Big game bullet choice

Bullet choice?

  • Total voters
    13
Oh cool! Have fun on the hunt. :)

I've read great things about the Partition bullets. The way they hold together to pierce tough hide, then expand deep in the lung cavity of those larger animals thanks to their two-part design supposedly makes them very favorable for elk and moose. That's what I'd go with.
 
As for Accubond penetration I shot a whitetail with 160 gr 7mag at close range - frontal base of the neck shot and recovered what was left out of one of the hindquarters. Easily 30"+ penetration although I could not actually track the wound channel. It may have hugged the hide, did not blow up the entrails. Didnt go in and out and in again either. Bit of a mystery actually.

Deer didnt move - just ceased to exist.
 
I thought of my #1 in 45-70 but I don't want to even think about drop out to 200 this trip.
400gr Barnes original spire points would certainly get it done.

Might pack it as a backup . . .
 
Have you looked at Hornaday?
www.titanreloading.com

Hornady 30 Cal (.308) 212 Grain ELD-X®

Hornady 30 Cal (.308) 212 Grain ELD-X® Item #3077 | 100/Box The ELD-X® (Extremely Low Drag – eXpanding) bullet is a technologically advanced, match accurate, ALL-RANGE hunting bullet featuring highest-in-class ballistic coefficients and consistent, controlled expansion at ALL practical hunting...
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Marturo said:
Have you looked at Hornaday?
www.titanreloading.com

Hornady 30 Cal (.308) 212 Grain ELD-X®

Hornady 30 Cal (.308) 212 Grain ELD-X® Item #3077 | 100/Box The ELD-X® (Extremely Low Drag – eXpanding) bullet is a technologically advanced, match accurate, ALL-RANGE hunting bullet featuring highest-in-class ballistic coefficients and consistent, controlled expansion at ALL practical hunting...
www.titanreloading.com www.titanreloading.com
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I did load development when the rifle was new - found 4 sub MOA hunting bullets between 180-220 gr and loaded 25+ of each.

Not starting over with new / different - just pick one for the situation now. Was using the Sierra 200 for antelope and mule deer out to 350-400; it may be the most accurate overall load I have. But seems like a 150 yd shot is as likely as anything this year so I am leaning toward max terminal performance in a heavier bullet. I have 220 Partitions as well [VERY good groups at 100] but they drop a bit by 200. I wont rule them out however . .

EDIT - after checking if both are zeroed for 175 yd the 200 or 220 Partition is almost identical - 220 needs to be 1/2" higher at 100 but never goes more than 1.4" above line of sight and is only 1.2" low at 200. >2400 ft lb energy at 200 yards / 2200 fps vs 2600 for the 200.
I'm leaning toward the 200 Partition myself.
 
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Put the 200 Nosler on paper at 100 today - won’t shoot groups til it’s a wee bit cooler . . . But should be within 2 clicks when the time comes.
Had swapped scopes so had to start from zero with bore sight and a 50 yd cold bore shot.
 
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I was looking for a good load for a 338 WM several years ago for an elk hunt and tried a bunch of different bullets. Some shot well in my rifle while some did not. I tried a number of different powders and loads for each bullet and kept good records of group sizes and velocities. I finally settled on one bullet and load that performed well. It turned out to be a Barnes. My suggestion is to try a bunch and see which works the best in your rifle. I think any you mentioned would kill a moose quite nicely.
 
Charlie said:
I was looking for a good load for a 338 WM several years ago for an elk hunt and tried a bunch of different bullets. Some shot well in my rifle while some did not. I tried a number of different powders and loads for each bullet and kept good records of group sizes and velocities. I finally settled on one bullet and load that performed well. It turned out to be a Barnes. My suggestion is to try a bunch and see which works the best in your rifle. I think any you mentioned would kill a moose quite nicely.
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Been there done that. I have sub MOA loads in 4 different bullet and powder combos after testing 10. Some excel and some fall short. Just some fun above with opinions and votes - I have zero doubt anything from a .300 Win mag will drop a moose.
Next step is shooting all on the same paper to calibrate change in zero between loads.

FWIW 220 round nose bullets are insanely accurate in .300s - heavy medicine out to 200 yd. I even have a .308 that loves this load - mimics a .30-40 Krag ~2100 fps
Folks like them in ‘06 as well.
 
Never shot a moose but shot lots of elk over the years with the 200gr Sierra Gameking. Haven't lost one yet or had to chase them after the shot. I am more of a fan of dumping all the energy into the animal than complete pass through. Just my experience. Good luck
 
Dad's been knocking moose and every other AK big game down with mostly Partitions for 30 years, mostly 30-06 and 338 Winchester Mag. Has tried others, goes back to the Nosler.
I used 180s in .308 some when I was there. worked fine.
Don't worry too much over it, shot placement always wins the day. Have fun. Love the north country. Impressive animals in person.
 
