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Author Topic: caliber for Moose hunt?  (Read 1056 times)

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Offline msorenso

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caliber for Moose hunt?
« on: December 01, 2004, 02:43:45 PM »
Looking to do a moose hunt next fall>  Curious what some of you experienced Moose hunters use for caliber?  Thanks for the help!
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Offline Daveinthebush

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Lots of answers here.
« Reply #1 on: December 01, 2004, 06:49:58 PM »
You can expect a lot of answers on this one.  Ideal conditions are one thing, less than ideal conditions and the answers will move into the relm of elephant guns.

The best answer I think is a firearm that you are comfortable shooting in the 7mm mag. 7mm ultra, or higher end .308's (30/06, .300WM, .300 ultra, .338, .375 and those that fit in between these.

People do use 7mm mausers, 45/70's, .416's, .458's and I have even killed one with a .44 mag.

A good quality bullet should go hand-in-hand with the caliber.  

The guns in my safe that I would use are my 7600 in .35 Whelen. NEF Ultra in .35 Whelen and my Contender in .445 Supermag.  My .308 is super accurate but I feel a little light in less tha ideal conditions.

Lets see what the others suggest! :-)
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Offline Sourdough

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caliber for Moose hunt?
« Reply #2 on: December 01, 2004, 10:37:13 PM »
Everyone has differant opinions, but universally the most populer caliber for Alaskians is the .338 Win Mag.  I own three and I always carry one of them from April thru October.  Not for Moose or Caribou, 30-06 takes them just fine.  It's the Grizzlies that you have to go armed for.  Just as sure as you take a smaller caliber gun you'll run into one of them, and they take a lot of killing.  Especially along the coast where they get bigger.
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Offline Moose-Hunter

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caliber for Moose hunt?
« Reply #3 on: December 05, 2004, 05:07:21 PM »
I carry either my 270 WSM, 300 Ultra, 338 Win. Mag., or my 358 Norma Mag when hunting moose. I'm usually carrying my 338 Winnie most of the time though.

You didn't mention what you have already in regards to your rifle/cartridge inventory. Ideally, and if you have one, I think a 300 Win. Mag. or 300 WSM would be the best bet.
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Offline Thebear_78

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caliber for Moose hunt?
« Reply #4 on: December 05, 2004, 05:20:06 PM »
I would start with the 30/06, and go up to 375 H&H.  Probably one of the best all around big game rifles is the 35 whelen/338-06.  For general all around moose hunting the whelen is really hard to beat.  For close range timber or swamp hunting there is nothing wrong with the 45/70 lever gun.

My personal choices are a 30/06 barrel on an encore, a Ruger bolt 35 whelen, and a Marlin Stainless guide gun in 45/70.  The encore is nice for traveling and the federal premium 180gr Partition load is a good moose/carabou/anything else load for it and also very accurate.  The 35 whelen when loaded with either 225gr or 250gr bullets is another great all around performer.  I use 405gr handloads out of the marlin lever gun.  In serious bear country the lever gun is pretty reassuring.    

This could be a dandy excuse to buy a new rifle.  If you don't have one a 35 whelen/338-06 are very versatile and everyone should have one. If you don't want to buy a new rifle your 30/06 will do a fine job.
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Offline msorenso

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caliber for Moose hunt?
« Reply #5 on: December 12, 2004, 04:40:28 AM »
Thank for all the help! :D
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Offline Sourdough

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caliber for Moose hunt?
« Reply #6 on: December 23, 2004, 09:41:25 PM »
One question we all forgot to ask.  Where are you planning to hunt?  That may have a lot to do with what gun you may want to carry.  Are there bears in the area?  Are they the Alaskian/Yukon Moose or the Shirus Moose? (differance in size).  What is the terrain like where you plan on going?  Are you going to float, walk, ride a vehicle, or sit a stand?  There are many veriables that can play into the process as to deciding which gun to take.  As I spoke earilier, I was refering to hunting in Alaska.  If you are not coming up here, that's a whole new ballgame.  Rog
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Offline Graybeard

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caliber for Moose hunt?
« Reply #7 on: December 23, 2004, 09:49:39 PM »
From the comments I've seen posted by folks who hunt them in Canada the .308 Win. and .303 British are perhaps the most widely used by Canadians. Not that I expect to ever hunt moose but if I did I'd use my .35 Whelen but wouldn't feel bad about taking my .30-06 either.
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Offline Sourdough

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caliber for Moose hunt?
« Reply #8 on: January 05, 2005, 09:33:12 PM »
Graybeard: The .35 Whelen is an excellent Moose round.  And I like it better than an 06 for the big bears.  It's only drawback is range, limited to 250 yards.  In fact I love the .35s for hunting from a stand over bait for bears in the spring.  Either a .35 Whelen or a .350 Rem Mag is in the stand with me all Spring.
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What Is A Veteran?
A 'Veteran' -- whether active duty, discharged, retired, or reserve -- is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank check made payable to 'The United States of America,' for an amount of 'up to, and including his life.' That is honor, and there are way too many people in this country today who no longer understand that fact.
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