Moose guns.

Moose are easy to kill. Currently I hunt with a 338 not cause it’s needed just the rifle design for the area I am hunting. I have seen a moose shot with 300 mag, 30-06 and 2 with 7mm-08. Any decent bullet will do. Every moose I have been involved with has fallen to a hornady interlok
 
shot mine with a .260 rem at 300 yds with a 120 grain bullet, not ideal, but very doable. The bigger calibers are better at holding them in one spot after the shot rather than chasing them in the bush to see where they landed....
 
My own moose experience was north of Prince George BC. I used my 340 Weatherby loaded with 250 gr Nosler Partitions. One shot, 50 inch moose flipped onto its back and that was it. Range across a muskeg bowl was 155 yds. GJ
 
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My BC. Moosevwas taken with one 7mm 175 gr corelokt to the neckIMG_0301.jpg. Some bulls are very tough, my son took his with 3 well placed 3 300 win mag 190 gr Bullits. IMG_2928.jpg
 
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Per the Maine Moose Hunter’s Guide put out by the Maine Dept. of Inland Fisheries and Wildlife:

“Recommended Cartridges

As long as, the bullet weight is at least 130 grains, the cartridge used is not as important as good shot placement in making a clean kill. Magnum cartridges are not needed for moose.

Some recommended cartridges: .270 Win. .30-06 Sprfld. .308 Win. .284 Win. .444 Marlin .280 Rem. .30- 40 Krag. .348 Win. .303 British .8mm Mauser 7 x 57 mm. .300 Sav. .358 Win.”

Based on the few moose hunts I have been on, bullet construction has seemed to be the biggest factor in promoting a quick and humane kill. The bullet has to make it into the vitals.
 
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Ive been in on several moose kills. IMO they die pretty easy with a good shot. I wouldn't go and buy a cannon for a moose hunt. Your deer rifle is likely sufficient with a quality bullet of 140 grs or better
 
As others have said, shot placement is everything. My brother's moose didn't even seem to understand that he had severe *heart leakage*, but neither did my brother so he fed him another one in the same place from his Savage 99 in .300.
 
All my moose have been killed with a bow. I have witnessed three killed with rifles. My buddy killed two Maine moose, 11 years apart( that rat bastard has draw two good tags in 15 years and I haven't drawn anything ), he used an 06 with 180 grain factory fodder. In 2016 I took my dad on his first big game hunt for moose in NF and he used a 7mmRM with 162 grain interloks. We are going again and I plan on having him use the same again.
 
I have been lucky and drew 2 tags. Killed one with a 358 Winchester single shot and the other with a 7mm. Both one shot kills and only traveled a short distance. I have helped on 5 other moose hunts and all of those were one shot kills. They tend to hump up and look around when heart shot and act like what the heck just bit me. Some run short distances but none have went very fare. 3 of them were shot with 300 win mags and 2 with 270s. They are easy to get close to for rifles and so shot placement should be easy.
 
Preacher shaner

My husband liked moose hunting more than Marilyn Monroe, so he drug me all over the place to hunt them.

Sweden I used a 6.5 x 55 with a 156 Oryx
Kamchatka I used the 300 H & H with a 180 gr Partition
Alaska and Canada I used the 300 H & H with a 180 gr TTSX

Everyone we hunted with complained about this animal being dead but not knowing it and looking for the worst possible place they could find to expire, preferably water.

I remember the first time I saw one ( they didn't frequent our farm in Arizona )--"Oh my God, they are huge", which drew some laughs from some who had previously hunted them
 
Europe,
do you have any photos of that Kamchatka hunt? I would love to see pictures of hunting in that region.

I'd seen lots of moose before I hunted them, but they became HUGE when I was standing over one with a knife in my hand. That really changed my perspective. The same thing happened years earlier when I killed my first bull elk.

Eland are bigger yet, but a bunch, but I never had quite the same epiphany. I never had to butcher and pack one either. :)

Your husband had great taste in quite a few things it seems.
 
I know of a lot moose in Maine that have been killed by a 30-60. Good bullets and a proper shot location is key. I've seen a moose be hit 7 times before it went down because of terrible shot placement.
 
Killed my one moose with a .50 caliber patched round ball.
First shot through the lungs at 70 yards
Bull didnt even flinch. Caught up with him in the timber at 50 yds,second shot dead center of heart. Bull played down. Capped him with a pistol point blank..couldn't handle waiting for him to die. Recovered both balls inside of hide on opposite side.
 
I killed an Idaho cow moose with a 30-06. Due to a scope malfunction on my 338 win (210 grain Barnes) opening morning I ended up switching to the back up 30-06 I keep in the truck and only had 165 grain Federal Fusion on hand. Not an ideal moose bullet in my opinion but it sure worked. Single shot to the heart at about 90 yards. She took zero steps, just bled like nothing I have seen before and fell over about the time I was ready to put a second shot into her. The chunk of recovered bullet weighed 91 grains.
 
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Take this for what it's worth, as I have yet to shoot a moose. I carry my .30-06 with 180 Barnes TTSX, or my .300 WM or 300WSM with 180 gr. Accubonds for moose. If caribou and moose overlap, I carry my 270WSM with 150 gr. Accubonds, and my son carries a ,270 Win or .308 Win.
 
I never killed one but have been applying for tags. If I ever get to go I'll likely use a 35 whelen with 225 or 250 gr. bullets.
 
BuzzH said:
I wouldn't hesitate to shoot one with a .243 and 100 grain partitions, surely wouldn't buy a special rifle for one.
Click to expand...



Ha! I could have carried my trusty old .30-06 but instead used my once-in-a-lifetime CO bull moose tag as an excuse to buy a new moose rifle. Hey, why not?

I decided to go lighter and quieter with the Kimber Adirondack in 7mm-08 coupled with a SilencerCo Omega .300 suppressor. A sweet soft shooting combination, it makes more of a crack than a boom. Last fall I used the Barnes Vor-Tex 120 grain TTSX copper bullet. The Shiras bull took three steps and fell dead. Both shots were fatal and both passed completely through. Good bullets well placed.




Kimber-Adirondack-&-Omega-300.jpg

Pawnee-bull-10-8-18.jpg


Good luck on your NF moose hunt!
 
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