Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game 300 WBY for Moose

Gonna do some load development for my buddy's 300 WBY for him going with us to Newfoundland. He's current shooting handloads he got many years ago, only knows they are 150gr. He is hoping to use "A better 150gr bullet". 150 partition going to do OK from a WBY? I'm trying to lean him to our standard 180gr Accubond we all use in 06, 300WSM, and 300WM. I run 200gr AB in my 300 Ultra.

I've never loaded for a 300 WBY before and am just starting to look at info and data, figured it best to ask those with experience first

180 grain Nosler Ballistic Tip bullets and about 82 grains of 7828 SSC will do great…

I don't think the cooler is big enough.

.
300WBY will drive a 200gr or 210gr pretty nicely.
https://www.nosler.com/300-weatherby-magnum

The truck wasn’t either, we had to skin and break it down to get it into the truck in pieces…

I load 150 grain Barnes in mine, but only deer and pig hunt. A 180 Accubond should be great for a heavier animal.

168 gr Barnes TTSX loaded with Fed 215M primers and Reloder 26 is your huckleberry. Multiple one shot DRT on elk and big deer.

180 gr Barnes TTSX over RL-22 and CCI 250 primers...

Accubonds or partitions. 165s on up through 200s.

My 300 Weatherby likes 200 grain NPT’s.

NO, on the 150gr. Try to find some 200gr Nosler partitions, or 175 LRX. Good luck with your hunt. Also, incase you didn't know, IMR7828 is the powder to use..

My Alamo Precision Maverick likes Weatherby factory 200 grain Accubonds @ 3080 fps! Killed a 30” NF moose, B&C Woodkand Caribou and a 6x6 New Mexico elk with it!

The 150 gain partition wouldn't be my first choice out of a .300 Roy-or any round for that matter-but it'd work just fine. If that or some other 'better' 150 grain bullet is what he wants, I'd not sweat it one bit.

Was thinking the same about a 150 mono.

Why do some folks consider light-for-caliber bullets for any big game? It never ceases to amaze me…

It is usually based on less recoil but not always. For the OP, just load up some 180ish ABs or TTSXs and tell him they are 150s. When he gets a moose, tell him what they really were.

A 200 grain "something or another" over 7828 around 3000-ish that shoots tight groups.

Was happy with a 180 ballistic tip over 75grains of R17, moose was DRT. Shot just as fast as my 7828 loads in the Vanguards 24 inch barrel.

I would go near a Moose with a 150 grain in a 300 Weatherby unless it was a TTSX. I wouldnt moose hunt with a 150 in a 308 Winchester for that matter

The 4 300 Weatherby’s I reloaded all loved the 180 TSX and the max charge of 4831.

200 Partitions and 7828 in my sons 300 Wby..

It works great for everything.

Because the only reason heavy for caliber bullets were pioneered is because the shorter bullets fell apart and lost weight, momentum and penetration so the theory adopted, was to make bullets longer and heavier to allow for this and still maintain enough bullet weight to achieve penetration.

Mono bullets proved this method of bullet selection obsolete by maintaining bullet weight and penetration and gaining trajectory and recoil reduction.

It's a trade off, accepted by most today, particularly handloaders who tend to experiment more. Most readers here already know all this.

Roy Weatherby used 150gn Partitions in a .300 Weatherby when hunting polar bear. He chose 87gn Hornady's in the .257 Weatherby for smaller game. Most Weatherby users have never tried these light weight cup and core bullets in the Weatherby case at 3800fps. I have and they world very well on deer sized game. Work very well in the .25/06 at 3600fps too.

Moose are not deer. Moose are more than twice the size and five times the mass. There is no downside to choosing a proper 180-200 gr. bullet in a .300 Weatherby for moose. There is a distinct possibility of a 150 grain bullet failing to penetrate enough. Don't use a deer bullet for hunting moose.

Actually they are deer. So are elk. We may not call them deer, but really they are the largest of the deer family. But I agree in using a bullet with a high SD.

Before I knew any better as a young man in Alaska I used a 308 in God forbid a semiauto Remington. 150 cup and core bullets on three moose. Two of which went straight down and one made it maybe 20 yards. Two broadside and one frontal. Sure glad nobody told me they wouldn’t work. Into the heart lungs and they are table fare. Edk

Anybody else can do that too if they want to limit their shot choices to broadside and behind the shoulder

When an opinion is overruled by experience and fact that counters the opinion, the opinion is to edit and invent parameters to weaken the experience and fact and steer it back towards the opinion. Lol.

1st, to all who have recommended IMR 7828 powder...I agree, I've loaded it for several cartridges with great seccess, but when was the last time you could buy it?

