Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles 6.5x55 for Moose? Really?

If all you're doing is punching a hole straight through both lungs on a broadside shot, unimpeded by anything other than the ribs, then you'll probably not see a difference. But change the angle by ten degrees and all of a sudden we may be talking about including muscle around the legs. (See my original post in this thread. None of the four "premium" 140s out of my 6.5 exited.) The exit often makes quite a difference on a moose simply because the second and bigger hole often allows the lungs to collapse which means the animal dies more quickly.



This old and often posted picture includes bullets which I've recovered from moose I've killed. The bullets on either end, a Grand Slam and a Ballistic Tip, were both taken from the same animal. They both originated in the 340 Weatherby cartridge. The distance was the same. The Grand Slam was a shoulder shot (without hitting the big bones.) It made the animal take weight off one leg and stand in place while I poked three of those 200 BTs into the lungs. None exited so the animal stood there until it bled to death. I think that pretty much demonstrates what you are thinking. OTOH, that same rifle with better penetrating bullets would have easily punched three holes through the far side of the animal, most likely killing it more quickly. I have had very good success getting better results with the 30-06, and bigger cartridges, with nothing more than plain old Interlockeds, Gamekings, and, of course, the better bullets.

"Dead is dead" when you're staring at a computer screen. Dead may appear in several shades of grey, however, when you end up looking for your prize after he wandered into the donkey swamp or decided to wade into the river for one last "drink".