Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Moose cartridge/rifle

Four of us will be booking a Moose hunting trip to Newfoundland in the next few weeks for 2013 season.
Most shots are under 200 yards and again it's all about placement. Some outfitters have a problem with .270's (sounded like a client issue) and prefer .300 to .338 to anchor them down. My son has a .270 and I have a 7x57 R single shot. I probably will pick up another barrel for my gun or another rifle. Oh darn!!!
The .30-06 is certainly a favorite.
Input??
Thanks.

i've killed several with a 270 and 7mmremmag. also sure the 7x57 will work, as will the 06'. take the rifle you shoot well, with some decent ammo. if the outfitter has a problem, just tell him you will assume ownership of any animal you draw blood from. no problem.

-06 would not be enough of a step up from the 7x57R to worry about for me.

Guessing you have a Blaser...

My primary big game hunting is moose hunting and I've taken moose with several cartridges including 243 and 270......a double lung shot with bullet of sufficient construction to penetrate both lungs will quickly put your moose on the ground.

My favorite bullet in the 270 is the old 160 NP......if you need to try a few, PM me. I haven't used a monolithic 270 bullet on moose but they should do very well.

Just asking here Abbydog, Have you hunted Newfoundland before..?

My experience there, and I've been a couple of times, has been that most shots are beyond 200 yards, although my last Moose taken there was closer to 35 yards, but that has not been the norm.YMMV

I took my shiras bull with a 450 Marlin. Apples and oranges compared to your 270s and 7X57s, but since I was hunting thick creek bottoms I wanted a shorter overall rifle. It was more than enough.

If I was looking to buy a gun just for moose hunting though I would probably go with a 35 Whelen or 9.3x62 and a heavy partition.

More than enough and ammo is easy to find.

Is that what you used on moose?

I've been told (never hunted them myself) that it doesn't take alot to kill a moose but they're big enough that very few cartridges will knock em down. A caliber that you shoot well and can put a hole through his vitals is more important than the size. Or so I've been told.

I have never hunted moose but my Dad did quite a bit of it growing up in Alaska. They used standard calibers and did just fine. He said that they weren't hard to take down as long as you made a decent shot with the first shot. He said a wounded moose becomes armor plated once its adrenalin starts to pump.

I've killed exactly one moose, a Shiras bull here in Utah, which is a once-in-a-lifetime hunt, and I used a Pre-64 Winchester Model 70 .300 H&H Magnum and factory 180gr Winchester Silvertips, same vintage as the rifle.

One thing I really like about hunting Moose is that I can some what justify running a "Bigger Than Whitetail" cartridge.

That, and I prefer something that will give me an exit hole from most any angle. A common phrase spoken by excited Newfoundland guides is "Hit him again..!" Often that follow up shot is at an animal that has immediate plans on exiting the bog, plowing through the alders, crossing the river, and making his peace deep in the Black Spruce.

The terrain of Newfoundland is unlike anything I have ever tread here in the lower 48 of America...never been to Alaska so I can't say. As well as having a rifle that it up to it you'll need your physical condition to be also, I'd start the excersizing now...it ain't easy going!

Any .30 or .338 is enough.
I personally ate 5 of them killed with a .22 rimfire. Not that I'd recommend that caliber if there is any choice.

I guide moose hunters every year and see all sorts of calibers and shooters.

Most of the misses are from guys who think a moose is hard to kill, so they go buy the big 338/300/375, put a box or two through the gun and then go hunting. They leave their 270/06/7x57 etc at home because their thoughts are big animal, big gun.

I would rather the hunter come up and shoot what he is comfortable with and hunts a lot with. A properly placed and constructed bullet behind the shoulder of any moose will do the job.

I have killed most of my moose with a 270, 140 gr Hornady IL moving at 2950.

Your 7x57 and 270 will do the job if you can. Any guide/outfitter who tells you that those guns are too small needs to stop worrying about about stuff like that and just concentrate on providing a good hunt.

Cheers

SS

270,280,or 06 will do just fine. I watched my old man shoot over 2 dozen moose over the years with a 250 savage and never had one go more than 20 yards after it was hit. He had a 300 H&H and a couple of 270s home but the little model 20 Savage with just a peep sight was his favorite moose rifle. Last fall In was talking with a guy from VA. with a bull tag told him to come to our farm because we had a big bull raising hell with our fences. He shot it with a 416 Rem it took 4 rounds one in the antler, blew it back leg off, and paunched it before it went down at a range of 50 to 60 yards. Some one told him he needed a big rifle for moose it was a case of grit your teeth close your eyes jerk the trigger and hope for the best

Your 7x 57 R would be fine, what you are going to find out is the ground you are going to be walking on is almost like walking on a trampoline or a mattress. Wet to. I would suggest lots and lots of walking and bike riding to get is some kind of shape. I hunted Newfoundland in the 1970's and early 80's. Shots are not long. On my second trip my rifle didn't show up and another hunter let me use one of his, a 7 x 57. Killed a bull the third day with that rifle 1 shot and a very short tracking job. I got one shortly there after and I still have it. You stick one of Normas 7 x 57 R loads thru the heart or lungs and you are going to have some real work to do.

Some interesting opinions here. Living in Alaska for 35 years I have killed my share of moose so my opinion is based upon my own experiences.
I am of the school "what if" and that means what if the moose is walking away, what if I dont have that perfect broad side shot, what if he is facing me and it is that shot or nothing before he makes one quick half turn and disappears, what if a grizzly walks up to the butchering site, etc.
For this reason I choose large calibers and havent been disappointed yet. I've shot more moose with a 375 H&H than any other caliber. I've never shot a moose with the 375 and not recovered it within a few minutes.
Have killed a couple with my 9.3, .338, and one with a 454 Casull but the 375's remain my first choice.

Killed a 62'incher North of Nome in 2008 with my 45 Colt. Simply put, put a good bullet in his lungs and you'll have plenty of work ahead of you.

Alan

Have hunt over years 50-60 maybe more mooses as this animal is common in our forests. Normally with my 30-06 Blaser but also some with 7x57R on my drilling. 30-06 is better solution (as all .30 cal) but 7x57 and 270 make this work also well. Single shot maybe is not the best option becaus you might need fast second shot.
Therefore if you and your son do not have later need for bigger caliber then use what you have.