The Accurate Reloading Forums THE ACCURATE RELOADING.COM FORUMS Rifles Medium Bore Rifles 308 Winchester and mooseGo | New | Find | Notify | Tools | Reply | |
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Gents: Adequate cartridge with appropriate bullet and shot placement? I think I know the answer but opinions are sought. | ||
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There is no way a 308 can kill a moose. You must be insane to even suggest it. Buy a bigger rifle.  | |||
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I have killed a moose with a 308. I used 180 gr Nosler Part.It was the only rifle I owned at the time and has accounted for a lot of meat on the table. It didn't knock him down but killed him pretty quick. I broke his neck with a finisher so he didn't move any further away. About 1000 lb. bull. Not a 60" Alaskan but a lot of animal. The area I hunted in the locals used 303, 30-30 and 300 Savage mostly. There are not bulletproof but take a while to die. The Alaska guys on the Forum have a whole lot more moose experience then me. Good luck. | |||
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I hope the previous post was made in jest. Back "in the day", many Alaskan trappers used a Savage 99 in 22Hi Power or 250-3000 on the trail to dispatch many a moose. A 300 Savage was considered a big gun. Granted , today many natives still use mini 14's or 30-30's or any other convenient firearms to take their winter meat. The point is, don't be seduced by the modern magnum craze. A 308, in the hands of a good hunter is more than adequate for moose. It may not be the ideal, especially in the fall where furry critters with teeth and claws can and do appear at the most inopportune times. But it will get the job done. sbsmith | |||
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Lots of moose taken in Alaska with a 30-06, which is practically the same thing as using a 308. The police chief in a small coastal town I used to live in killed a brown bear with his 308. Moose are seldom knocked down no matter what you are shooting. DRT moose means hit in the spine, or neck. Unless lots of bones are broken, even a 458 won't knock one down. The 308 using good bullets 180 or 200 gr, such as partition, swift, lapua mega, etc. would put it in the excellent moose rifle catagory IMO. That said -- I have a 308 and bigger calibers. So, since I have a choice, if I draw a tag for moose I'll probably take the 9.3x62, and leave the 308 at home. But if all I had was a 308, that would be plenty adequate IMO. KB ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ ~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~-~ | |||
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The 308 has been putting moose, elk, and bear meat in the freezer in Canada for 50 years. | |||
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Standard fare in europe along with 6.5 x 55 & 7mm mauser | |||
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Worked with an indian from Alaska, he said they used to shoot moose in lungs with 22 lr solid, they would walk around and then start staggering & fall, might take 15 to 20 minues. when he graduated high school, he bought a 30-30 and shot a moose with it. it ran 3oo yards, he went back to the 22. Not advocating this, but true story. probably still going on in Alaska today. | |||
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308 is fine for taking moose. That stated like every cal. shot placement and knowing your limitations as far as range goings is the key. Good hunting. | |||
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Do not buy another rifle...I repeat do not buy another rifle. Take the $1400 you save on the rifle, scope, mounts, rings new ammo and... Spend $500 on your wife and the rest on offsetting your taxidermy and shipping charges. Mike Legistine actu? Quid scripsi? Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.  What I have learned on AR, since 2001: 1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken. 2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps. 3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges. 4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down. 5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine. 6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle. 7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions. 8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA. 9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not. 10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact. 11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores. 12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence. 13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances. | |||
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wife needs a rifle for moose huntinf next year. $699 for featherweight classic m70 at cabelas or $715 for AR member 9.3x62 on ARBAY. | |||
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If I was to hunt moose I would probably use my Blaser R 93 Tracker in 375 H&H or my 9,3x74R, or 450/400 double rifle... Just because I have them. If I was told I might need to shoot pretty far I would use a Blaser R 93 in 300 Win Mag... But if my wife hunted moose she would probably use her Blaser R 93 in 308 WCF, fire one shot and have a dead moose... Just like she did on most of the plains game she shot in Zim. With a 165 or 180gr Premium bullet there is not many animals short of cape buff and elephant that a 308 cannot handle, IMHO. DOUBLE RIFLE SHOOTERS SOCIETY | |||
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CM or SS to go into a McM stock? | |||
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A lot of moose have been killed with a .30-30 and .300 Savage. Make up your own mind. | |||