2nd, to the negativity of 150 grain bullets for moose...That wouldn't be my first choice for a moose bullet from my .300 Wby, but if that's all I had, I wouldn't hesitate to shoot a moose with one. Many years ago, before the internet was even invented, I made one shot kills on several bull elk with 150 gr Hornady cup and core bullets and never gave it a second thought.

Ive killed 3 bull moose, 2 Montana Shiras bulls 35-40 years ago and last September the Alberta bull that I pictured above. My 2 Shiras bulls were one shot kills with 180 gr Nosler Partitions from my .30 Gibbs. If I remember right the back half of both of those bullets were just under the skin on the off side of those bulls.

My moose hunt in Alberta was for 7 days. That was my 3rd guided moose hunt. My two previous ones in Newfoundland and Alaska resulted with me coming home with tag soup. On the 3rd day of this hunt, I sliped in some downfall and heard something snap in my left knee which made walking difficult. (I'm still limping on that knee.)

By the 4th morning that bull pictured was the first moose that I had seen on that hunt. So with the thoughts of the tag soup from previous moose hunts and my injured knee, when this bull came out of the timber at a fast walk I shot. He didn't immediately fall and my guide said "shoot again", so I did and the bull fell, kicked a couple of times and was dead. When we got to him there were 2 bullet holes into one side of his chest, and 2 holes out of the other.

How much of the energy of those two 180 grain Barnes TTSX bullets flew off into the forest on the other side of my moose. Would 150 gr bullets have stayed inside that bull and all of their energy been expended in him?

I would prefer something other than a 150 gr out of the Bee for moose.

But with that said if it was all I had I bet I'd be eating moose all winter..

IME guys shoot 150s in 300 Weatherbys to try and reduce recoil because they can't handle the 300 Weatherby in the first place.
Solution: drop down to a gun the shooter is capable of handling, or if one feels the 300 Weatherby is necessary, use reduced loads to 308 specs.

I concur. It’s always important to use enough gun, especially on moose, doubly so if you only have a 2 day season and need to take any shot presented and break both his shoulders.

Not trying to be combative but which is better a 200grn accubond that, if recovered, weighs 150grns or a TTSX that starts out at higher velocity, with less drop and less recoil and will weigh close to the same 150grns it started at?

Genuinely curious as to your opinion.

Clifford

I would argue the Accubond is better because it had an extra 50 grains of mass doing damage, and it had extra weight for much of its path within the animal to give a better SD and better penetration, the Accubond probably had a smaller mushroom for better penetration, the 150gn Barnes' higher velocity was reduced by its low bc resulting in a reduced impact velocity. But perhaps someone's actually tested them side by side.

I think you'd have to shoot alot of moose to see the difference between a 150 TTSX and 200 AB out to normal ranges.

OK, I'll volunteer! Just give me the tags, and I'll supply my own ammo.

Get in line.. I was silently volunteering for the experiment

Obviously it would be much better if I did it. Both of you have too much bias either way for it not to be incorporated in the "results".

I'd tend toward a heavy and slow slug. I used a hopped up 30-378 and a 180 gr Nosler on a moose. I have no idea what happened to the slug, but the moose never complained.

I'd tend toward a heavy and slow slug. I used a hopped up 30-378 and a 180 gr Nosler on a moose. I have no idea what happened to the slug, but the moose never complained. It was a spinal tap as I wanted him down on the spot.

A 180 out of a 30-378 isn't exactly what I'd consider slow.

Neither do I. I think that slug vaporized. Next time around I will likely back down to an 06.

Sorry for the above duplication. System won't let me delete it.

I am not convinced that an exiting bullet that first expands/fragments well,( fmj's or Solids don't count) and makes a long or very good permanent wound channel "wasted anything". Just my own thought on it. I don't see where it could be proved it even mattered.

BTW The only 150 grain I personally would use or recommend for the old boy is a Barnes 150 TTSX or similar mono.

I’d think a good 150 ttsx would work fine for it, but I’ve never killed a moose either.

I have. I've never used that bullet. But I certainly would

Some 300 WBY have a 1-12 twist. You might want to check this first. I had a 300 WBY in a Remington KS it had a 1-12 twist, it wouldn't shoot a 200-grain bullet.
You could load him some 180's just don't tell him they are.

Wish you all the best.

Not a moose, but a 10 foot plus Kodiak Brown Bear.
.300 WBY 200 gr Partition.
Dead after 1st shot.

The .300 WBY is plenty rifle in my opinion.

