Which rifle...

[MountainSide]

I've successfully hunted moose with stainless/synthetic rifles, and with wood/blued. It really has depended on what I've felt like walking out the door with that season. There really is no question about either cartridge...much less would do. However, there is a good argument to take your .375 H&H, since as others have pointed out, moose is one animal where you can use the excuse of taking something larger.

If I walk out the door with wood/blued, I simply stash some ziplocks with oil soaked rags in a few places, and take the extra time on a daily basis to wipe my rifle down. If you do take your .375, I highly recommend bringing the tools to take the rifle apart after your hunt, and before your fly home....a couple days in a rifle case can wreak havoc on the internals of a wood/blued rifle. That includes taking apart the bolt and wiping it down.

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

I've hunted for a week plus with a cheapo blued gun and was rained or wet snowed on the entire friggin time. It was oiled before I left, and pulled apart to oil when I got home. No rust.

I'd use those 300 grain TSX and take the .375 H&H. I almost bought the CZ, but picked up the Win M70 Safari in .375 just because I'm used to the Win safety and action. I'll be using it here and there when I can. In 10-15 years, it might see Africa. But that doesn't mean I can't use it until then. If I had a moose hunt (never hunted them), I'd use my .375.

 

[SemperFiHunter]

Thanks for all of the fine responses. I really appreciate you taking the time to share your thoughts.

I was in the Marine Corps Infantry so weapons maintenance is ingrained in my being!

The .375 it is!

As some have stated, it doesn't get out much in Texas. It shoots really well with handloaded 300 gr TSXs.
I will take good care of her.

Now to start practicing!

Thanks again,

SFH

 

[SemperFiHunter]

Ok. So I just got back from Alaska and my Moose Hunt. I shot a nice (for me) bull on the 10th day in the bush (9th day of the hunt.)
After getting some good advice from some of the great people here, I took my blued .375 H&H. I practiced out to 300 yards and felt very comfortable once again with the rifle and my handloads.

I hunted DIY with my brother and best buddy on the Koyukuk River in 24A. Our outfitter took us down the river about 4 hours and dropped us off, as was the plan.

Lots of rain, brutal hiking, tons of tangled blowdowns/fire killed spruces, and more rain. Rained 5 days straight at the end. Shot my moose in the rain. Butchered and packed moose in the rain. 7 hours. 3 men. 3 trips each. Toughest packing job of my life. Truly educational.

So... I feel very fortunate to have taken a moose on my very first try, and especially gratified that I did it on my own.

I am glad that I took my .375, blued finish and all. It served me well and anchored the bull with a high shoulder shot. I didn't really have any trouble keeping it rust free, even though it rained almost every day. I cleaned it daily, sometimes twice a day, and it has no evidence of having been to Alaska.

I would not hesitate to take it back. I just wish it didn't weigh 13 lbs. Heh!

Let's see if I can post a couple of pics...
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I want to thank every one of you guys that helped me out with good info and advice prior to my trip.

Take care,
SemperFiHunter

ETA: Larry Bartlett's book "Float Draggin' Alaska" was the best single resource I was lucky enough to find here before my trip. Even though we weren't floating, we were on a river and tons of good info and experienced based advice from Larry made my hunt a lot more enjoyable than it would have been without his help.

 

[Alaskan89]

Congrats on the moose! I own several of Larry's books and videos and they are awesome resources for hunting Alaska's river corridors. By the way, your pics aren't working, at least for me anyways.

 

[SemperFiHunter]

Congrats on the moose! I own several of Larry's books and videos and they are awesome resources for hunting Alaska's river corridors. By the way, your pics aren't working, at least for me anyways.

Thanks! I ditched photobucket after they got stupid, so let me see if I can find another way to post up the pics.

Dropbox - 20170912220535_IMG_4285.JPG
Dropbox - 20170912220713_IMG_4294.JPG
Dropbox - 20170913175603_IMG_4301.JPG

SFH

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

Awesome moose! Way to get it done. That sounds like a tough wet hunt. Cool that your .375 H&H found a worthy target. Were you able to recover the bullet?

 

[elkguide]

Fantastic. Sounds like a great time.

