What can I hunt with these calibers

You do not need a magnum if hunting Moose or smaller animals with the cartridges mentioned.

The 6.5x55 has killed more Moose in Scandinavia than any other cartridge, with the 156/160 Grain Round Nose Soft Point working best on the larger animals.

The .308 with premium 165-180 Grain controlled expansion bullets will work great on moose or smaller.

The 8x57 Mauser with 200 Grain Bullets, especially the 8mm 200 Grain Nosler Partition, will trainwreck anything in North America except the big bears. I would start at .338 Win Mag for hunting one of those.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

30-30 and Bolt action rifles in 6.5x55 and 8mm Mauser

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If you can't kill anything that walks on four legs in the lower 48 states, with any one of those calibers?

A Mangle'm is not gona help you kill it any deader.

rc

I believe you can kill anything in the lower 48 with any of those cartridges you mention. I'm liking the 6.5x55 swede so far. I've been shooting my GF's Swede mauser It's a real sweet shooter and have decided to buy a new rifle in that caliber for myself. Hopefully, I'll have a new 6.5x55 rifle and a good hand load worked up in time for mule deer season.

some other hunters and they were saying the 6.5 and 8mm couldn't get it done,

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You need to find some other hunters who have a clue what they are talking about.

The 6.5x55 has been used by old time elephant ivory hunters.

The 8mm Mauser is the ballistic equivalent of the 30-06 Springfield.
There is nothing on this earth that has not been cleanly killed with a 30-06.

Will normal soft points suffice?

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They will if you can shoot accurately enough to put one through the lungs.

A 200 SP will go all the way through a moose boiler room, and probably stop on the off side hide.

Then the moose will drown in its own blood, and fall down and die.

rc

6.5x55 that is one dandy little cartridge, I'll hunt anything in the lower 48 with that. While it is adequate for elk/moose the 6.5x55s true calling is as the best low recoil deer cartridge the world has ever seen. Sure the 260 Rem and 6.5 Creedmore can duplicate it's ballistics but there is something to be said for 122 years of history, and the Swede is quite possibly the easy cartridge of all time to develop loads for, in mine it is actually hard to find anything it does not shoot very well. To date only one bullet I have ever tried did not go sub-MOA with a three shot group the very first trip to the range.

I would wager that the 30-30 has taken more game animals than any other cartridge on this continent. From varmints to big game the 30-30 can do it all. Obviously it has some limitations and you have to work with in them, but it is more than adequate when used within its limits.

dak0ta said:

Hello,

I have a Marlin 30-30 and Bolt action rifles in 6.5x55 and 8mm Mauser. I also have a M1A 308 Winchester

I was thinking of using the 30-30 150 gr for small black-tail deer in coastal forested areas.

140 gr 6.5x55 for small-medium deer or 150-174 gr .308 Winchester

170-200 gr 8mm Mauser for Black bear, Large Deer, Moose.

Am I undergunned firing 200 gr 8x57 at a Moose? Is it time to step up to a Magnum?

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Looks to me like you have enough to hunt what ever you like, except you need a .22 LR for small game & a shotgun for birds.............

I'm not a .30-30 fan but that's just me. Any of the calibers you have will do the job on any of the animals you mentioned as long as your bullet choice and shot placement are adequate.
Pick the one that you shoot best, work up a load with a good quality hunting bullet and practice. You're all set. Sell the others if you want.

I have a Marlin 30-30 and Bolt action rifles in 6.5x55 and 8mm Mauser. I also have a M1A 308 Winchester

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I'm pretty sure you're good to go.
If I were hunting elk or moose, I would use the 8mm. For deer sized game, any of them. I'm sure any of them would kill a moose as well. It's been done as has already been pointed out, but I would take the larger one for that.
There's certainly not anything in the lower 48 that you couldn't hunt with that selection of cartridges.

Old school hunters that only know 30-30, 30-06, and 270 will be ignorant when it comes to the 6.5 and 8mm.
The 6.5 in the heavier grain bullet will take any deer and most moose, its a proven fact in scandinavia.
The 8mm with a proper Euro spec load will outperform the '06 on bigger game.

What are some good bullets to use in the 8mm for black bear? I have some 200 gr Speer Spitzer SP. I also have some Sierra Pro Hunter 175 gr Spitzer bullets.

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Either of those bullets will work splendidly on black bear. They're not that thick skinned. Pretty much any good soft point bullet will do the trick.

I have an 8mm Mauser passed down from my Father. It's one of the most accurate rifles I own. With a 200 gr. Nosler Partition I wouldn't hesitate to take Bear or Moose. That rifle has been on several African safaris and taken everything it was pointed at cleanly with that load. I also took the biggest whitetail buck of my life with it at 230 yards.

I've already taken moose and bear with my 8x57 loaded with 200NP's,



along with many other big game animals,



BUT, i don't agree that it's more gun than a properly loaded 30-06 on big game. And properly loaded to me, means the 30-06 will also be loaded with 200NP's.

The 30/200NP will out perform the 8mm/200np, even when the 8mm is loaded to 2,600 + fps, and i know this because i've shot quite a bit of big game with both.

DM

The biggest advantage the 30/200NP's have over the 8's at 8x57 velocities is "penetration" on the biggest big game, and in some cases that can be very important. I've never seen any advantage going the other direction. (8 over 30)

I would not hunt brown bear with my 8x57, but i have and would again with a properly loaded 30-06. I've seen what a 30-06/200NP will do to a brown bear, and if you do your job, it will drop them in their tracks.

I consider them both more than needed for deer/blk. bear sized animals, so for 99% of the hunters, it's a wash.

DM

dak0ta said:

What about the 6.5? With his high BC, would it penetrate and kill black bears at 140 gr?

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I assume you are refering to a 6.5x55 or 260 Rem... Then yes, just use a good bullet and put it in the boiler room and you won't have any problems at all.

For a tougher shot, use a bit heavier bullet...

DM

Your M1A should be 762X51mm nato, not .308 win. Some of the modern .308 ammo will eat that op rod up over time, & could eventually damage a cast receiver as well. Now if you are lucky and have a custom job built with a military forged receiver, that's a huge plus. But you should be shooting 7.62X51 surplus in the M1A, not the modern .308Win.
There is a good bit of difference in the two cartridges...

I would trade the 8mm Mauser for a .338-06, but otherwise, the only thing you lack is a varmint rifle.