I am currently trying to convince my wife that I should leave her with our five children for 10 days, and drive up north to have a crack at an Ontario moose. I realize the odds of her saying yes are on par with Wisconsin having an Elk season in the next few years. However, dreams have to start somewhere and this dream will start with a dedicated Moose rifle. As we all know, all big game rifles must be custom tailored to the range, size and terrain in which the animal is to be hunted.

That being said, I am gravitating toward either the 9.3x62 or the 35 whelen due to the relatively light recoil. If I go the 9.3x62 route, I am looking at either the Cz 550 or the Sauer 100. For those who have handled both, I would like to get an opinion if either is a clear winner over the other? Or, would I be better off with a Ruger M77 tanger in 35 Whelen?

quote:

Originally posted by thecanadian:
I am currently trying to convince my wife that to leave her with our five children for 10 days, and drive up north a crack at an Ontario moose. I realize the odds of her saying yes are on par with Wisconsin having an Elk season in the next few years. However, dreams have to start somewhere and this dream will start with a dedicated Moose rifle. As we all know, all big game rifles must be custom tailored to the range, size and terrain in which the animal is to be hunted.

That being said, I am gravitating toward either the 9.3x62 or the 35 whelen due to the relatively light recoil. If I go the 9.3x62 route, I am looking at either the Cz 550 or the Sauer 100. For those who have handled both, I would like to get an opinion if either is a clear winner over the other? Or, would I be better off with a Ruger M77 tanger in 35 Whelen?

The two calibers you have mentioned above would be fine, specially if you reload. Otherwise you can choose one of the moose rifles in here:
http://www.newsminer.com/featu...fb-03b76e7dd763.html

quote:

The two calibers you have mentioned above would be fine, specially if you reload

PLUS ONE on that.

I cannot comment on the rifles / calibres you are comtemplating as I have no experience. I will say as a possible fallback option a 30.06 shooting 180 gn projectiles is probably no slouch. One of these bulls was shot at a little over 200 yds, the other at 50 -60 yds. Blaser 30.06 for both. Result - two nice trophies and tons of fantastic meat.
Best of luck on the wifey negotiations, and on the hunt if you get there.
https://drive.google.com/file/...REU/view?usp=sharing

Moose are not all that tough to kill but you have to remember a few things. Large moose are LARGE...big bones, thick hides, and a blood volume that requires damage to a major vessel for them to bleed out.

Jack O'Connor shot many with a 270 and 130 Grain Silvertips....

I shot my moose in the Yukon with a Model 70 in 300 Win Mag using 180 Grain Barnes X bullets. I shot from the far side of a small lake, roughly 250m or so. The moose was laying down, watching a cow in the water. I couldn't see his body while laying down and I was in the prone, in water. As he stood, I fired and hit him behind the sholder. He began to slowly walk but he was standing in about 1 foot of water and 2 feet of mud. He was limited on speed by the mud. I fired twice more, all 3 hitting in about a 12 inch circle behind his shoulder.

Two of the X bullets went between ribs and into the lungs. One hit a rib and then went into the lungs after breaking the rib.

All 3 were recovered, perfectly expanded, just under the skin on the far side. He walked maybe 15 yards or so.

Moose are tough animals. I would have thought those bullets would exit...but the hide was very loose and thick, likely causing the bullets not to exit.

Good luck. Moose are fun to hunt...but it sure is wet where they live.

It's probably an understatement to say that if a moose is near water it would be REAL nice if you were to knock him DOWN on dry land. As big a caliber that would anchor him right where he stands would be great!! I have a couple buddy's that killed one in a muddy marsh, and because they couldn't stand/swim or levitate to him they had a lot of choice meat go sour before they got him field dressed.

The CZ in 9.3x62 has a fine reputation. I like the Mauseresque features of the CZ 550. I was going to write that there are a lot more factory load options in 9.3x62, as that was just my assumption. However, a search at Midway showed both rounds have a similar number of factory loads currently available through Midway (around 13). I was surprised to see the Whelen with so much factory support. Neither the 9.3 or Whelen are common at local stores in the U.S. or Canada. I don’t think you would regret owning a rifle in either caliber, and I doubt if any Moose will tell the difference between a heavy 35 or 36 caliber bullet tearing up it’s clockworks.

