Great guys a little further down the Tanana River from me. I like following their adventures.

Anyhow,
Right around 11:43 of this video, the shooting begins.

Bull is called in close. Takes 2 220 grain woodlieghs from a 30-06. Good kill shots, bull still gets up and runs. 2 more 220 grain woodleighs, still not dead. Finally finishes him off with a revolver. No biggie, as it was a land-based hunt.

Using the 358 win/275 grain, or a 9.3x62/300 grain, or even a 41-9.3x62/350 grain, never needed more than one or two shots to anchor the big rut-raged bulls.

In my way of hunting, always river/creek side, it's critical to anchor them. Recovery is dangerous if they die in the swift river or in a muskeg swamp.

If a monster bull is in your forecast, Don't overlook those nice medium bores:

358 winchester, 338 rcm, 338 win mag, 375 ruger, 375 h&h, 9.3x62 Mauser, 338-06, 35 whelen

Slow internet on my phone here so I only watched part of it. Did they show (or say) exactly where the bullets struck? Without knowing that it would be impossible to draw valid conclusions.

Tough old Bull there. Thanks for posting.

Looks like they are shooting through a great deal of brush. I would imagine that some of the bullets didn't hit where they were aimed.

They can take a lot of killing when they don’t want to cooperate! Contrary to recent popular opinion…..fast, small bores are not always the answer.! memtb

That bull had a great will to live.

Mainer,

A comfortable camp and great habitat and a very nice bull as well.

A realistic portrayal of moose hunting but the Argo took a lot of the sweat out of it.
My days of packing one out of that country are long gone.

Thanks

Vern

Mainer,

This video is also of value to those on the chat rooms asking what scope to buy for an upcoming moose hunt.
I think I've taken as many moose with a peep/receiver sighted rifle as I have with a scoped rifle;
As you know, I also like the medium bores for moose and bears.

Vern

great video to watch ,thanks for posting it,Pete53

Moose are not hard to kill. I agree. They just can take forever to realize they are dead.

Quickest kill I"ve seen was a non exit 300 PRC ELDX. Had it hit bone it would not have done much good IMHO.

Reaction wise I see more reaction from 375 on up. They still just generally dont' move very far from first shot regardless. Even with a 308 and I"ve seen the 308 work very well.

IMHO if I was shooting where I didn't want them to move, I think I'd risk one lung shot and then shoot them in the head/base of brain to make sure.

One thing unless you hit CNS there is never a guarantee regardless of what you are shooting.

The other thing I've noticed with clients is that it sure seems that only mono bullets reliably exit. Even partitions from 338 win mag have never made it to the opposite ribs. Reaffirms my take that mono are the best choice rather than other frangible bullets.

Cool video, thanks for sharing. Nice bull too. I hate to pass up any bull that size looking for bigger. You just never know these days and with a couple bad winters its not helping the population

It always amazes me that we have to hold people back from moving in after the shot. Especially when the bull is clearly not dead. Like that one. The closer you move the more likely they will get up. Its a natural reaction from the game.
I try to have the client shoot. However many shots. Let em go down. And just watch. The antlers have to fall for sure. And then we are going to give it at least 5 or 10 minutes watching. That way I've never had a bad result and if they do try to get up again you can easily shoot again. Its not like that bit of extra time watching em is going to hurt. Like I tell people. WAIT. Especially if they got out of sight. WAIT. If they are dead, they won't come back to life in time. If they aren't every extra minute helps em get closer to dead or dead.

I've watched a lot of bow kills over the years. Amazing how long it can take an animal to die. Same with gun shots. Generally with a. gun they run from the noise and you don't see how long it takes to actually die. Because they are out of sight.

Vern, you're more n welcome to jump in a freighter this next moose season. Plenty of young freighter canoe folks to do the cutting/packing/loading.

Our mutual friend, Mike N. got to see this bull in person, as he passed by enroute back to matanuska glacier. I built that freighter canoe. This big boy took a full magazine of .300 win mag 180 grain partition. Still stayed upright. He had to reload his rifle with another 3. Gawd I'm glad that brute didn't end up in that swift, cold water:

Thats a bull!

Skull capped it too. LOL. What I fail to see is mention of CNS after the first shot. If its a thing.. its a thing. Sometimes we aren't close enough.

Then again did it take a full mag... the only way one knows these things is to fire 1 round and leave it be. Have done that a time or two. Not the smartest I agree. But the results have been about the same time wise. And the couple animals never moved. Just stood until they lay down. And bled out.

Sometimes. Maybe even more than that. The extra noise of the extra shots. The run up to em and pump more in em crowd. The hollers after the first hit bunch... quite often I think those are what makes them move after the first shot.

They certainly don't seem to move much if you leave em alone from what I"ve seen.

Again its all generalities. Nothing is ever 100%

Buddy of mine was going to shoot a caribou standing 8 inches deep edge of a river about season to ice up... I said whatever you do don't aim high. lung and let him get into the alders. Nope. He hits high and shocks the spine. If he would have lung shot that we would have had a chance at least.LOL. An Aquaintnace couldn't wait on a bull moose last fall. Shot it IN the lake. And then as it swam for shore... yes it was on the deep side... he kept shooting.... Had to take a swim with a rope to the bottom.