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The single most popular moose hunting round in Finland where 60.000 or more moose are harvested annually; not uncommon in Sweden also. We still see plenty of the old 7,62x53Rs which is essentially the same but flanged. This is too much proof over the last half century of the cartridge's performance to be disputed. However, I'm personally allergic to it and as soon as I find a doctor who'll do it for me I'll get a doctor's certificate to this end. The big benefits are: - low recoil - fast action due to short bolt throw - often a nice and well handling gun due to the short action - cheap ammo - excellent bullets available - good accuracy - good choice of rifles so chambered. Considering the size of moose, I'd shoot premium bullets only. Although, again, history proves that any standard soft nose will do the job very well, thank you very much. - Lars/Finland A.k.a. Bwana One-Shot | |||
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If you're BUYING a new rifle, then yes, you have some other options you can consider for her. 308 should work fine, but you can also pick up a 338 Federal Ruger for about the same price as the Winchester, its just a little bit more of a good thing. If you reload, the 358 Win might be good too. Not sure about the 7-08...but hey if the Euro's do it with a 6.5x55 I don't see why a strong heavy 7mm wouldn't do it as well. And I'm just going off available rifles in that price range you listed. Heck, go get a Stevens 200 in 308 for 300$, put it on a better stock and add a scope and you're probably looking at around the price for the whole package that you would pay for those other options. And if the 9.3 was considered...well then you might as well consider the 30-06 and call it a day. Let her pick the rifle, not like choices are limited, women like that stuff lol. Put a good recoil pad on it and go huntin! If you think every possible niche has been filled already, thank a wildcatter! | |||
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if i ever get a chance to go moose hunting, i would load up some good loads for my .308 and go. but, that will never happen | |||
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A nice 165 or 180 grain bullet like the partition or barnes and dead moose! | |||
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For the size of your Maine moose, I think the 308 is about perfect, especially for the wife. Larry "Peace is that brief glorious moment in history, when everybody stands around reloading" -- Thomas Jefferson | |||
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.308 is fine for Moose up here. | |||
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thanks, all. i shot my maine moose with an 06 and it worked just fine; those long unstoppable 220 grain slugs just keep trukin'. sounds like the 308 enjoys similar consensus. cheers | |||
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I shoot them with a 7x57. My son uses a 7mm-08. A .308 is more than adequate. | |||
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BUT the 308 loses velocity quickly past 180 grains. the extra space created in the -06 by modern powders is useful in shooting heavier bullets. that's the real advantage the -06 has over the 308. I have each, and both rock, but for moose I would pick the -06. if buying new, here is your excuse to go large. if I were you, I could easily justify (to myself) at least a 338 WM on up to a 375. | |||
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thanks, delloro but please note this is for the wife who is a novice shooter. | |||
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well then a good 308 or 30-06 ought to do it. 180 gr max, so the recoil is not too bad. get a bullet that is known for penetration, like triple shock, a-frame, etc. | |||
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What bullets are you using in these rifles? | |||
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I have used Norma 180g oryx,vulkan, Lapua mega and 165gr Hornady sp in 308w. Norma 155gr alaska and Lapua mega in 6,5*55. They all worked well, typically a moose walk 50-150m after a lungshot. If you want them to drop faster you have to use a 6,3*62 or 338wm level of cartridge. | |||
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http://forums.accuratereloadin...6103246/m/3291016811 180 gr soft point.  ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- If the 270 won't do it the .338 will, if the 338 won't I can't afford the hunt! | |||
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Asuming the advertised specs for the 30-06 with 220 gr. bullets are on the money, why would the .308 Win. with the same bullet be all that handicapped? In theory (I can't find any to chronograph) the 220 gr. bullet in the factory load does 2400 FPS. However, I have loaded the 220 gr. Sierra and Hornady round nose bullets to 230 FPS from a Winchester M70 with 22" barrel and excellent accuracy. WOW! A whole whooping 100 FPS less that an advertised figure. Those RN bullets even stay stabilized in the considered too slow 1 in 12" twist of the Winchester. Could it be that some of the "eggspurt" gun writers have lied to us? No that couldn't be. Right? It was jack O'Connor who got me interested into looking into whether a 1 in 12" twist would stabilize those bullets. An fellow in town did hobby gunsmithing back in 1973 or 4, I forget which rebarreled an FN Mauser I hade in 06 with a 24" barrel and a 1 in12" doughla barrel. I was shooting a lot of cast bullets at the time and that twist is a bit kinder to bulletus plumbum. natrually, I tried the 220 gr. bullets, Sierra and Hornady to be exact and they shot just fine at 100 and 200 yards with no sign of instability. One day, while looking