Moose Bullet Selection

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Want to pose a question to CGN. My friend and I are heading moose hunting next September for a fly-in hunt on a secluded lake and river. I have LOTS of time to work on any load development and wanted some further advice. I have one of two guns which are dedicated for hunting purposes. Shots could range from 100-500m based on geography of land.

First is a 300WSM Shilen Rem Varm Contour, trued 700 action. 0.5MOA with 208gr A-max @ 2750fps.

Second is a Tikka T3 30.06 Bartlein #4 Contour barrel (awaiting finishing at gun smith).

I am debating bullet choices. I know that A-max is a match grade bullet but it has been used the world over for hunting. Do I continue with the 208-Amax or try some other work ups?

For the 30.06 I was considering 180gr Nosler Accubonds
For the 300wsm I have available 180gr Nos ABs, 190gr Berger VLD Hunting, 210 Berger VLD hunting and would be open to 200gr Barnes LRX or 200gr Nos ABs.


Thoughts from more experienced moose and very large game hunters? The only other moose I shot was with a 165gr SST out of a .308.

Thanks
 
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I would personally stay away from the A max..... Nosler accubonds or partitions would be my choice based on the extreme distance between minimum and maximum shot distances.....

If I were you, I would exercise a third option and develop a load for the 300 with some nosler 180's...
 
Got over 40" of penetration with 180gr Partitions from a 300 H+H on a moose last month.Son had about the same with Accubonds 160gr from a 7 Rem mag the fall before......Triple shock x bullets great as well 168gr from a .308 NM...Harold
 
I wouldn't't hunt with A-Max. Too thin. It's a paper punched by design. Any suitable bonded or partitioned bullet should do.
 
Moose are not a thick skinned animal... target the lungs and use a bonded bullet of your choice. Partitions are a good compromise. Accunonds and Interbonds are also a good choice... 180's are dandy in either cartridge.

Use the A-Max on paper not flesh.
 
I would choose the barnes bullet if you can get it to shoot in your gun. This year a guy from our group shot a cow and she dropped drt. The range was 455 yds and he was shooting a 308 in 165 gr barnes. Now he actually is on a competitive shooting team through his work and he puts more shots down range in a day then most of us do in a lifetime of hunting. He knows his gun and knows his drop and windage etc.
But that Barnes went through the boiler room and exited the far shoulder. It passed right thru and didnt fragment at all. I was highly impressed with this bullet after seeing that. the same guy dropped a small bull on the same trip at 283 yds. Bull dropped right there. Another perfect pass thru.
 
There is absolutely NO point in going for ultimate accuracy when hunting moose. Amax and Bergers are accurate bullets but also very fragile. Their heritage as target bullets makes them good for long range pokes at deer and such. Moose are not deer.
Don't worry about giving up a tiny bit of accuracy, choose a bullet that will penetrate adequately when hitting the shoulder bone or other "imperfect" placement. Heavy .308 cal bullets of most any hunting design 180 grains and over will perform reliably on moose, mid to lightweight bullets ( under 180 grains) are best restricted to bonded, partition or monolithic styles. My choice in either of your rifles would be the 200 grain Nosler partition, but any good strong hunting bullet of 165-200 grain will work very well.
 
For the intention of moose both your 300wsm or 30-06 will do the trick. It sounds like your 300wsm with the varmint contour barrel is much heavier than your 30-06 no? If this is the case I'd want the 30-06 with me. I wouldn't want to carry around a heavier gun than I have to on a fly in, but that's just my preference. Also, from the fly in territory that your going to I assume it sounds like pretty thick forest where you'd be lucky to get a shot over 200 yds? If that's the case then again I'd stick with the 30-06.
Look at a 180 gr good bonded bullet, like accubonds or the like, or a 165ish grain monometal and you won't be able to blame the gun choice of you don't get your moose
 
I've taken several moose with a 150 ttsx from my 300wsm, 90 to 365 yards, all passed through and either bang flop or bang, wobble, and drop....happy with the performance and lack of meat loss compared to previous results
 
Thank you all for such great replies. It certainly helped settle my fears regarding the A-Max. I know it is great in this gun, but I sure didn't feel super comfortable with it on a big boned animal like a moose. A deer I think is a different story. Regarding shot distances I am slightly guesstimating based on longest possible shot on google earth ie) to the other side of the lake if a bull pops out and wont' come around. The distances to the other side are 300-500m. Realistically I suspect it will be the standard 100m or less shot! Regardless I will be practicing this spring/summer for shots up to 500m.

I think I will work up some loads with the 180gr Nos AB and see how it performs both in the 300wsm and 30.06.

For the fly-in I am leaning slightly towards the 30.06 to shave about 1-1.75lb of weight on the gun. The 30.06 isn't built up yet, so I don't know its final weight. it will have T3 action, #4 bartlein (not sure on 22 or 24" yet), mcmillan gamescout with Edge tech, ATRS rail, NF lightweight rings and either a Leupold VX-6 2-12x42 or NF SHV 4-14x56mm (leaning to leup for weight savings).


Thanks!
 
If you are expecting shots over 300m, then my vote would go with the 300wsm with something in a 180 grain flavor. Nothing wrong with a 30-06, but bullet drop at 400m is a lot. Realistically its a lot for either, but you are looking at more drop for a 30-06 165grain than a 180 in the WSM at 400 yards.

For Federal Premium ammo, using the partition (I know, not ideal long-range bullet, but it allows for a direct comparison) a 180 in the WSM has 19.4/39.1 inches of drop at 400/500 yards respectively. Meanwhile, the 30-06 in a 165grain drops 23/46.8 inches, and the 180 grain drops 24.4/48.7 inches.
 
IMO the 200gr Partition is one of the best bullets made for hunting. It flies very well - better than most suspect - and performance on game is absolutely fantastic. By way of comparison, tested BC of the 200gr Accubond vs Partition is .524 vs .487, respectively and the 180gr Accubond is .481

Give it a try, I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised.
 
There is no need for expensive so called 'premium' bullets... 150, 165 or 180 grain Hornady bullets would work very well.
 
guntech said:
There is no need for expensive so called 'premium' bullets... 150, 165 or 180 grain Hornady bullets would work very well.
Click to expand...

1) Hornady makes premium bullets, such as the Accubond. (edit: interbond. Its their fault for naming them so similarly... Or interview? lol)

2) If you are going to spend the money to fly into a remote area for a moose hunt, why cheap out on the bullets? Especially if you are expecting reliable expansion and penetration at 300-500 yards...
 
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Suther said:
1) Hornady makes premium bullets, such as the Accubond.

2) If you are going to spend the money to fly into a remote area for a moose hunt, why cheap out on the bullets? Especially if you are expecting reliable expansion and penetration at 300-500 yards...
Click to expand...

Nosler makes the accubond. Hornady makes the interview. Personally I would take whichever bullet shoots the best. This year I used matrix rbt bullets made in Canada and they shoot very well and are bonded.
 
Suther said:
1) why cheap out on the bullets? Especially if you are expecting reliable expansion and penetration at 300-500 yards...
Click to expand...

The higher price does not always equate to better bullet performance... plain old Hornady bullets will reliably penetrate and expand at 300-500 yards on a moose just fine.
 
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