I took one of my moose last year in Alberta with a .30-06. I was using the Federal with 180 grain Grand Slam bullets. Worked wonderfully. I think the Grand Slam is a somewhat under-appreciated bullet for big game. Many others will work as well.

Most moose hunters aren't gun nuts, so they don't know that you can't kill a moose with plain old 180 grain Corelocts or Power Points. Which is just exactly what most moose are killed with each year (many of them out of a .303, not a .30-06).

Nonetheless, you can't go wrong with a factory-loaded Nosler 180 partition (provided your gun shoots it well). It will give you an edge on the 1-in-20 shots that it is needed. I don't have any experience with the even pricier Trophy Bonded bullets, and they may be fine, but there is also the chance for under-expansion on a broadside lung shot, which will leave you tracking your moose through places you'd just as soon not go.

any of the 180grn premium bullets
the FailSafe might be a little bit overkill?
they used to make the FailSafes for different speed expansion. one was for non-magnums and the other for mags
the non-mag was designed to open at 2700fps and the mag was designed to open at 3000fps. I don't think they make the slow speed expansion version anymore? You might not get any expansion from the FailSafe in your .06? It might just go straight through?
a Nosler Partition, GrandSlam, TropyBondedBearClaw, A-Frame would work just fine.. or the new AccuBond would also be excellent.

Stone Creek,
I couldn't agree with you more.I live in BC and see and talk to a lot of moose hunters.The average guy out there doesn't handload and buys a box of whatever's on sale for his '06.Usually in 180 grain.Moose aren't hard to kill if you place your shot right.Of all the handloaders that I know,the majority of them use plain old Hornady SP's.My partners and I use Sierra Gamekings(me in my .300 and the rest of the guys in their 7mm's)Between us we've harvested dozens of moose as well as pretty well every other species of big game that BC has to offer.A lot of that game was taken when the other guys used '06's and the Gameking as well.
Dave

The nice thing about this forum is that you can usually say your thing without getting slammed.This thread is a case in point.On most of the other forums that I frequent I'd have been crucified for stating that you don't need premium bullets.Not that I have anything against premiums because I don't.In fact,I think that they are real engineering marvels that do their job extremely well in most cases.I've used Nosler Partitions in the past with satisfactory results but for a while back in the 80's they became impossible to get where I live so I tried the Sierra Gamekings.I found that they killed MY GAME(important point here) faster with a much higher percentage of one shot kills than the Noslers did for me.They also shoot tighter groups in my rifle which was a somewhat expected bonus.The Noslers groups were adequate for hunting so the tighter groups with the Sierras was really a moot point.
My box of Swift A frames is still unopened on my bench and will most likely stay that way.
Pick up a box of factory ammo with premiums and you won't regret it,neither will you regret it if you choose to use the good old time bullets that have worked for a lot of guys for a lot of years.
Dave

stonecreek,

I really like that line ("Most moose hunters..."). I guess nobody ever told the Swedes that a 6.5mm isn't adequate either, especially if the moose is running. Those poor fools gambling with fate, don't they know they can GUARANTY themselves a really dead moose if only they would carry, at a minumum, a 458 Lott.

Excellent line.

Now please permit to say the following: Wasn't the Partition invented because a PowerPoint or similar bullet "bounced off" a mud-caked moose? Maybe that's just the oft-repeated creation myth from Nosler, I'm not sure.

I always use 180 grain bullets in .30 calibre rifles when hunting moose, and have managed to kill 10 moose quickly and cleanly. All of the bullets I've used had the reputation of being fragile bullets. My last 3 moose were killed with Ballistic Tips - two of them in the 1200 pound range (which is a good sized eastern Canada moose).

I agree, the 180gr Trophy Bonded Bearclaw would be my hands-down choice. It's a bonded core bullet. The Swift A-Frame would be another excellent choice.

With that large an animal I'd never give up bullet weight to velocity. The Fail Safe is a fantastic bullet also, but go with the heaviest bullet for caliber. That gives you the best sectional density for maximum penetration in the event your shot angle or hit isn't perfect.

Go with the Federal 180 Partitions or Remington Core-Lokt's.

180 grain Trophy Bonded Federal high energy is the BEST bullet out in factory. I have shot a bunch of stuff with them and they are heads and shoulders above the partion and they hold their weight. I shot a big 10 year old moose a couple of years ago with said ammo. I plunked him 4 times in the shoulder and two bullets exited the off shoulder. He was dead on the first shot, but refused to think so. I kept the lead flying for fear of losing him in the fading light and thick brush. The recovered bullets were mushroomed perfectly and retained 99% of their weight. The shots were at 200 yards. My buddy took them to Africa and killed TONS of big critters with the same bullet, as well as elk and deer. They are great bullets. Flinch

Federal 180gr. Nosler Partition load (2700fps), my Dad uses it frequently and just recently changed to the High Energy version (2850fps), which ended up being a little more accurate in his '06. Plenty of weight and diameter, plenty of velocity. Kills moose dead.