Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ganyana on Rifle Power

I always like to refer to that Seyfried article when the "Winchesters are dangerous when a case lets go" crowd start to gather.

On the other hand, a chuck is a tiny target compared to the vital zones of a bull elk. There goes the margin of error advantage...

And that same rational is suitable when thinking of having to shoot an adult bull moose at 500 yards, and being prepared for it mentally and practically by using a rifle and cartridge fully capable.

I've land travelled 1600 kms by truck or auto to Northern Ontario on several occasions for that purpose. What I discovered was the scores of seemingly endless logging roads, hundreds of small lakes and bogs. But also clear-cut areas where a moose might be munching on new growth or crossing a clear-cut 200 yards wide by a kilometer long, with no chance for getting closer, and little time for another plan. In a few minutes your only chance would vanish. And, it very well might be the only moose you would see in a week's time of hard hunting. That's on a do-it-yourself hunt without a guide or outfitter, but with a buddy who may be off in another area.

You shoot or let walk away. In reality, however, it's no greater challenge than shooting a good buck whitetail at 250 yards. That's why I always tote a rifle-cartridge combo capable of knocking down a moose at up to 500 yards at least. And for me, that's not a .270. Yes, it's been done with a .270, but at that range there have been failures, many of them, with anything less than 300 magnums. Personally, I prefer one of the mediums for those circumstances.

And yes, there are those who poke around lakes and woodlots with lesser cartridges, who choose to hunt moose at 25 to 200 yards, but for those who travel 1000 miles over land to get there for a possible 25% success rate (normal rate of success for resident hunters), most have learned that a .338 Win Mag is far better than a .270 when the range stretches beyond 250 yards. And, an average mature bull moose in Ontario goes 1200 lbs. Some have been taken at 1400 lbs. Not all go into the record books because that isn't the goal of most of Ontario's 100,000 resident moose hunters.

Yet, probably the most common "moose cartridge" for local moose hunters, who already have done their pre-season scouting in mixed forest, where shots will rarely ever exceed 100 yards, is the .308 Winchester in areas where I typically do my deer hunting on Crown Land.

IF you can get close enough, you can bring down a 1200 lb moose with a .22LR by "braining" it from a side shot!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca

I've seen several cases blown in Remington model 700's. The primer pockets were about double size; the cases had formed a belt. All rifles had to be opened by gunsmiths, the head space checked, found to be in spec, extractors replaced, then shot normally. All were with handloads. Recently I saw a stainless Tikka T3 .308 shot with "pistol" powder. A piece of the front receiver ring disappeared. The bolt would not open; the barrel looked OK. The plastic stock was split up the middle of the forearm. Considering the pressures involved I would gladly shoot any Tikka in good condition with my handloads or factory ammo.