Thanks all for your help. I researched several of the outfitters listed here. I spoke at length with Scott that runs Ray's Hunting and Fishing. It checks all of my boxes. He seems like a nice guy. Answered all my questions. So I'm booking with him for September 2024 with a black bear add-on.
Now the question is choosing the right poison from my safe. I'm leaning towards the pre 64 Model 70 in 338 Win Mag. But also considering the Mark V 300 win mag.
I considered the pre 64 model 70 375 H&H. But the drop could be more than I want to deal with if the shot is 200 yds.
Any suggestions from the seasoned vets would be appreciated.
bobdahunter;
Good afternoon to you sir, I hope the day in your part of the planet it a tad warmer and less breezy than we're getting, but regardless of the weather I hope you're well.
My personal experience with moose is limited to the .308 Norma Mag and it worked fine.
I grew up eating Saskatchewan moose, mostly cows and calves back then with the odd bull taken by my late father and late uncle on their annual trip into the Canadian Shield country near the Manitoba border. Dad started with a .303, then bought a .250 Savage and finally used a Winchester 100 in .308 which he considered the ultimate moose rifle. My late uncle always used a Lee Enfield .303 for his entire life.
Another family member that I've been reloading ammo for nearly 40 years for has killed many BC bulls up in the Cariboo region mostly with 180gr Sierra Pro Hunters in a Lee Enfield .303 which was one of many restocked, reblued and cleaned up by Parker Hale back in the day.
My father used to say moose aren't that hard to kill, but sometimes it took them a wee bit to realize they were dead.
Any of the choices you mentioned would work fine for a bull, as long as you were using bullets appropriate for the velocity and you place them carefully.
That said, the most common complaint I hear from local guides in my section of southern BC regarding visiting hunters is that they cannot shoot from modified field positions in a timely fashion.
Therefore, I'd suggest that if you have either a favorite in the safe that you shoot a wee bit better than the others - I know I have a couple where that's the case - then they'd get the nod.
As well, since it's not an annual event, if you've purchased one or two "because you might go moose hunting some day" then they deserve the nod as well.
Whichever of those you can shoot the quickest from field positions with is the one to take.
Moose are big and they have a huge vital area, but they don't always hang around to see what's going to happen next, so again, the speedy shooting one might be useful.
Lastly, if it's not a huge issue moving more than one rifle up to hunt with, I'd bring my own spare for sure. We seldom head out anywhere for an extended hunt without a spare rifle, because stuff happens sometimes right?
Hope that made a wee bit of sense and was useful.
Good luck on your hunt whichever arm out of the safe accompanies you.
Dwayne
