What is your favorite rifle / shotgun for bear and moose?

Dr.Chris

Dr.Chris

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I just finished my hunters course on the weekend and I'm wondering what kind of rifle / shotgun I should get for bear and moose (I may also shoot deer and wolves).

What is your favorite restricted rifle / shotgun?

What is your favorite non-restricted rifle?

I'm including shotguns because I've seen some discussion around using shotguns with slugs for big game making it "the only gun you'll ever need".

Chris
 
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well for hunting you can only legaly use a non-restricted rifle unfortunatly.
i cant say for moose cause i dont hunt em but for deer, bear and anything bigger then a dog i use my sported enfield in traditional .303 british, keep in mind i dont shoot past 100-150 yards so its a perfect caliber for me comfy and reliable only problem is ammo is getting pricy lately
 
My own personal favorite is the 300ultramag,but I do not recommend it to the average hunter.The cartridge that I recommend most for the one gun hunter is the 7mmremmag,as is offers plenty of power and a flat trajectory with manageable recoil.
 
Let me get in here quick gronski before the naysayers all start harping away with their insidious caterwalling. :rolleyes:
You should look at the latest technology in both rifle and caliber... don't let the traditionalists sway you with regard to the Short Mags or the new rifles chambered for this new technology.:cool:
Long story short... get a Tikka t-3 in 300WSM.

Now you can listen to all the silly people.... who's gonna be first...:p
 
BIGREDD said:
Let me get in here quick gronski before the naysayers all start harping away with their insidious caterwalling. :rolleyes:
You should look at the latest technology in both rifle and caliber... don't let the traditionalists sway you with regard to the Short Mags or the new rifles chambered for this new technology.:cool:
Long story short... get a Tikka t-3 in 300WSM.

Now you can listen to all the silly people.... who's gonna be first...:p
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LOL ye the new technology has alot of beifits over the traditional older stuff and the tikka t-3 is defintly one worth looking closly at.
i use the .303 not because it is old or traditional but simply because it was cheap and it hasnt failed me yet LOL.
if/when i can afford some of this newer technology you can rest assured there will be at least one in my lock up :D
above get what you feel comfortable with and something that will fit you best
 
yes. what bighead said. make sure it has a muzzle brake too!

ok, back from lala land. anything from .260 on up will do the job with preference given to a a .308 and up.

a 270 or .30-06 bolt action is a great way to cut your teeth in the hunting world, and is very adequate for moose, bear, and deer. Keep it Simple.
 
Buy a .270 WSM Browning BAR.
1. I believe that anything bigger with stronger recoil is dangerous, because it can remove your sholder and slice up your head with the scope. (I have my rifle just for a few weeks, and it always takes me days to recover after a range visit.)
2. I would prefer full-auto, but the closes to this we can get is the semi. :)

People will say strange things about what caliber you need to kill a certain animal. When you get headache from reading experts about the best bear/deer/moose/whale calibers, just go to Winchester's ammo website, and check their recommendation with the CXP categories. The .270WSM has ammo for both medium and large animal.
And it has enough energy to waste some of it to reload your rifle, so why would you do it with your bean soup generated energy? :)
 
For moose what I spend the most time hunting) I now use either a Ruger Frontier in .300WSM (recoils a bit but only because it's light) or 45-70 guide gun with hotter than factory handloads. but i've used a Remington 700 and a Ruger 77 in 30-06 in the past and it's an entirely adequate caliber out to 300 yards- so for a starter gun that's what I would use - its easy to find ammo (I would use 180 grains for everything (moose, deer or bear), so you only have to get to know one trajectory), has moderate recoil and they are easy to resell. there are many good makers Remington Ruger Tikka Sako ( Ruger makes the best hunting rifle in my opinion). expect to spend as much on optics as you will on the rifle and you'll be set for life.-:)
 
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moose gun

Well everyone knows you can't hunt moose with anything other than the newest fangled most expensive stainless steel plastic stocked .308 WSSSSM Howitzer Loudenbommer.:eek: So put away those antique 30-06 and 7mm mag rifles and run down to the nearest sporting goods store and buy the latest in ultra slick over priced rifles and gain that all important 50 fps because everyone knows that you can't kill a moose with a rifle that was made before 2004.
 