I still say lots of our issues are brought on by ourselves.. One single shot and mind your business and there seems to be less drama. Watching what I saw of the video they certainly didn't go up and pester that bull so to speak. Was pretty wobbly after that last round an it looked like the bullets worked.

But I know the other side too.. one bear last spring 14 shots fire. Another had 8 IIRC. Not all hit. All of mine hit except the one I tried at him rolling down the hill... and then I waited until he regained his footing for my next shot....

Oh yeah. 180 partitions are NOT for 300 mags. Designed for 30-06 speeds. I Have not been impressed with partitions on moose unless you don't want lots of penetration or an exit. YMMV. They are much better than standard cup and core though.

And dang nice canoe!

another great video to watch ! thanks for posting ! Pete53

That's where the big canoes really shine.

Shot placement

Not doubting your experience but it does ring of irony. IIRC, it was a 300 Mag bullet failure that led John Nosler to develop the Partition. He must have had that very combination in mind.

Looks like he knows what he's doing.

Interesting. My all around rifle is a 300wm and 180 accubonds. Not my first choice for any particular hunt but she’ll be standing by in the safe ready to go! Kicks like a mule too with a McM Edge stock.

My first elk a nice 6x6 fell on the spot about 140 yds from a full throttle Rl -22 load with 180 NPT out of my m70 pf 300 win mag. Hit him in the neck at a slight quarter too angle taking out 3 vertebrate and ending up in the hindquarter on the opposite side
Damn near full length penetration. Found the bullet in the last roast. Shot the.next 1 also with the 180 npt plus lots of deer with full throttle 300 win mag loads in 2 different rifles.yeah it works in 30-06 too. Allways thought it to be damn near perfect game bullet for my use in 30's. I do have a pile of npt 200's I am going to try though..mb

I agree with most everything Rost said, and we can talk shot placement, caliber, bullet weights/designs all day, citing examples - mostly one-of...

But.... I almost never recover bullets with anything- almost all, regardless of species, caliber, bullet weight, are exits, unless hitting spine, in which case there isn't usually much left to find. You guys must be shooting iron-plated or rubber-hided critters.....

I shot my first of 21 or 22 bull moose with an open-sighted 336 in 30-30, using silver tips. Probably 170s. Unaware, double lunged (with exit) at about 100 yards, the 3 year old bull, turned and ran toward me, dying in a small spruce clump about 15-20 yards to my left.

I shot a running spike with a 12 ga slug, through the artery just under the spine, at 35 yards. Nice 12 ga. slug hole all the way through, no expansion. He fell over in dead run about 100 yards down the meadow, all bled out (best moose I've ever eaten).

My wife took a 3 year old bull with 100 grain .243 (factory Corelokt or Partition- I don't recall) at about 70 yards, after I cautioned her to let him finish his drink and turn back away from the stream. Double lunged, again a .243 size pencil through (missed ribs both sides, jellied lungs), he hunched, then walked about 25 feet to behind a screen of willow, stood there for maybe a minute while his lungs filled up and he fell over.

I punched a fork-horn, face on, just under the "chin" at 16 yards with a .338 WM 275 gr Speer GS hand load, hitting the spine, half-decapitating him and almost flipping him over on his back. No exit, apparently, just lots of bone and bullet frag in a very large wound!

My largest (and second) at 62 1/2 inches was taken quartering on at perhaps 150 yards, using an 03-A3 in 308 Norma Mag, and 180 grain , Norma factory loads. Caught the nearside lung, went back through the diaphragm, don't recall if it exited. He stopped, turned sideways, and the second one to the spine just behind the ear dropped him like a brick.

I've gone to cns shots if I can get them, with any animal, caliber, or load. "if I can get them", depends on several factors, the over-riding one being surety of placement.

About half of my bulls were taken with 30-06, and 150, 165, and 180 loads, mostly factory Corelokts. The last one, at about 20 yards, was with factor ySP Hornady 150 GMX to the spine at the base of the ear. Next to my wife's previously mentioned bull, easiest one I've taken. Shut the snowmachine off, lay the rifle across th wind screen, boom, drive the snowmachine up next to him ands start dressing.

I have to admit tho, that little Bravo really didn't care much for 500 lbs or so of moose meat in the sled behind, along with a caribou and 100 lbs or so of gear. Got terrible milage on the way back.... :)+

I've often regretted not keeping a log or diary of my hunts and kills, but it's too late now, and my memory is for chit sometimes.

Great info in the thread guys, thanks!

I keep trying to draw a tag for shiras moose here in Washington. May start applying in Idaho as well.

Dunno about hunting Alaska again, but it's an incredible place.

Guy

The quickest kills on bull moose I’ve seen were frontal shots that came close to or clipped the spine. A couple of them were with 6.5mm and 7mm bullets. Shot placement and bullet construction are what make the difference, IME, not so much bore size.

Just for the flip side, the hardest dying moose I ever killed was a fork-horn "yearling". And I'm pretty proud of my shooting on that one!

