what is a good caliber for moose?

a bolt action .30-06 with a 180 to 200gr bullet is what I am thinking.

thoughts from the T man experts?

That will work just fine!

243 according to many of the locals I was talking to in northern Ontario on a fishing trip a few years back. Im not advocating it nor can I confirm it. Many some folk from up there will chime in....

When I spoke to Emo (sp) Kurth at a convention, he said he used a 22-250 for everything - green and yellow box ammo.

The one you can shoot the most accurate with. Bullet choice is more important than caliber.

That is the best answer to that question!!!!!......jk

I’ve always used either a .300 WM or .300 WSM, both loaded with 180 grain Hornady Interlocks. Ive shot 17 moose, never had one go more than 60 yards. Never missed or wounded any.

Theres lots of other good calibers out there, but I wouldn’t use anything smaller than a .30 caliber. With a heavier bullet. Some exceptions to the .30 cal, my buddy was hunting with me with a 7 mm Mag, it did well.

I don’t care how many stories I hear about polar bears being killed by Eskimos with .243s…don’t use it for moose.

A lot of what works is determined by where you hit it. I have only shot two moose, the first with a 180 gr ballistic tip out of a 300 Win mag and the second with a 100 gr soft point out of my 25-06. I shot the first one behind the ear and the second in the forehead. Both fell where shot. I think the 30-06 would be a good choice for you. There would be no reason to use anything else as long as you can shoot it.

I was lucky to shoot a Mn. Moose years ago and used a 30-06. It did the job but if I was going to do it again I would go bigger.

I saw a moose shot in the ribs with a 250 bullet out of a 338 Win Mag. The bullet hit the heart, and it was something how long it just stood there. It was about 100 yard when shot and stood there until it went down, then it was laying there with its head up for a couple more minutes. I was watching with binoculars when it was shot a few feet from the shooter.

Moose die much easier than something like elk, kind of a strange thing. You'll be fine with an '06 with the bullet you mentioned.

there was a study years ago where they were doing a cull hunt on if I recall a bunch of cape buffalo with a 458win mag shortly after it was introduced by if I recall Jack Lott the maker of the 358 lott a few years later

they shot something like a 100 cape buffallo in as close to the same place in the heart as they could , they kept records and found it was almost 50/50 if they ran or dropped basically stating hydrostatic shock is a inconsistent killer so you can't really count on it

I can't find the article now , so I am going off what I read and recall form years ago.

few people have shot as many moose as US and Canadian first nations have being they get different tags they have very successfully used 30-30 , 30-06 and 303brit , shot placement is important.
they also typically talk about shooting them all in the spine so they drop and don't run into the willows making a mess of recovery.

Waggler nailed it. Moose die pretty easily. Punch them in the lung and they can’t do much. They are too big and need all of their lung capacity so I would say anything 243 up to the 300 magnums is plenty to take them.

35 Whelen just seems like a a “moose” caliber to me

I've seen just one moose die in my life. I watched Dad hit him twice with the 375 H&H. I was amazed that the moose didn't react at all other than to start trotting away. He only made it 25 yards and tipped over, but I couldn't believe how well he took those two hits.

Had a chat with a logger in Ontario once that claimed he killed all his moose with the 22 LR that he kept in his skidder. They would come in to the slash to feed, and he'd pop them in the heart. He said they stayed calm and would eventually tip over and he'd grab them with the skidder.

I love my.338

I agree with this. Moose tend to have a bit of a glass jaw in my experience anyway. I haven’t shot a lot of them but all died pretty much within a few steps of where they were shot. I’ve used 30/6 and 45-70 as well as a cross bow. Friends of mine in NW Ont use .308 and 270, they have shot and killed a lot of moose.

I don’t think moose have the same need for adrenaline as deer and elk. They’re just not use to having to run from anything, is my theory anyway.

Townsend Whelen for whom the 35 Whelen is named once said, “the 30-06 is never a mistake.” As true today as when he first said it.

Shoot them in the lungs and most any center fire will do the job. I have seen a bunch of one shot kills with 7mm-08. Moose lung shot is a big target.

I’ve only used my .375 or a sharp stick. Both work fine.

I was guiding a young man on a moose hunt several years ago. He barely double-lunged his moose; hit both through the very rear part of the lungs, the moose went less then 10 yards and tipped-over dead.
If that had been an elk, there's a chance we never would have found it, or at the very least a difficult recovery.

You're probably hunting those Itty bitty lower 48 moose. Just use your AR!!!

A 3006 with remington core lock 220 grains works well in my bolt action for the moose I have shot over the year's

‘06 will work fine , I’ve shot two .
One with my .338 / 250 grain bullet ..
And the other with my 30/378 - 180 grain bullet

Moose are so big , when shot , they just don’t know they’re dead yet !
Many have been shot with a simple old 30/30 ..

I have killed moose with a 7x57 and 7mm Rem Mag, both shooting Hornady SST bullet, 154gr and 162gr. Both were clean kills.
My uncle always used a 270 and a 30-06 and my dad used a 338. The 338 is a cannon that drops them in their tracks.