Amphibious said:
yes. what bighead said. make sure it has a muzzle brake too!

ok, back from lala land. anything from .260 on up will do the job with preference given to a a .308 and up.

a 270 or .30-06 bolt action is a great way to cut your teeth in the hunting world, and is very adequate for moose, bear, and deer. Keep it Simple.
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Yeah listen to Phibber... keep it stupid... simple. :p
 
303carbine said:
Well everyone knows you can't hunt moose with anything other than the newest fangled most expensive stainless steel plastic stocked .308 WSSSSM Howitzer Loudenbommer.:eek: So put away those antique 30-06 and 7mm mag rifles and run down to the nearest sporting goods store and buy the latest in ultra slick over priced rifles and gain that all important 50 fps because everyone knows that you can't kill a moose with a rifle that was made before 2004.
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There ya go... you now have two expert opinions.....:p
 
I've said it before, I'll say it again, the very best rifle to hunt something with is the one that will put the bullet exactly where you want it.

http://www.african-hunter.com/_303_elephant_kill.htm

I'm not saying you should set out with a .303 for elephant, but it can be done. Therefore an adventurous, and mabe slightly suicidal person could hunt grizzly with a .243., as long as you shoot em right, they die. I use a 300 win mag for everything, deer, elk, black bear, moose and antelope. Not because it is a cannon, but because it is the most accurate and stable rifle I have. I do lots of long range shooting either across the prairies or the coulees of the river valley. The .300 keeps plenty of killing power 400 yards out and beyond, because usually that is where i shoot. Running tallied average is 387 meters per deer. Those damn muleys keep walking right up to me and lowering the average.
 
Buy a .270 WSM Browning BAR.
1. I believe that anything bigger with stronger recoil is dangerous, because it can remove your sholder and slice up your head with the scope. (I have my rifle just for a few weeks, and it always takes me days to recover after a range visit.)
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Maybe for you,but some of us can handle more recoil,without requiring recovery time after every range visit.Some of us also choose a good scope and mount it properly,so that the scope does not contact our head.:D
 
I have a 35 year old Parker Hale 1200C in .270 that i'm very partial to . It's so banged up and scratched you probably won't pay more that 75 bucks for it at a gunshow . With a Bushnel scope it will put everything into 1.500" @ 100 yards leaning over the hood of the truck . Benched , it will do 1 inch . It has accounted for about 30 moose , 'bout the same ammount of deer and around that number of bear . I don't have much meat on my shoulders and the .270 is a pleasure to shoot . Most of the game i shoot is 100 yards or less but i have taken a few around 200 yards . The .270 hasn't failed me yet .
 
303carbine said:
Well everyone knows you can't hunt moose with anything other than the newest fangled most expensive stainless steel plastic stocked .308 WSSSSM Howitzer Loudenbommer.:eek: So put away those antique 30-06 and 7mm mag rifles and run down to the nearest sporting goods store and buy the latest in ultra slick over priced rifles and gain that all important 50 fps because everyone knows that you can't kill a moose with a rifle that was made before 2004.
Click to expand...


Just in case you didn't actually read the question, I'll point out that Gronski is a NEW shooter. He's not wading through a stack of Enfields and Springfields to get to an ultramag, he's asking a simple question about what we would recommend for moose and deer. Just because you've got a hate on for a new class of cartridges is no reason to try to poison him against them.

He didn't say he's got an '06 and is wondering if it'll work; he said he needs a new gun and has to figure out what he wants. New shooters should be informed by us, not propagandized.

And Gronski: here's what I recommend you consider for buying a moose/deer gun. It's simplified, and therefore not nearly complete, but hopefully it'll help.
It's also somewhat biased, cause all gun owners are biased, so read with a grain of salt.

If you're going to hunt both moose and deer every year at normal (under 300 yards) kind of ranges, a 30 06 or .300 WSM would be pretty good.

If you're going to hunt deer every year, and moose every few years, a .270 (either the standard or WSM) would be ideal.

Cost of ammo for practicing a concern? .308.

Think you might be worried about recoil? Replace the 30-06 with a .308 and the .270 with a 7mm-08.

If you just want a brush gun, and KNOW you don't want to shoot at more than 150 yards, look at a 45-70.

If you're a prairie or mountain hunter, or are interested in longer-range work once you get some practice, get a 7mm rem mag or 7mm WSM

And finally, if you want THE ALL-TIME BEST-EVER CARTRIDGE EVER: I like my .270 WSM.:D
 
I used to use a 7mm Mag and have found that it damges allot of meat at close range on deer and moose. I have since changed to 9.3x62 and have never looked back, great stopping power, lighter gun, and less meat damage.
 
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