in a book, I read where 220 gr. bullets were considered unsuitable in the .308. Fact or BS? In an early ONE BOOK/ONE CALIBER loading manual for the .308, I found data using W-760 with 220 gr. bullets delivering 2300 FPS  Time to try them. They did. It seems to me that while high velocity is the Holy Grail to most, I wonder whether 100 FPS less is all that big a deal.I read somewhere that shortly after the 30-06 came out, that people felt the 30-40 Krag was a betetr elk and moose cartridge as the bullets held together better than when shot from either a 30-03 or 30-06. Hmmm. If a 220 gr. bullet at 2000 FPS was good, why wouldn't the same bullet at 2300 MV not be at least as good, if not better? I take a lot of what some of the "eggspurts" in the gun rags with large quantities of salt these days, especially in their infomercials that they call articles. Paul B. | |||
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The 7x57 (Ruger 77) likes almost any 175 gr. bullet although I've been using Speer Grand Slams and Barnes TSX lately. The 08 (Vanguard) doesn't do too well with the 175's so we've been using 150 gr. Scirocco II's out of that. I currently have 11 different brands/types of 7mm bullets on hand, so am always experimenting and tweaking loads with them. | |||
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I use a 358 Norma Magnum myself. Not really necessary but I like it. Moose seem largely immune to shock. This year I went out with a guy with a 308. We shot at the same moose, hitting him in the chest within a second of one another. Penetration was nearly identical with both rounds the bullets where found just short of the hide on the off side. The 358 made a much bigger hole through the animal and disrupted much more tissue. However the .308 created a wound that would have killed the moose. The moose wandered about 50 yards and expired with two holes through him and little intact lung tissue. My wife's rifle is a 6mm Rem 600 and with either 100 Partitions or 115 Barnes Originals I'd trust her to kill a moose at 150 yards or less with a bullet tucked behind the shoulder through both lungs. Hasn't done it yet but I have seen 600 pound mountain caribou drilled through with either bullet. Guys up here in the NWT think the 270 is the moose round par excellence. Most haven't gone the Alaska route of really big guns. However, the impressive wound channel bored by the 358 Norma has some folks thinking. Anyway, I'd use a 308 and feel pretty well armed. I'd pick my shots but I would with any rifle. Great round IMO. | |||
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I've shot a cow moose with a 30-06 using 180 grain nosler partitions. They dont fall over like a deer with a shoulder shot, so I put a couple into it just to be sure. | |||
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The .308 win works fine.  | |||
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I've shot a few moose and if you can get a broadside shot on an undisturbed moose the 308 with a premium bullet will work fine if you place your shot tight against the back of the front leg. Dead moose. I would not take a raking shot or a frontal shot through the shoulder with a 308. I used the 338 or 375 for moose and took any angle shot that presented itself but I probably could have taken 80% of the moose I shot with a 308. Mark MARK H. YOUNG MARK'S EXCLUSIVE ADVENTURES 7094 Oakleigh Dr. Las Vegas, NV 89110 Office 702-848-1693 Cell, Whats App, Signal 307-250-1156 PREFERRED E-mail markttc@msn.com Website: myexclusiveadventures.com Skype: markhyhunter Check us out on https://www.facebook.com/pages...ures/627027353990716 | |||
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After you shoot your Moose with your 308. Your train of though for bigger and stronger, more powerful might switch to your back and legs if you have to pack him out yourself. I have shot 5 of the Alaskan variety and every time I walk up to them I ask my self (OH MY GOD: What have I done????)I have a tendency to forget the work between my trips. Packin' Moose meat through the tussocks on the tundra is not my idea of fun! Kill em close to where you can get them out! EZ | |||
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If you run across a moose that reads the internet, and you shoot it with a .308 and especially if you don't use a premium bullet, the moose will just laugh at you. If it is an uninformed moose, and you use a premium bullet, have a sharp knife--you'll be using it. If it is a non premium bullet, it will run off crippled. I'll define premium bullet---one that hits the right spot. Personally in .30 cal I use 150 grainers---even on moose. Many disagree with that and what's really funny many are the ones using 130 grainers in .270.(nothing wrong with that) | |||
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because the '06 case is bigger, and thus the longer 220-gr slug doesn't displace as much powder from the '06 case as it does the 308 case. that's all; it is only a matter of case capacity. recall the 308 was developed as a more efficient replacement for the 150-gr '06, retaining similar ballistics. | |||
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I use a .375 for moose because the rifle was free and I've not bothered to buy a light rifle. I shoot it well and am confident in my ability to take game with it to nearly 400 yards. I know that it will kill a moose from nearly any angle. But I will be the first to tell you I don't need that large a rifle. | |||
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It's hard to knock a moose down with a .308. But it sure will kill them. Even the 30 Rem. willkill tyhem! "Bitte, trinks du nicht das Wasser. Dahin haben die Kuhen gesheissen." | |||
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