I would want to use a cartridge and bullet that I had confidence would penetrate the shoulder blade intact and reach the vitals. That's not where I would want to shoot a moose, but things don't always go according to our best plans. Having a good plan "B" in place prior to the hunt just makes good sense. The 30-06 with a 180 gr Nosler Accubond or Partition would be a fine choice IMO.

270wsm and 300wsm have taken our Shiras moose. Bonded bullets for both loads.

It was proposed after that hunt and study, that the heart rhythm may have something to do with it. If the animal was shot on the pressure cycle, the animal dropped. The blood was already at full pressure, so the added shot from the bullet hitting burst blood vessels everywhere. Animals that ran after the shot were hit when the blood was not at full pressure, so the blood absorbed the pressure build.

I have used a 300 Win Mag and 300 Wby Mag with good results.

The 30-06 will work great for you.

Good luck

I do recall that being a possible theory to explain it , hard to test one however.

glad you read the same thing and recall it.

Moose definitely can’t take the same beating as an elk. I think elk live a more active life, more predators, more elevation. Their muscles are stronger and can keep going after a decent hit.


About any center fire rifle can kill a moose…..if it’s standing perfect broadside and you can center punch both lungs. But if you get a quartering to you shot, or frontal shot….youre gonna need some horsepower behind your shot. When you’re hunting the rut, calling, these shots are sometimes all you get.

I believe shot placement is far more important than caliber.
Your 30-06 will be fine if you do your part

A buddy of mine shot his first moose with a single shot .410 loaded with a slug. He was just a kid and his dad had taken him out on his 1st moose hunt. He said his dad whispered, “right behind the shoulder”, then boom. The bull turned away, took 3 or 4 steps, looked back at the canoe and tipped over.

He told me his dad would always have a couple .410 slugs in his left pocket when grouse hunting. So he’d be ready in case he ran into a moose.

I’ve heard the 6.5 is the new moose caliber. Distance and wind speed play no factor either.

If it makes you feel any better of 5 clients the one with the biggest gun, a .300 win mag was the only one to lose a whitetail. Shot placements everything.

I just shot a bull in Alberta with a .300 win mag and a Barnes 180 grain TTSX:

The bullet went through the hind quarter blowing up the femur, left the leg and went into the abdomen, through the rumen, cut the liver in half, went through the heart, and stopped somewhere inside between the heart as ribs. I didn’t find it.

I've only shot two, both with 30/06, 180gr core-lokts.

i bet more moose get shot with the old standard 30-06,308,270 and 30-30 than all the magnum calibers like said earlier moose cant handle pain so any shot in the boiler room will bring a moose down and i would say most shots on moose are under 200 yds

I'm surprised no creedmore or 17hmr cult members have commented yet.

I am actually speechless at that shot.

… butt shootin em lol

Anything but a 6.5 Creedmoor.



















Apparently.

Depends when you’re hunting them. Late September, during the rut, yep you’ll get closer shots. Hunt in mid November, it’s a glassing game, spot and stalk. I’ve shot two 350 - 400 yards, and one at 425 yards , hunting the late season. That’s no time to be toting a .30-30.

if the 30-06 is what you have use big bullets know your gun , make a good shot and a 2nd good shot,,,
To do my gun life over I would use a .338 and 250 gn bullets for bear moose and elk


My buddy had a clienet shooting a 270 , found the book bear after a week.
My father inlaw shot a 393 bull elk , double lung, 1 mile away, 10 days later 160 gn bullet


We;ve killed 3 moose, two with 160 gn 7 mm one with a 376 gn Sharmaine Nugent Gold tip arrow and muzzy broadhead

Most big bullets will put a moose down,,, they die easy, however they may go a ways too.

A buddy of mine guides for big bears. I now fully understand why he want clients using big guns and big bullets.

Now depending on when and where the hunt is,,, just try to use the biggest gun you own and or big bullet. again moose do die easy,,,I discovered my buddies reasoning about big gun big bullet , who wants to track any animal when you could put it down maybe where it stands



Oh and the secret to moose hunting,,, take friends
280yards styeep hill to the ATV, then 4.5 miles to the truck quartered and hauled out myself 4 hours



, shoot the moose uphill and close to the truck




Ran downhill to the truck 58 yards



No blood no snow , ran uphill 160 yards

Those that talk trash on Barnes bullets haven’t used them.

Mine at 54” fell to my Browning lever in .284 ! It was plenty of gun.

Good friend always took his Marlin 336 in 35 Rem.

Should work perfect

I've never seen a moose go more than a couple steps after a .270 round was put through them. Although I can't speak for Yukon/Alaska, but the moose I am experienced with are a lot less tough than a whitetail even. You don't have to fire a round from a cannon to bring one down.

this combination will work fine out of our moose camp in the last 30 years 14 taken with 270 shooting 150 gr another 8 with 30-06 shooting 180 gr and 2 with a 300 win mag if you look at it this way the 270 has killed every big game animal in north america and the 30-06 has killed every big game animal in the world are both ideal calibers for all game no personally wouldn't hunt grizzlies with a 270 but i trust my shooting enough that i know it would kill him same goes for a 30-06 and an elephant or lion one shot in the boiler room with a 30-06 on a moose you will be needing help to get your moose out

Good one.