Moose Hunting in Canada

[Balrog]

What caliber is generally most commonly used?
I was talking with a fellow who just got back hunting, and was surprised to hear that several hunters were using 308 win... Others used 7mm mag, 300 win mag, and 30-06. Nobody used anything bigger, and it sounds like everyone of them killed a moose. I don't know anything about killing Meese, just whitetails in the south east.

 

[stevelyn]

......was surprised to hear that several hunters were using 308 win... Others used 7mm mag, 300 win mag, and 30-06.

Pretty much what we use in Alaska. I use a .30-06 myself. Our hunting camp this year consisted of two .30-06s, a 7mm Mag and a .300 Win.

Moose aren't difficult to kill. They have a huge kill zone and the distance from shoulder to shoulder is surprisingly short.

 

[Balrog]

so if you have a 308 win, there is no need to buy a new gun if you go moose hunting?

 

[gunnie]

if you do your part the 308 will also. when i lived in AK, a bud of mine whacked one with an HK 91. tired and tried and tried to get him to let me send the pic of him and rifle over moose to the sierra club. guess he was afraid of the green swat team coming for him, as he said no. not sure of current AK hunting regs, but same was a legal hunting rifle in the late 90's.

gunnie

 

[Brenjen]

A moose is a pretty much a horse with horns (not really) so if you'd feel confident shooting a horse with a .308 (for food, just remember to get the jockey off first) then you should feel confident it'll put down a moose.

Many a grizzly bear have been anchored with a .308 & it's a tougher kill than a moose (from what I've read, the only bear I've ever killed had button eyes)

 

[gunnie]

my wife used to carry the hunting rifle when we went out in remote alaska for moose. she had a ruger .338WM with a 1x5 leopold, for use if she saw a legal moose. i rode "shotgun" with an FAL and ball ammo, for unfriendly bear. many told me how undergunned a 308 was for that scenario, going only by muzzle energy numbers. what they didn't take into consideration was how tough the ball {not talking about AP} slug is.

@ 200M, uncle sugar rates 7.62X51 ball for:

1-41" of pine board
2-8" of cinder block
3-2" of concrete
4-7" of dry sand

....not to mention the ability of getting up to 5X the rounds into a close, charging bear before most would have chambered the second round in a bolt action, and reacquired the target.

before the purists have a fecal hemorrhage, I WAS NOT HUNTING, i was back-up.

gunnie

 

[dispatch55126]

Be the standout in your hunting party, use a Finnish Mosin or a K31. Either the 7.62x54R or the 7.5x55 are more than capable on moose. The K31 bonus is it uses common .308 bullets so you can load whatever type of bullet you wish.

 

[Dr.Rob]

If it was me, having seen moose next to elk I'd want the HEAVIEST bullet I could put in any of those calibers. Like a 220 round nose in 30-06 or a 200+ gr 8mm.

I'm sure it can be done with a 165 or 180 gr bullet, I'd just want a little more mass for something as big as a moose.

 

[franconialocal]

Ditto to most of the above for NH too. When I'm on patrol and have to dispatch with an injured moose (car accident) I use 12 ga. slug usually.