Posted on 10/23/2020 8:06:20 PM PDT by DoodleBob
Comparatively few people get to hunt moose. In Maine, where we have masses of moose, the odds on drawing a tag in any given year are 1,300 to one. In Alaska, where the moose are many, and there’s no problem getting a license, but for a nonresident, it’s an expensive and difficult hunt.
On the other hand, I consider moose to be the best of all wild meats, and there’s a lot of it if you get one. So, let us consider the best cartridges for same.
Moose are not smart or tough, but they are big. Bulls in the Lower 48 ( Alces alces) weigh from 800 to 1,000 pounds. Alaskan bulls ( Alces gigas) run from 1,000, if they’re worn down by the rut, to 1,600 or 1,800. For a bullet to do its job, it must get through much moose, and that requires both heft and toughness.
Most moose are shot with deer rifles, and that’s fine, but if you’re hunting them in grizzly or brown bear country, your rifle must be able to deal with an ursine claimant to the dead body. I would not want to bluff a brown bear with a .270. So, most of the following cartridges are bigger than strictly required, but they’ll handle both jobs.
There are bog-trotting moose and ridge-running moose. The ridge runners can often be hunted on horseback, but the bog trotters are pursued on foot, and it’s some of the most frightful country I’ve ever sloshed through. If you carry a heavy, long-barreled rifle, you will regret it only once, and that will be continually.
So, with all of that out of the way, here we go.
(Excerpt) Read more at fieldandstream.com ...
I’ll take two for “a moose once bit my sister” please...
Moose bites can be nasti..
45-70 gets my vote
45-90 300 grain jhp will do the job. 1886 Winchester.
IF I was going after either BIG bears or moose, I would take my Remington Model 760 in 9.3x62MM, that I bought to take a Cape Buff in Africa.= A 9.3x62 shoots a 300 grain bullet (JSP or SOLID) at about 2300FPS. - That cartridge has a LOT of MUZZLE ENERGY & STILL PLENTY of “knock down” out at 200M.
Yours, TMN78247
Personally, I am a huge fan of Hornady. Also, a big fan of Swarovsky glass. To me, if your hunting big/dangerous game they are both your best bet.
flr
I own and have extensively shot two on the list - the .45/70 and the .338 Win Mag. I’d feel properly armed with either of them inside 100 yards which is about as far as I am willing to take a shot while hunting.
Use the gun you can put 3 bullets thru the same hole at 100 yards, moose ain't that tough if you hit them right.
Weatherby 460.
I would take a shot at 200M with the 9.3X62MM that JESSIE at JES reformatted for me.
(Jessie’s work is FLAWLESS & REASONABLE in price, too.)
Yours, TMN78247
338 Lapua mag, 375 H&H, 9.3x62 Mauser, 35 Whelan, 300Win Mag, 7mm Rem Mag are the calibers I own suitable moose and that’s the order I would chose them in. The author is right about the 6.5 Creed I own two in AR10s and neither gets the nod for moose. Elk in none bear country maybe.
If I’m taking an AR to anywhere bears are it will be my 338 federal in AR10 or 458 Socom if I really wanted to be light and carry the 12.5” Socom in AR15 but only with 400 grand hard cast hand loads that duplicate the 45_70 400gr@2300 fps it beats the tar out of the bolt group even with the gas block turned all the way down. So that upper usual shoots 250s@2200 perfect for feral hogs on walkabout haven’t recovered a single round all were pass through.
My 375H&H gets the nod anywhere there’s something with claws, teeth or hooves that’s big enough to eat or stomp me. Recoil is unnoticed when then go sideways.
DEP is a great shooting sportswriter. I look forward to all of his columns and his reviews. The old crank. LOL
.270 not powerful enough, the the 6.5 Creedmor is?
This guy doesn’t know what he’s talking about.
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