Hmm. I haven't hunted moose as much as you have, but have hunted them in Montana, Alberta, Alaska and British Columbia. This one was taken in Alberta with the 7x57 and the 160-grain North Fork bullet, handloaded to around 2650 fps, at around 225 yards. The North Fork works very similarly to the TTSX, and the bull went 19 yards--and keeled over. Yes, that was broadside shot, but have used the same load on various sizes of game in other places, including Africa, and it worked fine.

Which is only one example why I agree with Aussie on the prejudices many hunters carry about "caliber" whether cartridge or bullet diameter, and bullet weight.

Mule Deer is spot on. I have shot moose with a .308 Win and the old 150 gr "silvertips" (a terrible bullet by today's standards) and had no issue. They are big, have big lungs and if you hit them right, they will rarely go more than 50 yards and usually give you time for a follow-up shot as well.

I’ve had good luck with the 180 Barnes TTSX, and even the moly coated 168 Barnes TSX.

I don't want to have to have my animal broadside when I'm hunting. I want the ability to take raking shots. I did say I would use a 150 mono on them but with C n C's I'm starting with 180

The North Fork is essentially a monolithic, similar to the TSX but with a tiny dab of lead in the hollow-point to help it expand.

Also recently mentioned elsewhere on the Campfire that have seen a 150 Partition from a .270 Winchester penetrate close to four feet through a moose on a quartering-away shot, from the left ribs into the right shoulder.

I'll be taking my 28 Nosler loaded with 143 gr Hammer Hunters @3600fps for moose next fall and ain't losing sleep over it

I shot a bull moose in Newfoundland with a 338RUM and a 250gr Accubond bullet. The moose was hit on the point of the shoulder and it flipped him over backwards, DRT. The bullet penetrated both shoulders and was captured in the off-side hide. The expanded bullet weighed 140gr after tearing through all of that bone.

My opinion - use a 200gr Accubond/Partition or similar bonded bullet just in case you encounter a lot of bone.

Only killed one moose (300 WBY and 180 grain Accubonds) and I personally can’t imagine the need to take any shot other than the one you wanted (‘cepting of course a charging one?!)…..and a “raking” shot on a moose doesn’t ever sound like a good idea. The moose I shot and the others I saw gave one plenty of time to get the shot needed. I could have killed that moose with pretty much any standard “deer” cartridge and a cup and core bullets. Obviously a stouter constructed bullet would be preferable with a decent SD but I wouldn’t feel very bad if I had to go moose hunting with a 300 WBY and 150 grain bullets - IF and a big IF the guy is comfortable shooting it.

PennDog

I have killed many moose with Winchester SuperX in 180 gr. with my M1917 .30-06. Every Moose was 1 and done. You can never go wrong with .30 Cal.

Another vote here for 180 gr.

Great work and cool picture.

There's what I would use if I was handed a rifle to go moose hunting with, what I would use if recoil sensitive and what I would use personally. Nothing wrong with a 150 gr mono on Moose shot from a 300 WBY.

Last moose I shot was a top 10 in the world with a .50 cal Muzzleloader.

My moose rifle, if I were to go on a special hunt would likely be my .300 Win.Mag loaded with 180ge TSX/TTSX or 190gr LRX, at somewhere over 3,000fps. That said, if I was hunting swamps in Maine or back home in Quebec, I would be fine with my old favorite: a Browning BLR in .308 Win. shooting the long discontinued 165 gr Federal Premium TBBCs.


Bottom line, like with everything, it's all about shot placement and a good bullet. Much less about the velocity or KE unless at very extended range.

That's awesome CanadianLefty, do you have a picture to share of that beast?

I've had to kill the charging Moose too. My fault for using a 30-30 but the 30-30 did have enough oomph to stop a Bull Moose charge. I'll give it that

I almost did take a 270 with 150 Core-Lokt moose hunting. Instead I opted for a 7mm Rem Mag with 175 Federals

Was it 150 or 170 grain and was it a mono?😄

PennDog

170 Winchester Silvertips

I have shot many moose in Alaska and been involved in many more that were killed by co hunters. Moose are pretty easy to kill, just give them 10 seconds or so to understand they just been mortally wounded and tip over. In my experience a whitetail will generally run further once hit than a moose will. They are huge creatures and bullet penetration is needed. A well built 180 grain bullet is a good place to start. and could offer some assurance if you have to take a raking shot. In a perfect world with a clear broadside shot they are easy to kill. We often don't run into those perfect situations when hunting.

