Moose Gun

2012 I dropped a bull at 125ish yards with a single shot from a 243 Win launching 100 grains. Moose aren't very tough, I have seen them fall from 223's, 410 slugs, to 458's. Everyone of them did the same thing, died within a few paces.
 
SuperCub said:
I've read the same quote but the 303 was replaced with the 30/30. Nothing wrong with the 303 for BG hunting. The shear number of them out there at on time could alone contribute to "more wounded game" along with the inexperienced shooters who own them.
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Keep in mind that the Thirty / Thirty was the speed demon of its day. It killed like the 45-70 without the "Rainbow trajectory" and less recoil.
Smaller and lighter guns, could carry more ammunition, accurate and no black powder smoke! Has any of that changed today?
 
Where I have hunted moose in B.C over the past 35 years, its not a big deal what calibre......270 -300 mag. (.243 up works ,if that is all you have) its what sometimes shows up to claim your kill ....usually when you have a heavy pack full of meat on your back and hands are bloody and slippery....... just saying........
 
I'd just like to FIND a moose to shoot these days....wolves,loss of browse , trains, ticks .......used to be you went as far as cache creek.....then Quesnell.....then Prince George....then Hudson Hope ....then Dawson Creek....if you could get an LEH...
 
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I'd like to find a tag to be able to shoot an adult Moose.
Luckily was able to shoot some in the past.
7mm Rem Mag always worked great for me.
I wouldn't be scared using a .30-06 either.
 
I have shot somewhere around 30/35 moose over the years in several calibers from 25/06 to 338wm. If I were going to pick one calibre it would be the 338wm hands down.
 
brannvan said:
I'm looking to get a moose gun,what caliber is the best for knockdown power?
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If you literally mean "knock down power", as in "what will knock them down reliably?", not much, unless you hit them in the head or spine. They're big, strong animals. As others have said, they've been killed will some pretty light rifles, ie, 30-30, 243, but those are not moose cartridges. Here in Ontario, there are a lot of clear cuts and lakes in moose country, so you should be prepared for 200-300 yard shots, IMHO. Shots like that will require some muscle to reliably kill a moose. For big animals, I like big, heavy bullets. If you shoot a moose at 300 yards and don't kill him quickly, you stand a good chance of losing him before you can get to him. I'd suggest a 30-06 as minimum, and that with at least a premium 180gr bullet. Better would be a 300mag and up. My moose gun was a 338, but I've just sold it. That leaves me with a Ruger no.1 in 45-70, which will also hammer a moose, but I wouldn't try a shot past 200 yards with it, and then that would be hot handloads with a pointy bullet.

If you're hunting in bush, a lower powered rifle might be effective, but you want to make sure your shot placement nails him because you don't want to have to track a moose in bush. Bottom line, in my opinion if you are looking for a gun primarily for moose, go big.
 
#1 - 30-06, #2 - 280, #3 - 308, for all round hunting needs. Moose aren't hard to kill and most of my kills have been within 50 m (calling them in). Hard to beat a 30-06 with a 180 Partition at 2800 fps. You can 'beat it' but it is quite sufficient, even out to 300m.
 
My pops put down dozens upon dozens of moose through the years with a bar 3006.
I've shot one I use a 338 win.
I know people that use 270 and I know people that use 416. There really is no correct answer here. Use what you like!
 
Get your self either a .30-06, .300 win mag, .338 Win mag and shoot heavy for caliber bulltes and have a happy hunting time. Personally, I would shy away from smaller calibers as they dont have enough bullet mass or energy to make a tough shot possible as a tough shot just might be the only one you get.
 
SuperCub said:
Only because of Canada's long military history with the 303 and the massive numbers of surplus rifle dumped cheap on the CDN market.
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True enough. After saving my paper route money, that's what I picked up as my entry into my first years of big game hunting.



This is one I acquired a short while ago, virtually identical to that first 'Special' purchased years ago from Simpon-Sears.:)It brought back a lot of fond memories from those formative years.
 
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