Moose are easy to kill. A .270 up to a .35 Whelen is fine. Anything more is fun (I shot my last moose in western Alaska with a vintage double rifle in .600 nitro express) but not necessary.
Cal

quote:

That being said, I am gravitating toward either the 9.3x62 or the 35 whelen

Both great choices.

So would many others. If I was going tomorrow my 338WM would be going.

Agreed a 9.3x62 is a fine moose rifle

My now-deceased brother-in-law lived in northern Maine his whole life, and was fond of saying that a 30-30 was all that was needed in the Maine woods. His family ate a lot of assorted ungulates, some of which were smuggled home under a load of logs. He knew I had a 7 mm Magnum and liked to say that when I was around to hear it. I never took the bait, told him it was a leftover from living in Utah and the demands of frugality argued against spending more money on another rifle in 30-30. Frugality counts for a lot in northern Maine.

On my one-and-only Alaska trip, I spotted a cow moose the first afternoon but didn't shoot it, having visions of antlers like the ones I saw in the Anchorage Airport. Maybe on the last day, but not the first day. It was the last moose we saw (downside). She was standing in three feet of water and it would have been a j-o-b getting her out of there (upside).

quote:

Originally posted by thecanadian:
I am gravitating toward either the 9.3x62 or the 35 whelen due to the relatively light recoil. If I go the 9.3x62 route, I am looking at either the Cz 550 or the Sauer 100. For those who have handled both, I would like to get an opinion if either is a clear winner over the other? Or, would I be better off with a Ruger M77 tanger in 35 Whelen?

I have both rifle calibers and love them both. I have taken both to Africa and they performed perfectly.

You asked for preferences, so for me anyway, my love of the 35 Whelen would prevail. However, my choice would be a Ruger SS/syn Hawkeye 35 Whelen with its 1:12 twist, CRF action, and total weight of 7.5 lbs. What could be better in wet weather?

Of the two 9.3x62s, I'd choose the CZ. I have a CZ 9.3x62 from their custom shop that I really like. I also have a Dakota Classic Deluxe in that caliber. However, I'd probably take one of my Ruger Africans in the 9.3 for moose. That rifle is the smallest, slimmest and best fitting rifle 'for me' of the three. If you ever get a chance to buy one, jump on it! Ditto for the Ruger SS Hawkeye 35 Whelen.

Just my 2 cents.

When I got stationed in Alaska, of course moose was on my list. The big surprise to me about moose was how easy it seemed to be to kill one. I had questions of my 30-06 being enough. Many will disagree with this choice, but I used 150 grainers on both the moose I killed and the one my wife shot. I saw one taken with a 25-06. One neighbor was a long time resident of Alaska and got his moose every year and a .270 was all he ever used, his kids also killed moose with his .270 until they got the mentioned 25-06.
I like CZ rifles but the darn backwards safety has kept me from buying one in .204 Ruger.

The problem with moose is regardless of caliber the die when the decide to die...

[QUOTE]Originally posted by drm-hp:
When I went Moose hunting in northern Ontario I used a 7mm Remington Magnum, this was 30 years ago. In the ensuing years I have decided that I have no need for a belted magnum. Longest kill is 383 yards with a 30-06.
Now I hunt with a 6.5-06, or 35 Whelen. Seeing you asked, I would use my 35 Whelen, but you could not go wrong with a 9.3-62. Use good bullets, placed correctly, and you will be processing venison.
Doug

quote:

Originally posted by thecanadian:
I am currently trying to convince my wife that I should leave her with our five children for 10 days, and drive up north to have a crack at an Ontario moose. I realize the odds of her saying yes are on par with Wisconsin having an Elk season in the next few years. However, dreams have to start somewhere and this dream will start with a dedicated Moose rifle. As we all know, all big game rifles must be custom tailored to the range, size and terrain in which the animal is to be hunted.

That being said, I am gravitating toward either the 9.3x62 or the 35 whelen due to the relatively light recoil. If I go the 9.3x62 route, I am looking at either the Cz 550 or the Sauer 100. For those who have handled both, I would like to get an opinion if either is a clear winner over the other? Or, would I be better off with a Ruger M77 tanger in 35 Whelen?

