Moose Hunt Cartridge and Bullet

[medvedyt]

I would be curious about shooting a moose with a .375, 270 grain Speer boat tail soft point.

one example with the 270 gr spire point from hornady that i will consider a little more fragile than the speer and i worked on one moose, one bison and one grizzly but it is one example of each ... for now i prefer the 250 tsx in the 9.3s ...

 

[RELIANT]

Of your choices either the 300 PRC Hornady ELDX 212 or 7 PRC Hornady ELDX 175. Although since I handload I'd want a tougher bullet and would probably use a similar weight Nosler Accubond as a balance for close range weight retention and long range performance.

I have had good luck with 200 grain Nosler Accubonds out of the 300 Win Mag. My experience on 4 Canadian Moose 20 - 250 yards was watching them all fall after the first shot, (3 dropped where they were standing or with in a few steps, 1 jumped in the river and swam about 50 yards)

 

[Joshk358]

Only one moose for me. 338 Federal using the 210 gr Nosler partition at roughly 2500FPS. 98 yards qtr away. Bull went about 15 yards and fell over.

 

[medvedyt]

Only one moose for me. 338 Federal using the 210 gr Nosler partition at roughly 2500FPS. 98 yards qtr away. Bull went about 15 yards and fell over.

great combo for bison as well.

 

[VernAK]

great combo for bison as well.

I've got a Kimber Montana with a red dot on it. This a very handy and effective 5 lb bear gun with that 338 Federal 210 gr NP.

 

[TheWhitetailNut]

.300 PRC and 180 TTSX, Basically the same as my Win. Mag.

 

[AKDoc]

As hunters, we have individual preferences that can differ from one another...and that's ok. Conversations about caliber and bullet preferences for (fill-in the blank with game animal here) pretty much always illustrate those individual differences...it's very predictable.

That said, my preferences and bullet choice for moose:

1. I want to call a bull as close to camp/pick-up as I can. I prefer that for obvious reasons, and it’s an absolute thriller doing it!
2. I want a caliber and bullet that will put a bull down responsibly without excessive meat damage. For example, on a broadside shot of a moose I want a bullet that's going to enter, expand and penetrate (and hold together without blowing-up), and exit the other side.​

Given my preferences, I started hand loading and using X's over thirty-years ago and then TSX's and TTSX's for hunting...and I've not looked back. I found something that worked great for moose and I stayed with it...a 270gr TSX out of my 375H&H is extremely accurate and going close to 2800fps. It has very effectively done what I want with a moose, as well as grizzlies. I have had the good fortune of taking many moose and a few grizzlies over the years with that cartridge and bullet combination, and I've recovered very few bullets in doing so.

 

[AkMtnRunner]

I love what a fat barnes bullet does too, AKDoc. If I always hunted with that same calling strategy I'd still be using my 375 and not look back either!

 

[JohnnySeegs]

I also vote for .300

 

[northernmadman]

For years we hunted on a lake with really rocky shores. If the moose ended up running into the bush it would take hours and hours of extra time and effort to haul them back to shore and load them on the boat navigating boulders and trying not to break ankles or legs if you slipped and fell. After lung, heart, and head shots with a 308 win the animals would walk, trot, or run into the bush. We started using 3006 or bigger. I don’t know if hydrostatic shock is what you would call it, but when they got shot with the 300 win mag or the 300 rum with a 180 grain accubond they didn’t take another step. I have been a part of harvesting over 40 moose over the years and that turned into our rule at the cabin, nothing smaller than 3006 for hitting power.
Shot placement is always key, if you don’t hit the boiler room it won’t matter what caliber you use.

 

[Drg]

I've never killed a moose and never mosse hunted but I've used some of the bullets you've mentioned on other game. I wouldn't even enter the field for a moose hunt with any of them. Monolithic copper or bonded bullets only for moose IMO.

Agreed

 

[mad_angler]

I've been on 3 Alaskan moose hunts. I've seen kills with 0.308's, 7mm Rem mag, and 30-06. Any of those cartridges will kill them.

Moose are big but fairly easy to kill. But they can certainly absorb a shot. They will take a perfect shot to the chest, stop, and just look around. I think they'd die pretty quick if you just stood there. But we always put another shot in them if they are still standing.

Now on to your question parameter, I would pick the 7PRC with 180 grain accubonds. That is the closest to what I've seen work.

I personally take a 30-06 with 180 grain coreloks. But I limit my shots to about 300 yards.

(when I go next time, I'll take a 7mm rem mag with 160 grain Accubonds)

 

[roymunson]

I've been on 3 Alaskan moose hunts. I've seen kills with 0.308's, 7mm Rem mag, and 30-06. Any of those cartridges will kill them.

Moose are big but fairly easy to kill. But they can certainly absorb a shot. They will take a perfect shot to the chest, stop, and just look around. I think they'd die pretty quick if you just stood there. But we always put another shot in them if they are still standing.

Now on to your question parameter, I would pick the 7PRC with 180 grain accubonds. That is the closest to what I've seen work.

I personally take a 30-06 with 180 grain coreloks. But I limit my shots to about 300 yards.

(when I go next time, I'll take a 7mm rem mag with 160 grain Accubonds)

My guide said he prefers guns with calibers beginning with 3. I had a 300 WSM and my buddy ran a 300 WM. He hit his in the lungs with 4 shots as it stood at 180 yards with a 212 ELD-X

I spined and dropped mine at 300 with a 180 TTSX

You'll kill them with that 7RM and a 160 AB. That's a sweet setup. I took what the outfitter recommended, but we had bears on the agenda too.

