs all day at the range, who cares if you make a marginal hit but trying a 'flyer' at a long range animal is quite unethical.
You made a good decison to not send a bullet in the hope of killing it!
IF I was to try that shot I think any of the mid magnums from .300wsm - .338 Ultra would have enough clout, the key is accuracy and most importantly knowing the trajectory. A range finder would be imperative! A miscaculation of 50yards could mean a wounded animal.
Agreed, and interesting point. Often people say things like "I can shoot X MOA all day long if I do my part, except for the fliers", or "I can ring the X00 m gong 9 times out of 10". That is all fine and good at the range, but if you are going to hunt, you should be focused on the fliers, and the 1 out of 10 shots.
When there is a creature staring at you in the scope, shooting will get tougher, not easier.
Watch "Best of the West"
They shoot moose, elk, grizzlies usually at 6-800 yards. One shot with a 7mm. It is however a TV show and I'm sure they have a few misses they don't show.
Good call on passsing it up, if you aren't confident at any range it's a good idea to let them walk. Hopefully you'll be rewarded for it next year and get a bigger one!
They shoot moose, elk, grizzlies usually at 6-800 yards. One shot with a 7mm. It is however a TV show and I'm sure they have a few misses they don't show.
Good call on passsing it up, if you aren't confident at any range it's a good idea to let them walk. Hopefully you'll be rewarded for it next year and get a bigger one!
Dennis hit it on the head here. Any suitable high intensity cartridge will carry enough energy to that range to do the job.
What you would need for equipment would be a very accurate rifle and scope of sufficient power to aim the shot carefully at that range.
What you would need even more is enough recent and regular practice to be able to make that shot every time from a steady hunting position.
Moose are not particularly tough beasts to put down but they do have an abundance of non-lethal area to put an errant shot into forcing a foot chase on a very long strided animal. For the most part it's only bragging rights that would motivate most hunters(read:irresponsible) to chance such a shot and speaking from personal first hand experience as yes I did just that very thing once and only once as it leaves a real bad taste in your mouth both literally and figuratively when that animal meanders off to die a lingering death where you may or may not find ol' Bullwinkle. And just as an aside to this topic, many many whitetails fall victim to a less than lethal hit from archery weapons and may run up to a mile or more before they give up the ghost but somehow that's not an issue and somewhere in between a "drop 'em in his tracks" hit and a gutshot with an arrow is an acceptable part of a deer hunt these days? Go figure.
- Location
- Sudbury, On
If you have to ask, you have no business shooting at that distance.
While that pump gun is not a quality long range rifle, the Caliber certainly is. The 30-06 is quite capable of killing moose out to 600 yards with proper practice and a quality rifle, while I personally do not recommend it the '06 has been killing big game in North America for over 100 years, long before any of those wsm cartridges were ever thought of.
- Location
- Back in the Peace Country
I've done it and would do it again...not a moose though, and it wasn't a pump 30/06,..and it was only 50 yards not 550... ah ####...nevermind..
.264 bullets fired out of 6.5 swede are quite capable of taking Moose out to 300 yards (with good shot placement). The .264 win mag would be a logical evolution to shoot out beyond this (within reason).
But I can't understand why someone can't get closer anyway... this part of the fun in hunting is it not?
Besides which as 7.62mm said:
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Really, your 30-06 is just as good as anything else at that range. a 300 magnum still requires holdover at 600+ yds, precise range estimation, accurate wind doping. The cartridge will make 10% difference, the rifle/scope will make 10% difference, and the shooter is the remaining 80% of long range shooting. Get to a range and practise shooting your 30-06 at long ranges.
You will need to learn how to shoot - sounds simple but what do you really know about wind doping.
You need a means to accurately measure range; there is no person in the world that can do so accurately and repeatedly without mechanical aid.
You also need to know the ballistics of your shot. How much does your bullet drop at 550 yds? 600? Quite a difference there.
It's not as simple as buying a big whopper magnum and going shooting.
You will need to learn how to shoot - sounds simple but what do you really know about wind doping.
You need a means to accurately measure range; there is no person in the world that can do so accurately and repeatedly without mechanical aid.
You also need to know the ballistics of your shot. How much does your bullet drop at 550 yds? 600? Quite a difference there.
It's not as simple as buying a big whopper magnum and going shooting.
i have a friend that reguarly shoots moose with a 338 win mag and the furthest that he said he ever shot one at was 500 yds. but he also said it was pure luck. I have shot them also but at about 440 yds max. big animal and getting moose fever{ like deer fever} makes long shots iffy. I would definitely pactise more at moose sized targets if you are going to use a 30-06 at long range. also a premium bullet is a must. It is where you hit the animal that counts the most.
M12shooter
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- East St. Paul, mb
In the bush most guys can't even see that far anyway.
