The greatest disappointment in moose camp is the infrequency with which the need a cannon idea works out. Full bulls are fat, yet there is always success in a cartridge which a sportsman may work with cleanly on the spot, and a bullet which will travel long enough to get to the heart-lung system.
The same combination offers security of the things that follow the shot. Loss of meat in a hurry when the bullets fail to disintegrate particularly in bone. Harder designs which extend without shaking off most of their load will leave cleaner wound channels, more exits, and less bloodshot trim.
consistently hitting a bullet in an 8-inch circle at 200 yards is a viable standard in a number of hunting scenarios, since combat stress accuracy is superior to unstress paperwork accuracy.
1. .30-06 Springfield
There are not many cartridges where more moose situations are handled with less headache. The speed of modern loads really exceeds the old-fashioned reputation, and the bullet-weight range that can be used with the caliber provides a hunter with a choice of options that best suit the terrain and the angle of the shot. It is also easy to shoot by a fairly broad group of individuals, not so much that they are punished but so much that they are highly disrespected.
The point of division of the .30-06 is in the flexibility of the bullet. Bulls with a steep angle and a big ribbed area are the safer ammunition of all, because, although conventional cup-and-core designs can do the job, the controlled-expansion bullets will remain intact and continue to drive. The advice given by Alaska regarding large game still emphasizes that the bullets of premium quality are aimed to go right through a large game animal in case of being struck in the heart-lung area.
2. .308 Winchester
It deserves the spot because it is effective, hits on point in most rifles, and is usually easier to handle than longer, higher-kicking .30-caliber. The resulting recoil advantage is apparent in situations where a hunter is required to interrupt a shot when he or she is on their knees in tangles of alder or can afford to make a quick adjustment to a first misplaced shot.
Here more to do with construction of bullets than more cartridge. Modern powders and bonded or monolithic bullets make the .308 far less of the gap in reality that a hunter thinks it has between it and the.30-06, particularly in the ranges where the majority of bulls are actually shot.
3. .270 Winchester
The .270 continues to be discredited as a deer round, and continues to pile up large game. It is flat shooting to make it easier in open country and the recoil remains low enough that most hunters just end up shooting it better than the magnums they would like to enjoy.
Since the of premium controlled-expansion bullets, the .270 gains a few notches in penetration and is likely to leave fewer meat wastes than high rate fragmenting designs. That trade-off, which is a little less dramatic in-country destruction in favor of more profound and strait travel usually suits the moose hunting requirements.
4. 6.5 Creedmoor
The attractiveness of the 6.5 Creedmoor is sensible: the bullets have high BC, the recoil is not violent, and the rifles can be shot well. The fact that accuracy and comfort can be transferred to improved placement of shots, which is the true constraint on ethical moose kill.
It is even a cartridge in which the bullet selection can not be an option after the fact. The gap is wide and yet the room to play with sloppy bullets is narrow. The reasonable combination when angles become less than ideal is loads constructed to go through controlled expansion and retain a steady weight.
5. 7mm Remington Magnum
The 7mm rem mag in the middle ground that most moose hunters seem to desire is more flatter than most traditional.30s, hits harder than the lighter 6.5s and can be handled by those who practice. It has endured because it can do much jobs better without requiring the full recoil tax of the bigger magnums.
Bonded bullets as well as well built cup-and-core will also work but the higher impact speeds of magnums will test the weak design. On broadside bullets, and quartering shots, alike, the object is a bullet swollen up to about two times its original diameter, without losing much of the shank to keep it on.
6. .300 Winchester Magnum
It is the choice in case a hunter wishes to have a little more reach, be able to control more by the wind, and have the capability of pushing heavier bullets at high speed. It carries hard downrange energy as well as a flatter trajectory than regular cartridges, though it also increases the price of each erroneous shot, particularly when recoil flinching or hastened shots are involved.
Close-range the .300 can even reduce shoulder hits to boiled meat, so thoughtful use of shooting and a heavier bullet are worth it. The cartridge performs best when it is used as a fine instrument rather than a remedy to bad shooting.
7. .338 Winchester Magnum
The first caliber to most hunters that comes to mind is the .338 Win Mag, which is the so-called heavy medicine: large frontal diameter, heavy bullets and deep penetration in well-controlled-expansion designs. Also, it is ordinary enough that guns and ammunition are often not niche-planned.
Recoil is the gatekeeper. Hunters who fail to practice at it are seldom as successful as they believe, and moose are never happy when one holds a positive attitude. A smoother cartridge holding a superior bullet usually results into a clean kill than a bruising magnum that was fired reluctantly.
8. .45-70 Government
The .45-70 still holds in heavy cover and short windows. It shoots huge bullets, which strike hard at a close range, and lever guns loaded with it are always convenient in cases where the chase is more brush than basin.
Its limitations are obvious: speed leaks very fast, and shots that are in control remain comparatively near. The shape of bullets is of concern in terms of both safety and functionality in tubular magazines, thus the classic profile of flat/round nose bullets is still a very popular option.
Through all these, the common element is not more caliber. It is a rifle-cartridge arrangement that trains, and a bullet that is constructed to blow up without disintegrating prematurely. With that in place, moose hunting will be less of seeking extremes and more about making a clean shot when the opportunity finally presents itself.