 

[AK Troutbum]

Congratulations, that's a dandy bull you got there! Sounds like you experienced a little Southeast AK weather up there, but maybe a little less rain than what you're used to, if you're from the Houston area.


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[SemperFiHunter]

Awesome moose! Way to get it done. That sounds like a tough wet hunt. Cool that your .375 H&H found a worthy target. Were you able to recover the bullet?

Thanks Guys!

I was amazed to recover the bullet from the high shoulder shot. It performed as designed and I'm guessing retained about 100% of it's original weight. I found the bullet just under the hide on the off side shoulder. Stuck my finger in a 1" diameter hole in the shoulder and popped out this:
IMG_4348.JPG
Dropbox - IMG_4349.JPG

Thanks,

SFH

 

[SemperFiHunter]

Congratulations, that's a dandy bull you got there! Sounds like you experienced a little Southeast AK weather up there, but maybe a little less rain than what you're used to, if you're from the Houston area.


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Fortunately I live far enough away from the Gulf Coast that I didn't even get enough rain to attribute it to the hurricane.

But, yeah, I felt like I was in SE AK the last half of the hunt.

Take care,
SFH

 

[CLICKBANGBANG]

Thanks Guys!

I was amazed to recover the bullet from the high shoulder shot. It performed as designed and I'm guessing retained about 100% of it's original weight. I found the bullet just under the hide on the off side shoulder. Stuck my finger in a 1" diameter hole in the shoulder and popped out this:
IMG_4348.JPG
Dropbox - IMG_4349.JPG

Thanks,

SFH

To retrieve a bullet that you loaded out of an animal like that, is too cool. I'm hoping to do the same with a TTSX this year. We will see.

 

[SemperFiHunter]

Thanks Click!

It was a very unexpected but really cool bonus! I wish you the best of luck on your quest!

As we say in East Texas before every hunt: "Shoot a big'un!"

SFH

 

[realunlucky]

Awesome bull congratulations

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[Alaskan89]

That's a gnarly bull, congrats again SFHunter.


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[SemperFiHunter]

Just in case anyone is interested. Someone asked me what the retained weight of the TSX was. So I weighed it on my RCBS and:

Well, Dropbox says I'm full and wants money for more space so you'll have to take my word that the scale said 299.9 grains.

Not bad for a 300.0 grain bullet that went through both shoulders of a bull moose and hit at least one bone.

SFH

 

[AlaskaEd]

Glad to hear you got a moose with your 375. How'd your finish hold up?

I use Barnes as well in my 375 WSM. My load with 250gr TTSX worked great on my moose this year. 2 shots through and through. He walked 20' after the first shot and laid down after the second. 230 yard shots.

On another note, I switched to Imgur for my picture hosting, free and it's working great.

 

[SemperFiHunter]

Glad to hear you got a moose with your 375. How'd your finish hold up?

I use Barnes as well in my 375 WSM. My load with 250gr TTSX worked great on my moose this year. 2 shots through and through. He walked 20' after the first shot and laid down after the second. 230 yard shots.

On another note, I switched to Imgur for my picture hosting, free and it's working great.

The CZ blue finish held up well. Actuallly, the only spot that tried to become rust was on the rear Talley scope ring. I think I just barely got it in time. I will admit that I worried a little when it rained for the last 5 days straight. Nothing is drying in 100% humidity.

Gonna have to check out Imgur. Thanks for the tip.

SFH

 

[KJH]

SemperFiHunter- Thanks for mentioning how your bullet held up. I think the weight retention of the TSX bullet is good and when I hear stories like yours I'm sold again.

I shot a 64" bull last month with a .375 H&H. I used a Barnes TSX 235gr bullet loaded to 3100 fps. I chose that bullet because I can shoot it well out to 500 and my gun really likes it. Long story short the bullet did an amazing job and after hitting a rib on an extreme quartering towards me shot it traveled two and half feet (+/-?) inside the bull before coming to a stop under the hide by the rear quarter. The shot was 318 yards. Moose went 20-30' feet and was dead before it fell over.

The bullet lost a small part of one of the petals, but still weighs 221gr. I thought the bullet did an amazing job retaining it weight. I love the TSX bullets.