 

[Snowwolfe]

The only rifles I have used on moose were a 375 H&H and a 9.3x74R double rifle. Bullets for the 375 H&H were the Nosler 300 grain. These were all the old style partitions that were individually hand turned on a lathe. The 9.3 used the 286 grain Partitions. Only recall one moose needing a finishing shot with the 375 and that was because I hit it in the liver the first shot. Could have allowed it to bleed out but not very sporting. I seldom recovered a bullet. The 9.3 was effective but didn't seem to have the same immediate effect as the 375.
Do I need the power of a 375? No. But where we hunt there are always grizzlies and I like the security of the bigger calibers when in bear country, especially when butchering or packing out a moose. When I carried the 9.3 I was with others up on the Koyukuk so we had plenty of other guns at the kill site in case of bear issues.
I have seen moose killed with smaller calibers and most worked well. But the 375 in my opinion made more of an impression on the first shot than the others.
I did kill one bull with a handgun but that’s a story for another day.

 

[Landsandgrooves]

Unbelievably my neighbor hunting buddy and I both drew tags for Idaho moose this year.

Last year I bought an Ultra Light Arms rifle in .338-06AI, so that’s what I’ll be carrying. Early load development shows sub MOA accuracy with several different bullets.

 

[akmerle]

I've been on 3 Alaskan moose hunts. I've seen kills with 0.308's, 7mm Rem mag, and 30-06. Any of those cartridges will kill them.

Moose are big but fairly easy to kill. But they can certainly absorb a shot. They will take a perfect shot to the chest, stop, and just look around. I think they'd die pretty quick if you just stood there. But we always put another shot in them if they are still standing.

Now on to your question parameter, I would pick the 7PRC with 180 grain accubonds. That is the closest to what I've seen work.

I personally take a 30-06 with 180 grain coreloks. But I limit my shots to about 300 yards.

(when I go next time, I'll take a 7mm rem mag with 160 grain Accubonds)

Agreed. Lifelong Alaskan where the first 3 moose I shot were with .270.

My suggestion for rifle would be 7PRC. I do not see the cost / benefits pencil out with the 300PRC vs the 7PRC unless going for large coast brown bear. Full disclosure: Hunted 30 years up here with 300WM before switching to 7PRC last year. Have had great results with 175ELDX on caribou and black bear, but did not get a moose last year (hoping to remedy that this year, lol).

Moose can take a lot, and generally dont often bolt after being hit. They are "dead on their feet" very often, just take a while to go down with boiler room shots. I attribute it to their size and how long it takes for them to lose oil pressure.

Just keep shooting til they go down (especially since you dont want them mosying off into a crap place to dress them out), and dont be surprised if they get back up. Have seen it happen far more with them compared to the deer, caribou, and bear we harvest up here.

Also be very aware of where you are shooting them in terms of having to dress them / pack them back out. Due to their size they are a TON of work, and almost impossible to move any distance without some form of mechanical / equipment help. So absolutely try to not shoot them if they are in water (beyond suck), in a place where you were barely able to get into unloaded, or if you are far from camp (unless you enjoy numerous trips of super heavy packing long distances for days).

Good luck!

 

[MarlinsDad]

If you own a 6.5prc work up a load that slings a bonded bullet 130 scirocco or 140gr accubond, will be plenty. They’re not bullet proof and a quick follow up shot is handy. Whichever gun has the shortest barrel would be my choice, you’ll be in brush, alders, swamp and the extra velocity is less of a concern than maneuvering. If you’re in the wasilla area I’d be more concerned about getting between a mom and young calf than bears. Black bears are much more common and basically giant raccoons.
If you’ve already got a 7 or 300 same deal shortest barrel a bonded bullet you most likely will shoot a bull at 300yds or less. If you try you can really reach out and smack one but the best advice I’ve ever been given is.
“Shoot one close to the road, close to water or the best trail you can find.” Remember it’ll take 4+ trips to haul one out on foot and you get to walk that distance both ways.

 

[R_G]

I shot an old bull moose in Alaska with a 300 PRC two years ago from 350 yards with Barnes 200 grain LRX bullets (copper). The bullets performed perfectly. Moose can really take a hit though, so I kept shooting until he fell after the fourth shot. The bull did not flinch on any of the four shots over the course of about 30 seconds. All he did was turn from quartering away to broadside to look our way. If I hadn't heard the resounding "thwack" after each shot and seen blood streaming out of his ribs, I would not have known he had been hit. In hindsight, I believe all four shots were kill shots, and the last three were maybe unnecessary. That said, I didn't want to leave anything to chance, and didn't want him to run into the water or thick brush

Regarding bullet performance, two bullets went clean through, and two were recovered on the backside hide after mushrooming nicely. Overall I was very happy with the results, and believe the cartridge/bullet combo I used was ideal for a big bull moose. I would be comfortable with it at 500-600 yards (to respond to the original post). All this is just one data point for the discussion. With accurate shooting, you can definitely kill a big old moose with much smaller calibers and bullets.

 

[Fritz D]

A good friend of mine in Prince George BC has killed ~ a dozen moose with a 25-06 with a 110 gr Partition. Not any huge bulls, to my knowledge, but a number of the typical 2-points they shoot up there? He’s got a 6.5 PRC that he is loading that new Sierra GameChanger-140gr in, I thinK? Be curious to see how it does for him.

 

[Deadspace]

Has the 223/77TMK been mentioned yet? We’re four pages in and I feel like it needs to be mentioned