In our hunting parties most used either a 338 Win Mag or a 375 H&H (my choice). These thumpers were picked not only because they were a good choice for moose but because we all knew it was a good possibility of running into grizzlies. I killed my last two with a Chapuis double rifle in 9,3x74R. My son shot his last one with a 06 and 180 grain Partition. It worked great.

I have plenty of photos. I was asked by a couple of editors if I would write up an article or three so photos will have to wait. Suffice it to say, I was just sharing that even a .50 cal bullet at around 1800fps can do wonders shot in the right spot on a large moose.

Could not have said that better myself

So I was asked about my reaction if offered a 150 gr. TSX / 300 Weatherby for moose. And received a few comments about my "prejudice". Yup, that 150 TSX would work. Still in my opinion a relatively poor choice, but it would kill a moose. Or at least most moose in most situations.
The OP asked about steering the hunter toward his own preference, a 180 gr. or a 200 gr. Accubond. Both would be superior choices in my opinion. Wider wound channel, more tissue destruction, and penetration at least as deep as that 150 gr. TSX. Almost nobody commented on the 150 partition. Some compared their results with a .308 as if it's appropriate to assume the same bullet performance when shot from a .300 Weatherby. Apparently some don't realize the velocity from a Weatherby puts MUCH more stress a bullet, and penetration suffers when velocity exceeds bullet design parameters.
I've personally witnessed a few moose ( and elk ) that stopped .308" 150 grain cup and core bullets in the humerus/scapula joint. Shots were quartering towards the shooter. No parts of those bullets penetrated to the vitals. Good thing second or third shots were actually effective. I don't believe the Nosler Partition 150 grain would do much better, but maybe. I'm not willing to risk that. I've personally only shot whitetail and mule deer and similar sized critters with 150 grain .308". I've witnessed a couple moose killed with 130 grain Barnes tsx from a 30-06. They can do the job too if put in the right place. I just don't see the point of using the lightest possible bullet that "might" do the job when heavier ones almost always do the job! The job in this case is to break the humerus bone and continue on in a nearly straight line to penetrate through the vitals.
Moose aren't mysterious to most Canadian hunters. I've hunted moose for almost 40 years now, and in my opinion if you think all moose can be taken cleanly by just waiting for a broadside presentation because of the limitations of your light for caliber bullet you're going to be eating a lot of tag soup. And quite possibly leaving a few wounded moose in the bush to die unnecessarily slowly.
I've hunted moose with a range of bullets and cartridges from the .243 to 450-400 3" Nitro Express. Been present when moose were killed with .270, 7x57, 7mm08, .308, .30-06, 30R Blaser, .300 win, .303 Brit, .356 win, .358 Win, .35 Whelen, 9.3x62, .338, .357 H&H, .375 Ruger, .450-400, .50 Muzzle loader, and probably some I've forgotten. They all work OK. But some cartridge / bullet combinations actually seem "better" than others. Slightly better. At least in my opinion.
IF you have the patience and skill of a local hunter who has killed over 50 moose with his .250 savage, and 100 grain cup and core bullets, then you don't need my advice.

Just a sampling of one moose but this one succumbed to a 150 grain TSX from a 308. Steep quartering shot. Over three feet of penetration and an exit.

Nah, that’ll never work. 🫤

Actually, what a cool rifle. Husqvarna?

Interesting thread, guy can allways learn something from others. Haven't shot any moose but considering their size I would never place a bullet on purpose in the near shoulder. I dbl lung most animals I shoot and try to bust the FAR shoulder on the big animals I've shot that need anchoring. Vitals first and bones on exit it has allways served me well. Just my thoughts and method..mb

In the '60's I was, (still am) a novice hunter living in the Kuskokwim drainage, I had bought it mostly because it was cheap, a pretty nice Mauser 8mm-06 with a bunch of stuff to load it with (modified Lee loader kit), and the oldest Leupold 4x Mountaineer ever seen. But it proved to be a lucky buy, the 225 gr Speers (before Nosler offered an 8mm) with a case jam full of 4350 was a no drama moose killer. Soon my rifle became the village 'loaner', community property so to speak, just like the Oreos in my cabin. Anything to be accepted in the village, LOL.
It killed a lot of moose in a lot of varying situations. It gained a rep for stopping them close to the riverbank for easy transport by raft or skiff.
My point being, I don't know how important the word 'magnum' is to a well hit moose with a high sectional density bullet.

It’s a BSA Majestic. It belonged to her brother who left it to her son. After her son passed from cancer, our daughter in law insisted we keep it. We had been keeping it for him for several years since he didn’t have a safe and wasn’t a hunter. Etta killed several deer and a couple elk with it as well as that cow moose.

