We lived for many years in Canada's Northwest Territories, where we hunted extensively. (Some years we were allowed as many as twenty barren-ground caribou between us, plus a woodland caribou each, a moose each, etc etc. No draw system was in place....just buy the tags and go hunting!) There were a lot of opportunities for trying out different bullets. My wife has a .338 Winchester in the M70 Super Grade, which was her moose rifle. For caribou she used her M77 in .270 WCF, with 130-grain Partitions. These two rounds have almost-identical trajectories, with the loads we use, which makes transitioning between the rifles rather easy for her.

One day we were hunting caribou and she came across a nice bull moose at about 200 yards while carrying the .270. Her single Nosler 130 Partition penetrated BOTH shoulders and exited, leaving the moose DRT (dead right there). He didn't take a single step after impact. I'd have no qualms whatever about using the 7mm RUM -WITH GOOD BULLETS- (NOT Sierras of any description, or similar) for moose, nor for the occasional bear for that matter. Alaskan coastal grizzlies ("Kodiaks") would seem to indicate a .338 RUM, at least, but inland blacks and grizzlies would find 175-grain Partitions and X-bullets a tough lunch to digest!

Energy figures are interesting to study, but it is BULLET PERFORMANCE that kills animals. I'd much rather have a .308 WCF with a Partition than a .338 Mag with an inferior, poorly-constructed bullet. I've killed some big moose cleanly with the .303 British and .30-06, using good strongly-constructed bullets. All that magnum speed and energy is mostly useful for flattening the trajectory, but when the bullet arrives on target it's how well it performs AFTER impact that counts. In addition, I'll say that I would take a Partition-loaded round which groups in TWO inches at 100 over the Sierra-loaded round that shoots into 1/2" at the same distance EVERY TIME for big game. (My Partition loads do much better than that 2" figure, though. The wifey's .270 will usually place five in around an inch at 100. Her .338 will do a bit better than that with the 210 Partition.)

Well, did a little research with my ballistic program, and came up with the following:
7mm RUM 175gr/3100fps ME of about 3600 ft.lb.
.338 Win Mag 250gr/2700fps ME of about 4100 ft.lb.
.338 RUM 250gr/3000fps ME of about 5000 ft.lb.
It seems to me, that in matters pertaining to preserving ones life, it would be best to be prepared for the worst possible scenario. I would have no problem taking a moose with a .308 Win., but I would have to be nuts to attempt to rely on one in the face of a pissed off bear. I think the numbers say it all.
Face it guys, size does count.

The rifle has it's most value as it is with the orginal barrel on it. If you change the barrel then you throw away at least the value of the installation and most likley the barrel as well. Maybe somebody will buy the take off from you but for how much and is it worth the hassle?

If the 700 is rebarreled for some moose cartridge do you really want a rifle that has potential DRG use without CRF? Also the trigger, extractor, ejector, bolt and safety on the 700 are less than optimum.

Better to sell the rifle as is and pick out another with the features that you want.

For moose and black bear hunting a Featherweight in 30-06 with conventional 180 gr bullets will do it all.

One can always buy some bone crusher for fun that's all made up for the application however.

Jay

Whenerver I start thinking I need "more" gun for something, I quickly get out one of my old Gun Digest Treasury books and reread Jack O'Connors piece entitled "Forty Years with the Little 7MM". If I may quote: "In fact, I would bet a sugar cookie that most hunters could kill stuff farther away with the 7 x 57 than they could with the 7mm Rem Magnum. It would not kick them so hard. They wouldn't be afraid of it, and they would shoot it better. I have some more news: game is not killed by foot pounds of energy. In fact, energy has little to do with killing power. Animals are killed by putting in the right place a bullet that penetrates deep enough and opens up adequately".