Pard and I had just landed the canoe on our camp island when he said- "There's a bull swimming toward us!" Just before the bull came ashore about 20 yards away, Dean moved, the bull saw him, and swam around the 1/4 acre island. By the time I got through all the deadfall, he was ashore on the mainland on the opposite side, 140 yards away (paced off that winter) . Shore-side screen of alder in front of me, so I jumped up on a big rotting birch log about 4' off the ground to shoot, standing (at least tottering...), off-hand through the more open top spaces. The .338WM was loaded with 250 gr. Trophy Bonded factory loads. The first round took him through both shoulder blades, about the middle. The second took out a front knee, the third as he was headed away toward the brush creased the front of his hind and exited the same hole as the first. He kept going!

I stuffed in a Sierra GK 250 gr hand load and punched him again, broadside, an inch under the first round, making the third bullet to use the same exit hole, now about inch and a half across in the far shoulder blade. It really wasn't needed, as he was staggering and unlikely to go more than another 5 yards, but he had made another 25 yards from the first shot. That's the most times I have shot- or shot at, any moose. I did have to shoot another fork horn 3 times. The second shot - to the back or his head (again the .338) was followed by the third round - second "insurance" round - when he blinked at me as I grabbed his antler to move him. That will get your attention!

I really prefer to shoot them just once unaware, before they get the adrenaline up! At least until I'd scared myself a couple times- now they ALL get an insurance shot from a few yards out, "dead", or not. Then a muzzle eye-poke, with a live chamber and safety off.

The 3 bullets to the left, were recovered from the off-side hide of big rut-raged bulls.

Furthest left: 350 grain swift a-frame, 41 caliber. Bull down instantly, mere feet from the swift river. Big hole, blood everywhere. Knocked out entry side front end, clipped vertebrate.

2nd bullet: from a different bull. 300 grain swift 9.3 mm. Two quick shots to the front end. One exited, one didn't.

3rd bullet: finishing shot in the neck of the big bull shot with the 41 caliber. 357 magnum 180 swift. Bull was paralyzed, but still alive 10 minutes later. That dmn pistol bullet went through entire neck.

4th bullet to right:
220 grain nosler partition tested in spruce boards(very soft wood) a little over 2400 fps. Very minimal expansion, poor weight retention. Penetrated no further than a 180 grain partition at 2700 fps. I will not be using them in my 308. I value my back and knees, and not swimming in oxbow swamps or the swift cold river.

anyone have any input on a good moose bullet for a 358 winchester?

i’ve shot a few deer with 200hr horn spire points but not sure i’d trust them for moose.

it seems 250rn have fallen out of favor with the manufacturers.

I hear you, Guy. After 19 years of putting in for WA Moose, & I forget how many years for Idaho Moose, I gave up.

Now what I do is get a quote for BC Moose, which I can simply drive to, and compare that with the cost of going to Africa. Then I go to Africa. Again.

Oryx 250 grain .358 are in stock. They expand nicely and retain weight. They don't impede powder capacity. You'll get a full 47-48 grains of powder in the case.

https://normashooting.com/shop/cali...ed-soft-point-norma-oryx-bullets-qty-50/

Thx mainer

That oughta work!

I mis-remembered about the 3 exits in one hole. Cleaning some stuff out of the garage today I found a box of skulls (sheep, bear, wolf and this- from that little hard to kill yearling bull.

This is the off-side shoulder blade referenced in previous post, bullets from 3 different angles, while balanced on a rotting log 4 feet off the ground,, shooting offhand through a screen of leaves, at 140 to 160 yards. Probably couldn't do it again, tho! "Trophy"!

Pics or it didn't happen?

I noticed that the shooter in the video had no scope, just standard open sights. Wondering if that is pretty normal?

Yes, it is quite normal in the Bush for hunters to not use a scope.

I'd use irons too. Except picking a hole through thick stuff, burns, and very early or late while sitting on a bull the optics help out a LOT.

Great video. Brings back many memories of my years in Alaska. Thanks for posting.

Rost,,
I called in a 60+ incher at last light few years back. Was in some treeless/alder choked stuff. Bull crests a small hill, grunting. About 200 yards out. Pulled up with open sights, could not make out my sights. IF I had a scope, I could've easily shot him.

Called him in closer, with challenge grunts. He held up in an alder-choked ravine below my camp. Was probably spooked by cooking caribou smells. Put on my moccasins, stalked within 50 yds of him, in that tangled mess.

Go to take aim, can't make out my sights. I point rifle in air, so I could just barely align sights against low light. Drop down sights on silhouette of the bull, shoot.

That bullet never touched him. He ran off, never to be seen again.

Since there were three cows right around my camp, bull must've decided to stay. I packed up my canoe, and on my way out, a cheap green kaboat-raft with a fkn lawn mower engine passes by. Guy's name is Shawn

He got that bull:

"Swomp Lite kit with a Honda gx200 on an Alaskan moose hunt. Perfect light weight setup to go where most boats could not. Very impressed!

Shawn

Anchorage, Alaska"

https://www.backwaterinc.com/been-there.html