Custom load for moose

[hudson19]

I have a moose hunt coming up. I have a 7mm Rem Mag and I am looking to load up some heavier rounds (I use 162gr SST for elk). What weight and bullet do the experts here recommend?

 

[wildwilderness]

Moose are not tougher than elk. If you are confident in what you use for elk it will be fine for moose.

Personally I am not a fan of the SST cup and core type bullet for bigger or dangerous animals. I do like Barnes and other monos or a better bonded bullet.

 

[hudson19]

I guess that is what I am looking for, the better bonded bullet

 

[wildwilderness]

For bonded the Nosler accubond is probably the easiest to find. Swift scirocco, trophy bonded bear claw, the newish Terminal Ascent looks good if you can find it.

I have always opted for the Barnes, or Hammer bullets though. Very accurate and predictable on performance

 

[CRJR45]

What twist rate ? I’m using 195 Berger EOL in my 28 Nosler .

 

[hudson19]

According to the internet my tikka t3 has a twist rate of 1:9.5"

 

[CRJR45]

I’m no expert, but 168 Berger EOL or ACCUBOND 175 would be the heaviest.
You just have to find what the rifle wants to shoot best and go with that .
I’ve had great success with 160 Partitions and Accubonds in my 280 AI and my 28 N

My 7 mm RM I shoot 162 ELDX .

 

[CJ_BG]

This question cannot be answered without the "Why".

Why do you want to change to a heavier bullet? What kind of terminal performance are you looking for? Is there a ballistic advantage you want to chase?

 

[Chris in TN]

I have killed two elk now with my .280AI and 160 grain Accubonds at a mv of 2980' or so. That's with a 25" barrel and pretty much exactly what you would expect to get from a typical 24" 7mmRM. I watched over the shoulder as my dad killed another elk with the same rifle/load. On the one hand, I really like Accubonds and have shot or watched dad shoot a number of deer with them over the years from 25-06 (110), 6.8 spc (110), 280ai (160) and .300Wby (180) at ranges from 20 to 450 yards. I've recovered a few and they all pretty much looked like the expansion pictures nosler used to use to advertise them, with expansion seeming to track perfectly as advertised based on impact velocities, and most of them have given exit wounds on deer and elk. They've been accurate (more accurate than Hornady Interbonds when those were available, but only slightly, in two different rifles) and other than a box of tarnished bullets I got maybe 10 years ago they've just been boringly exactly what they claim to be and I can't criticize them at all. So if you want controlled expansion that's what I'd do.

Now having said that, they are a) expensive, b) relatively low BC by modern standards and perhaps not ideal for good expansion if you hunt at extended ranges, and c) I decided a long time ago I wasn't going to take Texas Heart Shots and therefore don't need insane levels of penetration and from what little I've seen, making an elk bleed from a bullet exit is complicated no matter what caliber you're shooting. In light of all of that, I am slowly moving everything to ELDM or similar match type bullets that retain their velocity well and spend all of their energy making a mess in the animal, not a hole in the dirt behind it.

I guess my point is, I love the Accubonds for what you are describing, but I am personally moving more towards expansion than penetration.

 

[WMR]

Not claiming expert status, but the Nosler Partition will get it done. 160’s are available now and would be great. Lots of smart guys also like the Barnes TTSX and LRX. I’m in the camp that prefers deep penetration for large or angry animals.

 

[Fogalo]

Not claiming expert status, but the Nosler Partition will get it done. 160’s are available now and would be great. Lots of smart guys also like the Barnes TTSX and LRX. I’m in the camp that prefers deep penetration for large or angry animals.

I shot a moose last year with a 180 grain Barnes ttsx in 30 cal (300wm). I gotta believe you would be fine with a slightly lighter offering from the 7.

On the side of hunting moose, be prepared to have a quick follow up shot. I dove into this before my hunt last year and it seems like a lot of guys get the opportunity for follow ups. I put 5 total in mine, but make the first one count. But I was only at 150 yards so 5 in the boiler room wasn’t a super difficult task.

 

[medvedyt]

even if not the best by todays standard the 7mm and 160gr partition will be hard to beat. i guided a lot us hunters with that combo on moose and caribou in the east and it is always a great combo and those hunters praised it as well for elk in their hunting grounds so why changing what is working.

we got a few friends using it every year with success as well.

good luck on your hunt.

 

[TaperPin]

I have a moose hunt coming up. I have a 7mm Rem Mag and I am looking to load up some heavier rounds (I use 162gr SST for elk). What weight and bullet do the experts here recommend?

I’ve had great results with 160 gr Partition and 175. In penetration tests the difference between the two is minimal, like 5%, but you can’t go wrong with either bullet.

 

[hudson19]

This question cannot be answered without the "Why".

Why do you want to change to a heavier bullet? What kind of terminal performance are you looking for? Is there a ballistic advantage you want to chase?

The "why" is to have more energy when it hits. Elk are tough and moose are bigger and tougher.

 

[SaltySailor]

Moose are not tougher, pop the lungs and down they go. I've taken plenty of moose with a .243 sending 100 grain Core Lokts, my son just took his first moose last year with the same set up. I have seen moose drop just as fast popping lungs with a .243 as I have with my .300 Win pushing 212's.

 

[FLHunter87]

You're fine. People in Alaska kill Moose with 243s. Your 7 mag and 162 SST will be fine. You'll end up shooting the moose 2-3xs anyway most likely. My mom uses SST in her 243 and they are actually very accurate and have done great with terminal performance.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

Moose are not tougher, pop the lungs and down they go. I've taken plenty of moose with a .243 sending 100 grain Core Lokts, my son just took his first moose last year with the same set up. I have seen moose drop just as fast popping lungs with a .243 as I have with my .300 Win pushing 212's.

This ^^^

I can’t even count the people and moose I’ve seen/known over the years that were taken with things like 243s, 270s, 308 etc. last year I killed mine with a 30-06, another common moose cartridge.

Just use whatever round you’ve been using for your elk.

 

[CJ_BG]

The "why" is to have more energy when it hits. Elk are tough and moose are bigger and tougher.

The only way moose seem to be significantly bigger than elk when it comes to killing them is they have a taller chest with more lung to shoot at.

If you've convinced yourself that moose are armor plated and you need more than a 160 sst than your best option for energy is going to be something like the 175 berger elite hunter. At least with a 9.5 twist.

Though the actual energy difference means nothing terminally.