That there is a good plan! Monos should work well punching through shoulder blade, I hear. Never used 'em myself. A 300WBY is more gun than is needed, but if it's all you have.....

I've taken 21? moose , (not counting several road hit I've finished with .22Mag pistol) , using .243, 270, 30-30, 12 ga slug, one each, the rest about equally divided between '06 and .338WM. They all died about the same. That high shoulder shot taking out the spine, or any cns/head shot also works very well indeed.

The only problem I've ever had was using a 210 NP .338 WM into the shoulder. Probably a defective bullet and anomaly, as it blew up on the blade, peppering the near side lung with bb-sized bone and lead. That's as far as it made, and I never found the rear portion. Large entry wound.

Having a 50 " bull surge back to it's feet when one is 10 feet in front of it (don't do that!) is more adventure than I care to have. I am going to load up that other 30 rounds from 30 years ago and shoot them up one of these days. Maybe even use them on caribou, if any hunting of those is accessible to me anymore. I've stuck with 225 -275 gr. bullets for that rifle/caliber since.

I'd recommend for the WBY monos 165 and up, or most anything else in 180, 200, 220. NOT any "power-shok" bullets. Or a 30-06, 165 and up.

Nice rifle and a better story. Glad to see you folks putting it to good use.

Just had a moose 20 yards away laying down. Pretty sure I could have killed it with my 22 rimfire. Edk

Why the preference for raking shots over a good broadside lung shot?

No. I said I don't want to "have to" have an animal broadside. Another words I don't wish to be limited. I want to have the option to take the angling shot

I can beat that. I was calling one season, and a sub-legal bull came in and laid down in front of the deadfall I was sitting in, 12 (later measured) feet away. I didn't move anything more than my eyeballs for the next several hours, until he got up and left. I was hoping the big guy I could hear back in the brush would show, but no luck.

It was the same sub-legal that the weekend before had spent 10 minutes or so browsing within 10 yards, at one point 17 feet (also measured) from my feet . I was sitting on the ground, back against a birch, surrounded by a dozen or so cows. He liked me, apparently! At one point, one of the cows was just 5 feet away. I know more about moose bellies than is really necessary!

That big guy never did offer me a look, all season long. His antlers had a very hollow sound to them, tho, so I know he was big.

Bashful too.

Daylight a few weeks ago, out my bedroom window with the cell phone. I think the one above is a bull, need a better look.

As to the effectiveness of 150 grain bullets, my last two bulls and at least one other) were taken with 150's in 30 cal. One was with a Corelokt from a RU77, 17 inch barrel '06 at about 20 yards, right between the eyes, offhand. I prefer 180s tho.

The other was at about 15 yards, with a heavy barreled Mauser 98 '06 (inch groups at 300 yards) , 150 gr. Superperformance just under and behind the ear. Yes, I used the snowmachine windscreen for a rest, on a moose standing dead still, broadside.....

I’ve told this story before but what the heck. When living in Fairbanks in the mid 1970s a guy I knew was coming home from work and saw a two year old bull standing next to a berm pile. He had his 22 rimfire and shot it in the chest. Down it went but it jumped up so he shot it again. Was a lot of work dressing two moose out at one time. Kinda funny though. Edk

He may have gone over backwards, but the impact alone didn't do that.

Gotcha

Barnes TTSX is great too

Clearly, you do not understand knock down power! 😳

On my first hunt with my .300 Wby, Jason Matzinger's Dad, Tim, videod me shooting a Scimitar Horned Oryx in Texas that flipped over backward. Jason never used that footage on his TV show "Into High Country".

Have had a handful of moose flip over backwards, but that’s because their ass falls while their front legs are stiff and the momentum pulls them over.

Unless you shot that Oryx with a bowling ball, you didn’t flip him over from bullet “energy”.

"Weatherby was too long so I nicknamed it "Bee"

Bee you say, well that is just PERFECT!

From this day forward I am calling my .300 Win Mag Weatherby "Bee" or "Next of Kin"

The principle here is conservation of momentum. If the projectile carried enough momentum to flip a moose, then the recoil of the rifle would be tremendous.

Well, yeah. It would flip the shooter over possibly several times....

Well, I never had a mule deer or elk flip over backwards from a close range hit with my .300 Weatherby but a few fell down in their tracks or staggered a few steps and tipped over. YMMV

The one thing about it, they all ended up dead.

I had a whitetail flip over backwards, but I was using a 270.

I didn't say or even try to imply that the Oryx flipped over backwards from my bullet's energy, but that he flipped backwards as a reaction to being hit.

Now a few prairie dogs that I've shot blew apart or flipped high in the air as direct result of my bullet's energy!