Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Alaska Moose rifle

" Moose are dumb and easy to kill shot placement is key."

Half right.

retire 09,
both of your rifles will work on moose - however one is definitely better than the other

I ain't gettin it! damn sounds like my kids talking. no respect I tell ya no repect!

well since I missed the "obvious" let me recommend the 280AI then as the alternative rifle. that would be a damn good sheep gun then!

But allowing for the backyard in Anchorage, perhaps more than half ??? ....... (Confidence, courage, and foolhardy testosterone can, of course, sometimes fool a person.)

Real moose hunters don't use anything bigger than an original 1876 deluxe in 40-60 caliber with a magazine full of ammo.

Hmmm....
So I assume the next time you have some of those Sako rifles for sale at the gun show, you'll be selling them for practically nothing????

Who are you?

Well, let me put in my vote for the .308 Norma mag. I have killed moose with everything from a 410 punkin' ball in a single shot Model 37 Winchester to a 45/70 Marlin. The most I shot with the Norma. If I had to go out the door with just one rifle, that would be it.

Either the Guide Gun or a 338-06 with 210 gr. TSX

You heard wrong. IMHE, we tend toward the dark (heavy) side!

Nope- only half. Moose ain't dumb. Not if they get regular pressure on them. I'll stack them against a white-tail any day for smarts, all thing considered. Hit properly, they do die easy, if not quickly.

Oh, I agree they're not dumb at all - even the ones that don't get a lot of pressure. I was just thinking that certain circumstances may color one's perspective, urban versions being one example. It is rather easy to think that moose are not real bright when seeing Triple A moose (Anchorage Alley Alces). It's kind of like thinking they are slow because they don't dash like smaller deer - but they certainly can cover ground fast when they want to, and at a gait that can at best be described as "purposeful".

Not much really.

But a good 308/30-06/270 class rifle would be a good addition.


With the Giude gun, you have plenty of self defense "Thump".

Good shooting,

BMT

I've used both a 338 Win Mag at 300 yds and a 454 Casull at 15 yds. Both worked equally well. Would love the try out my 1895 if I draw a 3rd Wyoming moose license.

I have never killed a Moose but I do own a 30-06 that has not "self actualized" yet.
So maybe one day I can kill two birds with one stone!

Have killed and seen moose killed over the last 40+ years. Shot placement is ALWAYS the key. Here are some of the cartridges I have seen dead moose taken with.

-- 22LR - I don't recommend it, but a lot of Indians eat moose every year that died from one.
-- 243 Win - my wife took her first moose with one in a NEF Handi, and an uncle in BC buys one for his daughters and daughters in law and they all kill moose.
-- 270 Win - Uncle with all the 243 ladies.
-- 300 Savage - kinda like a 308 lite.
-- 30-30 - MANY killed. Around here if you were a moose hunter 40 years ago, you had a 30-30 to start with.
-- 303 British - LOADS of moose killed with them.
-- 308 - they do just fine.
-- 30-06 - more moose killed with that every year than all others combined in this area.
-- 300 WM - a 30-06 heavy.
-- 7RemMag - works fine.
-- 6.5X55 - very effective
-- 8mm Mauser - not many but they work good.
-- 338 mag - needlessly overpowered IMHO, but they kill stuff.
-- 45-70 - great killer.

I have only used a 30-30, a 30-06, a 300 WM, and a 303 Brit. I hope to add 405 Winchester and 45-70 Government to the list.

A good bullet through the lungs makes moose very dead.

Agree with the bullet placement theory, which is correct. Have shot a number of moose with both the .300 weatherby and the .340 weatherby at distances from 40 yards to 450 yards from the center of a lake in a boat during a rain down pour. In all cases it was exciting.

Can't help myself, as it is my favortie caliber and rifle!

My first big game rifle in Alaska (other than the Marlin 336) was a .308N, built on an 03-A3 action. Lovely gun. Shooting standing off-hand, every round would go on an 11" paper plate at 200 yards if I did my part.

Ballistically, however, it is a 300 Win Mag, and the WM is way easier and cheaper to feed.Unless one is handloading- then, it's just the brass that costs considerably more - or did back before my .308NM burned up.

I've killed more moose with a 375 H&H than anything. Grand old cartridge. But the 338 WM and 350 RM has worked well enough. I tend to carry the 338 more often the last few years. And I like to get my 30-06 out ever so often so it doesn't feel unloved. During the off season the 45-70 gets carried plenty.