Both of those will kill a moose. I like the 9.3x62. I used a .300WM on my last moose. Hit in the lungs and down they go!

quote:

Originally posted by dogcat:

quote:

Originally posted by thecanadian:
I am currently trying to convince my wife that I should leave her with our five children for 10 days, and drive up north to have a crack at an Ontario moose. I realize the odds of her saying yes are on par with Wisconsin having an Elk season in the next few years. However, dreams have to start somewhere and this dream will start with a dedicated Moose rifle. As we all know, all big game rifles must be custom tailored to the range, size and terrain in which the animal is to be hunted.

That being said, I am gravitating toward either the 9.3x62 or the 35 whelen due to the relatively light recoil. If I go the 9.3x62 route, I am looking at either the Cz 550 or the Sauer 100. For those who have handled both, I would like to get an opinion if either is a clear winner over the other? Or, would I be better off with a Ruger M77 tanger in 35 Whelen?

Both of those will kill a moose. I like the 9.3x62. I used a .300WM on my last moose. Hit in the lungs and down they go!

In Alaska the .30-06,.300WM, and .338WM are the most popular cartridges with hunters, probably because ammo for them is readily available at the local stores. No so for the metric-size guns. But if one can reload, then it should be fine.

The 7mm magnum is also popular, the the .375 H&H. And of course the .30-30 has been around for a long time, so there are lots of those around Alaska. But for hunting most people use those calibers above. The .30-30 is an excellent gun at the traplines.

Thanks for the replies! I didn't think that the cz550 had a backward safety, a dealbreaker if that is the case. The Ruger SS Hawkeye in 35 Whelen is probably what I'm going to set my sights on. I like the idea of not having to duracoat yet another rifle.

quote:

Originally posted by thecanadian:
Thanks for the replies! I didn't think that the cz550 had a backward safety, a dealbreaker if that is the case.

The new ones don't. They function like any other brand.

CougarZ is correct the CZ 550 has a 3 posistion safety that fires when forward. Wish the .204 Ruger model worked that way.

I currently own both, a CZ550fs in 9.3x62 and also a Ruger Hawkeye in .35 Whelen. Both are well made rifles, now that I cured the issue of the floor plate on the Ruger from opening at the most inappropriate time, I really am fond of the rifle.

Also the safety on the CZ550 is indeed a 3 position, not like their .22 rimfires

Love my 9.3X62 built on a Banner Mauser. One of my more accurate rifles and low in recoil.

Moose aren't hard to kill - there just so big , they don't know their dead yet ..

Shot my first bull with a win 338 , 225 gr hand load . Shot thru the lungs and he just stood there !! Then he decided to jump in the lake and go for a swim . He died some 150 yards out in deep water . We had to tow him to shore with my canoe and a piece of rope ..

Second bull dropped in his tracks , hit with 30/378 in spine

Your choice of calibers are plenty adequate to do the job , use a guality bullet , they have big bones..

Good luck

quote:

Originally posted by cal pappas:
Moose are easy to kill. A .270 up to a .35 Whelen is fine. Anything more is fun (I shot my last moose in western Alaska with a vintage double rifle in .600 nitro express) but not necessary.
Cal

I disagree! If one owns a .600NE it is absolutely necessary to shoot a moose with it!

I took my 2226/8 Moose in the middle of the Farewell Burn just off the Iditarod Trail with g.a .340 Wby. My reload with a 250 gr. Nosler Gold at 2900 fps. I had a .300 Winny but took the occasion to get something new and interesting and got a one shot bang flop kill. Also used it on several Bull Elk and Mule Deer. Good Shooting

quote:

Originally posted by phurley5:
I took my 2226/8 Moose in the middle of the Farewell Burn just off the Iditarod Trail with g.a .340 Wby. My reload with a 250 gr. Nosler Gold at 2900 fps. I had a .300 Winny but took the occasion to get something new and interesting and got a one shot bang flop kill. Also used it on several Bull Elk and Mule Deer. Good Shooting

A few years back when Federal loaded the .338WM NOS HE, I shot a moose though the lungs with it. The moose was broadside, around 175 yards away. When a moose hit through the lungs humps its back when the bullet hits, it usually drops very soon after. This one started taking one step forward, and collapsed right there.

The .340 is just a little bit too much for me the older I get, but I really like the .338WM for all my hunting in Alaska.

either caliber is fine, and if you reload, there's no meaningful difference between them, with near same weight bullets and load techniques -- hell's bells, they are both 30-06 cases!!

i have found that 35s punch WAY above their weight class, and with decent bullets, i LOVE the itty-bitty 358 winchester