Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Canada Moose cartridges

How many different rounds have you used to take moose and rate them. Just curious.

25-06 Rem 115 Partition. Surprisingly good
7mm STW 150 Partition. Excellent
30-06 . Many different bullets. Really Good
300 Win mag. Power Points Failsafe and 150 E tips. Excellent
303 Brit. Sucks dick
338 Win mag.250gr Accubonds and X Bullet. Excellent.

Never had the opportunity to moose hunt but one of my buddies recently returned from Canada where he went on his first moose hunt. He was successful. I forgot the details already but it was an average bull and I forgot the range and haven't even seen his pictures yet. However; he did use his 30-378 Weatherby and according to him it was superb which was kind of what I had figured. He's a very good shot under field conditions and I knew he was using (more than) enough gun. His load was a 168 Gr, Barnes TTSX BT with 105 gr. of RL-25 behind it. I know that for sure because I load all his ammo. He has a 300 Weatherby and a 300 RUM also which would have been more than sufficient and even his 280 which I've heard is also an option. If I ever had a moose tag I have a 300 WSM and a decent handload with a 180 gr. Partition that would get the call. Then I could leave my sporterized #4 Lee enfield in 303 Brit. at home and maybe bring my 25-06 as a back-up gun.

With a good bullet I wouldn't hesitate to use the 25 06 on a moose. I've yet to recover a 115 Partition and the furthest one has gone is about 30 feet from a good lung hit. The moose I got last fall was 625 pounds dressed on the hook hanging. That bull never took a step. Took out both lungs and broke the far shoulder upon bullet exiting.

Just 1. 338 Federal, 210 Nosler Partition. 1 shot, 1 moose.

7, we don’t get to hunt moose often, it is a draw here.. Ours are the smallest of the moose clan..
In addition to my late wife’s hunts and mine, I have gone with several friends over the last years..
On our first hunt my wife killed huge cow with a model 54 .30-06 and a 180 Sierra SPBT.. For got the load, but probably 4350 or 4831.. The cow only ran 80 yards but enough to get across a frozen beaver dam where we could not drive..
Second hunt in the early 80’s, I shot a small bull though the lungs with a 165 grain Sierra HPBT from my .300 win.. 72.5 gr. Of I 4350.. It ran maybe 30 yards..
Third hunt, mid 80’s went with a fellow worker.. He shot a good bull with a 175 gr. Rem. Fac. From a 7mm mag. head shot dropped it right there..
4th was my boss and his wife.. She had a tag, the both shot at the same time .30-06’s 180’s.. Cow ran 30 yards..
5th was the mid 90’s. I shot a small bull walking away with my .300 Win and a 200 gr. Part. 72 gr. Of Re 22(ammo left over from Africa) Shot behind the shoulder I found the bullet at the base of its ear.. Dropped right there..
6th early 2000.. My wife’s permit.. Our old 7mm Rem Mag. Custom. 69.5 RE 22 140 BTBT .. Huge cow .. One shot 1/3 of the way up behind the shoulder! One step and she fell..
7th, early 2000’s my permit. 7MM Wea Mag. 72.5 7828 160 gr. Sierra HPBT. Front shot in the neck low.. Dropped on the spot, but she got up immediately.. She got out of the beaver pond thank goodness got on dry ground and turned broadside. A shot behind the shoulder dropped her on the spot..
8th 2014.. Cow hunt. 375 H & H 260 gr. Accubonds and I 4350. Across a small lake.. The first shot hit her neck.. She dropped but continued to kick.. I shot two more times trying to stop her from rolling in the lake..
Not many moose, but they were fun.. And great eating.. Our favorite of all wild game except maybe bison..

30-06

220 gr Silvertip - worked but jacket and core separated
180 gr Speer G.S. - worked very well, since they changed it I'm not sure about today's version
180 gr Fail Safe - worked good

308 Norma Mag

180 gr Speer Mag Tip - worked quite well even at close range

35 Whelen

225 gr Ballistic Tip - worked great
225 gr TSX - worked very well on my biggest bull
225 gr Accubond - works very well too

That's all I can remember right now, shot more than one with some of the loads listed. This year I'm running both the 200 gr Accubond and 200 gr TTSX in my 35 Whelen, going to use the Nosler in open country and the Barnes in the timber. I like them both and they shoot to the same point of aim. I was going to develop a load with the 250 gr Oryx but ran out of time to do it, maybe next year. Going to also take my 270 Win as a back up loaded up with 160 gr Partitions.