Just curious…ever been around a moose OP?

I made a trip to Alaska a couple years ago and ran across some in the wild. You spotted them fairly often on the side of the road. They’re even bigger than I imagined. Almost like running across a random horse in the wild. 😳
 
BigWaylon said:
Just curious…ever been around a moose OP?

I made a trip to Alaska a couple years ago and ran across some in the wild. You spotted them fairly often on the side of the road. They’re even bigger than I imagined. Almost like running across a random horse in the wild. 😳
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Tried spotting some in Michigan UP but there aren't too many. I thought mule deer were impressive when I first got one . . . I'm looking forward to the experience.
 
.300 Win Mag with any of those will bring down a moose but depending on when you go an opportunity may present itself at a longer range so the advantage goes to the bullet giving you the best groups. The difference between a heart shot and a near miss of a heart shot is a DRT or a long blood trail and even longer drag.

I drew a lottery moose tag and a biologist said that by fall the moose were more frequently found in recent (1-5 years ago) clear cuts which can be several hundred acres. He also told us that heart shot moose run an average of 17 feet before collapsing. If you miss the heart they can run over a half mile even if you go through both lungs.

If they drop in the clear cut you can often get a vehicle right up to the carcass and drag them out to the road on a skidder trail. If you have to go deep into the woods to get them, you've made a ton of work for yourself.

The single moose hunt I went on was a two man affair with no guide. Ours dropped on the logging trail and we made easy work of it. We heard some horror stories from other hunters though, the worst was over a dozen guys taking all night long. Depending on the weather, you may be in a race against time to save your meat. If we had a guide service that would likely have a skidder on standby we wouldn't have cared about how much work they had to do for a set fee. It is a guide service and a set price, right?
 
BigWaylon said:
Just curious…ever been around a moose OP?

I made a trip to Alaska a couple years ago and ran across some in the wild. You spotted them fairly often on the side of the road. They’re even bigger than I imagined. Almost like running across a random horse in the wild. 😳
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I've been too close for comfort, they are huge
 
Frack N Cylons said:
I figure @Michael458 would have insight into this.
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None of the ones listed. There are much better bullets available for the mission than those three. Moose are very large and tough animals. You are under caliber to begin with at .308 caliber. You need a tough bullet with the ability to crunch bone and continue to penetrate if required. The bullets you have listed are not bone crunchers, and they are not deep diving trauma inflicting bullets.

Naturally I would be looking at various CEB Raptors, probably 130 to 150 gr max in this case. You must remember, these are considered Non Conventional, and will easily out penetrate and transfer much more devastating trauma than ANY conventional expending bullet, regardless of quality or weight, or SD. For other Non Conventional choices you might look to Lehigh and Hammer Bullets. More conventional and far better choices than the ones listed would be Barnes TSX, Swift A Frames, North Forks to name the top end bullets.

As mentioned .308 caliber is a bit light for moose, .338 to .358 would be my very bottom end minimum. Yes, you can take a moose with .308 or even a good .223, but that does not mean its the tool for the job at hand.
 
Stumbled across this pic today and thought I’d add it to the thread. 😳

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Been reading a lot on here about info on the 30 cal AR cartridges. A lot of great info, especially Michael458's loading and pressures info. Really interesting. Anyway, being an Alaskan, I figured I actually have something to add on this topic.

I've taken 23 moose in as many years, and have helped on almost as many. I think any of your bullet picks will work great.

Moose are (or can be) big, but I've never found them to be particularly tough to kill. A friend puts it well saying "Moose are big babies", kind of true in my experience.

I used a 300 WM on my first two, and moved to 308 or 30-06 on all the rest. Never have come even close to losing one and rarely need a second shot.

Off the top of my head, I've used Remington 190 Extended Range (300 WM), 180 and 150 Interbond, 180, 165, 150 and 130 Barnes TSX/TTSX, 150 E Tip.

All have worked very well, mostly double lung shots, which is a big target.

As far as effectiveness of the smaller 30 cals, I did shoot one bull on a slight quartering frontal shot at about twenty yards with a 150 TTSX @ 2,900 from a 308. Bullet went through lung, blew a rib out the side, which I first thought was the exit, but apparently deflected from there and was recovered in a hind quarter.

Personally, I'd probably opt for a light for caliber TTSX type bullet. Even if it lost petals it would probably work in a way similar to the Raptors, which seem to have a good reputation, but as I mentioned, any of your picks should work really well in my experience.
 
Keeping this simple: I'd go as heavy as you can with a bit of speed: Buffalo Bore has what you are looking for I am sure. The selections you have posted on the "vote" seem a little too light.
 
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