Home Forums Hunting & Shooting General Big Game Moose bullet recs

A friend has applied for moose tags. I own a .308 and a 7x57. The 175 grain loads are not accurate in the 7x57 (it likes the 140 grain load), and the 308 does not like the 165 grain loads (prefers the 150 load). I am not a handloader, and need recommendations for other loads by manufacturers to try. Thanks in advance.

Your .308 may prefer 150's...............meaning they are slightly more accurate??

A moose is a huge animal. If you can get 3" groups at 100 yards, or better, you have all the accuracy you need. By not limiting your choices to 150gr , you'll expand your options.

Call superior ammunition and ask them to load up some barnes tsx for ya. Awsome guys , I use them regularly. 140 for the 7x57 and 180 for the 308.

Try Hornady ammo, 154gr for the 7mm, 150gr interbind for the .308. Or check out Federal's premium line and see what's offered.

Scrap your ideas (ideals?) for a minutely accurate moose load. When the gun is toward the lighter end of enough - either is enough though!- worry less about how tiny it shoots groups and concentrate on how well you can shoot off hand with good (heavier) bullets. I would choose a 160 Failsafe, TSX, or Partition or just about any 175 for the 7mm and a similar thought in about 180 grains for the 308. Moose are big targets so it takes some effort to miss if you are familiar with the rifle and load. That bigness also means they can be a challenge to the bullet so use enough. I have taken moose with the 7mm-08 a few times using tough bullets. The bullet is the least likely accuracy problem you are likely to encounter. Make sure you are very familiar with your gun with suitable loads so you are equal to them.

Use premium bullets in either of your rifles in the weights it likes and you will be fine, assuming proper placement.

I have killed moose with 12 guage slug, .243 100 grain, .30-30 170 grain,
.270 150 gr., .30-06 150, 165, and 180 gr., and several larger calibers.

They all died. Moose don't kill hard- they just take a while with boiler room shots.

At short range, I favor spine (ear to azz) shots to plant them immediately

In your place, I'd favor the .308 - Maybe try the Hornady Hi-energy rounds (is that called right?)

Depending on the ranges you're likely to encounter, I'd go with a 165 grain Hornady IL in the 308, or a 154 in the 7mm. Then I would put that pill about 4-6" behind the shoulder blade. Heck, put two of them in there. There's no meat to ruin with a chest shot. I would worry more about what knife to buy, and what ATV you are going to use to pull the thing out of the swamp.

Any premium bullet eich shoots within 2 inches will do. Moose are normally shot on short range, so you don`t need tiny groups. The quality and weight of the bullet is more important.

You didn't say where you expect to hunt. Have you had any input from your outfitter or local hunters as to the distances you can expect to shoot?

In some areas shots may be short. In this case the two calibers you mention should be adequate. In some of the areas where we hunt in northern Ontario shots along the edges of a marsh or on a meadow can run to several hundred yards.

Personally I quit using a .270 for moose after the last one I shot at about 300 yards took 4 hits in the lungs with 150 gr. Partitions. The moose died but he walked away as if untouched. If I hadn't heard the sound of a hit on the last shot I wouldn't have known the animal had been touched.

The only saving grace on moose is that they are soft as compared to something like whitetails. I have often said that if moose had the vitality of a whitetail we would recover far fewer of them.

Jim,

I agree with you on the 270. It will kill moose, but a 30 calibre seems to do a quicker, more efficient job. I prefer the '06 to the 308, just because. If the shots are running out to 300+, then the 300 mag of one form or another may instill a little extra margin in the shooter's favour.

I don't know that moose are "softer" than deer. I think that they absorb more energy from a high power cartridge than deer do because the bullets tend to go in and out of a deer doing enough damage to kill. Most of the moose I have shot did not exhibit an exit wound until I started using TSX's.

I know a lot of guys prefer a 338 for moose, but I think that is really overkill. (Of course I speak with tongue in cheek, 'cause I am in the process of acquiring a .411 or a .416 and will likely shoot a moose with it, if I can. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" /> )

My average shot on moose (20 something) is about 60 yards. My preferred shot is under 30. I'm prepared to go to 500, if I know the range (longest shot yet - about 160)

I use a .338 with 250 or 225 gr premium bullets (bear medicine- the moose mostly don't need it). I try to spine shoot them generally, preferably just under the ear. (I'll go boiler room on long or running shots)

Ain't no such thing as "over kill". <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

las,

I'm supposing the hunting pressure here is a little greater than it is there, but I don't know. Mechanized logging has opened up some pretty large clearings, so we get the longer shots here, on average. The last three or four I have shot have all been in excess of 225-250. Never needed more than a 30-06 with 180 Hornady BTSP. Longest has been 400 yards, and that was nice to have the 300 Mag for trajectory.

As we don't have the bear problems you likely do, that does not enter the picture. Your moose run a lot bigger than ours do, as well. Have fun with your 338.

Shootist - I progressed from the .270 to a 7 mm Rem. Mag. to a .338 WM. Have only taken 2 moose with the .338 but they were the quickest, down in their tracks kills I have ever made. A .40 cal.+ rifle will likely be down right awesome.
How about a report on the results this fall.

Not sure if any factories load much for Barnes X bullets, but I used 130 gr. XLC's from my 300 Win Mag for 2 moose.

One was a calf that I shot at about 140 yards. It staggered about 5 yards and dropped.

The second was a bull that I hit 3 times (at my guides' behest) from about 40 yards. He made it about 20 yards before dropping.

Moose can soak up a lot of bullet and they really don't seem to panic or be afraid of very much, including us and our rifles. That's why I think they don't travel too far after being shot.

Whatever happens, I predict you'll have the best hunt of your life...moose hunting rules!