I have never shot a moose, I would like to some day. I would however, question the disdain for the 303 British. If I hear correctly, the round has put many moose in the freezer.

Stick a 174 gr Woodleigh PP or a 215 gr RN and it would be every bit as good as a 308 or even 30-06. For black bears I liked the 180 gr Speer RN, should be fine for moose as well.

Not a big sample size, and just medium sized cariboo moose....

300 win mag, 180 partition
270 win, 130 accubond
7 rem mag, 160 partition
308 win, 150 Hornady interlock

Ranged from 20 yards to 175 yards, and none survived very long.

I just found my Parker Hale 303 to be lacking in too many area's. When I packed one the only load I could obtain was factory Super X 180gr silver tip. Later on I tried the 180gr Federal load and the results were just as dismal. I found it didn't have the knock down power at close or longer ranges. Compared to other rounds the trajectory drop was unacceptable and hitting animals with a good shot just to have them stand there then run off like nothing ever happened doesn't inspire confidence of any kind. I never lost an animal but follow up shots was the common theme . My experiences as a young man really soured me on the cartridge, Perhaps other have used it with different result. I think it is a lousy round for large heavy game. But hey that's just one mans opinion..

The majority of mine were taken with .270 Win. with 150 gr. Partition. Nothing dramatic they stood around and thought about it for a couple of minutes before either dropping on the spot or moving off a short distance. Got a .338 Win and saw an immediate difference in how quickly they dropped. In this case bigger is better.

Jim

Shot a handful of bulls with a 300 win mag and 180 partitions, and one with the same rifle and speer hot cores. Predictably the partitions with that cartridge were very effective with a couple animals dropping at the shot and the balance only moving perhaps 25 yards. (I am traditionally a lung shooter, from way back!). The speer did the job but did not hold together well at all and lacked the penetration I was used to. I'd not use that combo again.

Moose hunting is on a draw here so one gets tags few and far between. In 30yrs I've shot only three moose. 1 with 35Whelen and 2 with a 375Chatfield-Taylor. Both moose shot with the 375 showed no reaction to well placed shots in the lungs at under 100yds. I knew they were good shots so just watched and waited. The one shot with the 35 took a 250gr Speer behind the ear at very close range. Tossed it down like a rag doll.

I sold all my 375 stuff a couple yrs ago for a lighter/less recoil M700 1:12" Lilja 35Whelen. That's more than than enough for the moose here.

Precisely one, a 225 gr TSX via 35 Whelen at 2,700 fps that dropped it where it stood when hit.

My sample of one died in its foot prints from a 127 Barnes LRX out of a 6.5-06 at 50yds give or take. Went in under its right eye thru the spine traveled down the neck and and was laying against the hide at the left shoulder. Bull was looking back over his shoulder at me the only thing not covered in brush was it head..I think a .22 LR would of done the job though with that shot placement.

I've shot moose with a few different options:
On the low end-

6mm, 95 Partition
6.5 x 55, 140 Partition
7mm-08, 160 FailSafe, 140 XFB
30-30 WCF, 170 Core-lokt
30-06, 165 Core-lokt, 165 Game King, 180 Partition, 180 E-Tip, 180 Grand Slam, 180 Weldcore, 180 NBT, 190 BTSP Interlock, 200 SPT Partition, 220 Core-lokt
340 Weatherby, 200 NBT, 225 XFB, 250 Interlock, 250 GameKing, 250 Grand Slam
358 Winchester, 225 XFB, 250 HotCor, 250 Interlock
358 Norma, 250 Partition, 250 A-Frame
375/350 Rem Mag, 235 TSX
375 H&H, 300 Partition
45-70 Govt, 300 Uni-Cor, 300 XFB, 350 Speer, 405 Rem

Probably a few other combinations, but those are what I remember off the top of my head. Lots of experimenting; many bullets were tried as follow-up/insurance deals.

I know a guy that used a 270 and the discontinued 160 grain partition, 1 shot.

Discontinued?

you will need a .366 or .375 again for our moose ....

303 is a fine moose round with good bullets. Use a Woodleigh and get some freezer space ready!