270wsm on moose as Back up gun....?

[Panhandler80]

Before I catch a ration of shit, this is just a hypothetical. Simply looking for opinions not an ass chewing.

Pretty sure we are going to hunt Alaska 2022. Trying to save as much money as possible considering the routt I’m taking hunt wise is already way over budget. I have a nice 300wm that would be go to gun. We don’t have another gun this size. My and brother in law. Was thinking about having him carry my 270wsm as a back up gun. Obviously not the best bear protection, but it’s better than my 44 revolver, certainly better than nothing, and with good shot placement would certainly kill a moose. The 300 wm would be go-to gun, but I’d hate to have a scope issue or something go wrong with it and have no second gun on lifetime hunt.

If you were on a budget would you risk it or invest in second Gun?

next question? What would you buy as second gun if you already owned 300wm and 270wsm?

 

[Wapiti1]

If both are hunting moose, take both rifles and one extra scope. If one rifle has iron sights skip the extra scope and make sure the irons are sighted in. Insurance is good to have.

The .270 will be fine for moose and grizzly protection if needed. Moose aren't hard to kill and have a very large vital zone. I'd shoot 150 or 160gr bullets out of it.

If your BIL isn't hunting, the handgun would be fine IMO. Provided he knows how to use it. If he doesn't, the rifle is better.

Jeremy

 

[NoWiser]

270 WSM is more than adequate for moose. Choose a good bullet and take it without a second thought. My dad and I each killed our bulls with a 270 WSM and 140 grain TSXs. Neither bull went more than a couple steps.

 

[AKDoc]

270 WSM is more than adequate for moose. Choose a good bullet and take it without a second thought. My dad and I each killed our bulls with a 270 WSM and 140 grain TSXs. Neither bull went more than a couple steps.

This right here^^^^^^^^^

No reason at all to get a second rifle (hypothetically)...just go with your plan to carry the 300WM yourself and the 270WSM for you BIL to carry. Remember the part about choosing a good bullet....I'm a big fan of the TSX's, which is primarily what I reload these days up here.

 

[Jim1187]

I'd happily pursue moose with a .270 and a quality bullet. Partition, Accubond, Woodliegh or TTSX/LRX.

 

[Panhandler80]

Well in guess this question is answered. Money saved. Also already have a real nice pelican hard case for commercial flights. Some other websites indicated it would be plenty of gun on moose but I was still curious what this group thought.

Plus I was really unsure what caliber I’d go with if i bought another gun anyway.

For the hell of it... what would be a good option if I were to buy a new one? I guess I’d really Need to go with something pretty huge to justify the purchase and avoid overlap. No thanks!

 

[Wapiti1]

Well in guess this question is answered. Money saved. Also already have a real nice pelican hard case for commercial flights. Some other websites indicated it would be plenty of gun on moose but I was still curious what this group thought.

Plus I was really unsure what caliber I’d go with if i bought another gun anyway.

For the hell of it... what would be a good option if I were to buy a new one? I guess I’d really Need to go with something pretty huge to justify the purchase and avoid overlap. No thanks!

For this hunt and similar, you own it, a .300 of some sort is pretty universal. If you have future plans to go for a big brown bear or maybe hit Africa, a .375 would be the easy choice.

If you just wanted something bigger, different and fun a .35 Whelen or 9.3X62 Mauser would get my money. Neither of these is hard to shoot, but they offer a bigger bullet that is pretty well proven to do it's job under 300 yards. Beyond that and you get spanked by poor ballistics.

Jeremy

 

[mcseal2]

If I ever buy something bigger than my 300 win it will be a 375 Ruger with a 20” barrel and iron sights for back-up. I don’t see myself ever needing that gun right now.

338’s are great but I can’t honestly say I’d use a 338 for anything I wouldn’t be comfortable using my 300 for. I trust the 300 and already know I shoot it well.

 

[VernAK]

I have a couple dozen personal videos of big bull moose being shot with anything from a 270 Winchester to 375 h&h. I would defy anyone to tell me which bulls were shot with the 270 vs 375. Probably of all those videos, the young lady shooting the 270 with 130NPs on a frontal shot [one shot only] probably dropped her bull the quickest. None were CNS shots.

The two shot with arrows had very similar results.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

The 270 will be fine. While I wouldn't buy one for a moose hunt, I wouldn't hesitate to take one if thats what I had. I know several guys who hunt all over AK with 270s. The 300 is a great choice for Alaska but if I (you) were to buy another gun to bring up here, I'd take a look at a kimber talkeetna 375HH or one of those ruger Alaskans in 375Ruger. both of those would make ideal moose/bear guns.

 

[Gunnersdad49]

The .270 is legit, but another consideration is having your brother in law sack up and buy his own rifle. If he gets a .300 as well, you can share Ammo in a pinch.
I love my .340 Weatherby and think it’s about perfect for moose, but the .338 win is way more popular if you are shopping for an excuse to buy a new Alaska gun.

 

[hodgeman]

I'd have no qualms with a 270 WIN, and a 270 WSM is just more to love.

I've shot all of my moose with a 300WSM, but my son shoots a 270 with 145gr-150gr bullets. I probably see far more hunters shooting 270s, 06's and 300s than anything bigger.

 

[mooster]

This is how we dealt with a loose base, discovered in the middle of our moose hunt. I was bow hunting with pistol as bear protection, and my son with the 7mm mag. He did kill a moose with the gun, so it all worked out, but does prove your point to expect the unexpected.

We did shoot the gun in FAI before being transported to the field, so not sure how it was almost falling off six days later.

 

[Panhandler80]

Not much out there in terms of ammo. Still a ways out but I’d like to be looking.

40-50 rounds of 140 gr accubond in nosler brass. Think that would work or better off trying to find a good bullet in 150 gr?

Also, would 180 accubond in 300wm be a good choice for that gun? Found some. Stupid expensive but found some.

Nosler Trophy Grade 300 Winchester Mag Ammo 180 Grain Nosler AccuBond

Nosler Trophy Grade ammunition is high quality, production-run ammunition manufactured to strict tolerances and inspected as it is hand-packaged. Trophy...

www.midwayusa.com

 

[hodgeman]

40-50 rounds of 140 gr accubond in nosler brass. Think that would work or better off trying to find a good bullet in 150 gr?

Also, would 180 accubond in 300wm be a good choice for that gun? Found some. Stupid expensive but found some.

Either of those are excellent choices for moose. I've shot almost everthing in the last 15 years with a 180gr Accubond in my 300WSM. In a .270WSM, a 140 AB is going to give you a lot of penetration and good expansion.

Moose just aren't hard to kill (although they can take a long time to die)...catch one broadside and just send it.