Factory .30-06 Moose Load
Thinking of 165 grain Fail Safe, or would the 180 grain Fail Safe be better. Thinking of the theory, when using premium bullets drop down one bullet weight for the extra speed. Thoughts please.
01 June 2004, 15:46
mr308winnever hunted moose yet. how about the 220 grain loads?
01 June 2004, 16:04
8MM OR MOREMy thoughts would be to go Nosler if you plan on shedding weight, actually go Nosler period. Moose are not hard to kill, but they can be hard to convince that they are dead. I have always taken the heart/lung shot, and be prepared with a shoulder joint takeout shot if needed. They can cover a lot of hard ground between you killing them and them deciding to cooperate with the idea. Sometimes, they just drop like a sack of wheat. On the plus side, only elk can be better eating!
OK, just saw "Factory". Sorry, never used Failsafes.
01 June 2004, 16:23
mark65x55I haven't hunted Moose, yet, but I did use the 180gr Federal High Energy Trophy Bonded Bear Claws in my 30-06 last year in Africa and will use them again this year. I highly recommend them.
01 June 2004, 17:11
Ray, AlaskaFederal Premium 180 to 200-grain Nosler is all you need. If you want more power you could always use Federal HE in the same bullet weight.
05 June 2004, 09:46
FlinchToneCreek, the exit holes were quarter sized. The other two bullets were found against the off side hide. Both shoulders were smashed. The lungs, and heart were total mush. All four shots took place in less than half a minute. The bull dropped on the first shot, but got back up. He was deader than dead on his feet, but I always pour the lead on until no sign of life are left in the critter. No back slapping and hand shakes take place until critter is dead and several minutes elapse. Of the 40 big game kills with said bullet, none have even remotely made me unhappy. Even antelope and small white tail crumple with big exit holes. Moose seldom crumple, even when hit with big bores in my experience. They are an interesting critter. Flinch
05 June 2004, 10:10
gerald416Stonecreek:
A bear guide I hunted with for years in Ontario (Nipissing district) used a 303 on moose regularly and said he never had a problem. I knew he was a liar, of course, even as I always enjoyed his wife's sausage made from moose and bear.
06 June 2004, 14:04
AtticusI was lucky last year and got a permit in the Maine lottery. I used my Remington 700 BDL 30-06 (which is going on a plains game hunt in RSA in August!) with Winchester 165 failsafe. They were recommended by an elk hunting friend. I dropped my 50", 850lb bull at 230 yards and he did not get up. I hit him just below the "hump" and shattered his spine. I was not able to recover that bullet but I recovered my �finishing� bullet (heart shot from 15 ft). It was a perfect mushroom at the top, while retaining almost all its weight. I found them to be more than sufficient for a decent size eastern moose. Cheers
07 June 2004, 10:11
carpetmanI use 150 grainers in 30-06-- most don't agree. The moose I shot and the moose my wife shot didnt argue. Many that disagree would use a .270 though. None of the moose I saw taken seemed hard to kill,and that was the common report I got from folks that had hunted them for years. The rag mags all tell a different story though.
The moose I shot was with a remington 180 gr. corelock. It stood there for like a long second then its legs wobbled and down it went, stone dead. Yup, a $11 box of shells. I hit it right in the crease of the shoulder and it went right thru. Two of the other 3 guys I was with had almost exactly the same experience=1 shot 30-06 rem corelocks...
08 June 2004, 12:13
FlinchI shot another one at 30 yards with a 165 grain ballistic tip from a .30-06. I shot it tight behind the shoulder and thought I missed. It didn't move and was too close to see anything happen in the scope. I quickly chambered another round and fired at the same spot again. It still just stood there. I chambered a 3rd round and was getting ready to hit the switch again, when the bull fell over like a slow motion tree. I found one bullet against the off side hide perfectly mushroomed. The entrance hole was quarter sized and you could put a tennis ball through the hole in the lungs. That bull never even so much as twitched. Not enough gun or bullet????? Hardly, but totally different reaction from the Trophy Bonded bullet bull. He was dancing around trying to get away, but didn't want to leave his two cows. Flinch
08 June 2004, 12:52
jaycocreekCarpetman-Many an Elk has follun to the 130 Nosler in .270 caliber.But if I had an .06, 180's would be my bullet.I have seen a few 150's not work right.
Jayco.