Choice of bullet for Moose hunt

FWIW - there is no such thing as "overkill" on moose. Even though plenty of them have been taken with classic whitetail cartridges, they can absorb an awful lot of lead.

I shot my Maine moose with a 402gr Hammer bullet. First shot centered his lungs. The bull just stood there like he wasn't hit. I quickly launch another round and he fell over. The bull weighed in at just over 1,000lbs and my outfitter bet that the bullet didn't exit. He lost that bet. Both bullets exited. LOL

402gr Hammer.jpg
Maine moose.jpgMoose Lungs.jpg
 
memtb said:
Before the Barnes monosā€¦..I was a Partition fan. And I suppose for nostalgia's sake, they would be a good choice.

My only negative on the Partition is that on a very close range, high velocity shot, they will often shed all of the lead back to the partition with the jacket then folding rather tightly back against the remainder of the bulletā€¦ā€¦and yes, I've seen it! You now have a bullet with only about 65% to 70% of it's original weight with a substantially reduced frontal area. But, that remaining piece will penetrate rather well.

In the above scenario, the Barnes will generally retain near 100% of its original weight, have a quite large frontal area with pretty sharp knife-like edges giving a great deal of penetration! memtb
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I have seen similar things with the Partition, except that instead of the jacket peeling back along the sides of the bullet, it completely disappeared leaving only a pellet (the back end of the bullet) to penetrate. In my experience the "pellet" (30 cal.) penetrated the elks chest and was lodged in the offside under the skin. I guess it worked ok but I switched to Speer GrandSlams, shot a bunch more elk and the expansion was textbook with weight retention in the 80-95% range on all recovered bullets. (those elk succumbed to my .338 wm) so maybe not a fair comparison, but no elk went more than 5 ft after tasting that combination.
 
My son and I both used a 300 PRC to take NWT Moose bulls last year. Both of our Moose were shot with 199 Hammer Hunters. Each bull took three bullets through the chest (although they both were dead on their feet with the first shot; just lived by the rule that if they were still standing they were going to get shot again). Only one bullet each didn't pass through since they both hit the opposing humerus. Highly recommend them as deep penetrating bullets that shoot phenomenal in 300 PRC.
 
I've never seen a critter walk away from a good, well placed 180gr bullet coming out the bore of the old .30-06. Come to think of it, I've never had to chase a .30-30 or .32-40 very far. Recapping the shots around the camp fire, most every shot that involved any serious amount of looking really shouldn't have been taken. Yes, I've passed up a couple of shots, but if the tale is well crafted, believable and properly seasoned, those encounters stand out, even above the kills that just fell into the truck.
 
topcat265 said:
Since there's no thread for a Moose hunt (unless I missed it), I posted this in the Elk hunt section.

Next month, I'll be headed to Newfoundland for a moose hunt. I have chosen two bullets to work with. The first is the Barnes 190 grain LRX BT. The second is the Berger 245 grain Elite Hunter. The caliber rifle is a 300 PRC.
The rifle seems to like the Berger better as it is a bit more accurate.
What I find surprising is that the Barnes has over 200 ft-lbs more energy than the Berger.
I know the Barnes will break through bone as it is a monometal bullet.
Most likely all shots within 500 yards, so I am not concerned about the tighter spread of the Berger.
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks,
T
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Good luck on your hunt, we have a group hunting Sept 23-28 in Newfoundland. I loaded 180 Hornady Interbonds in brothers and uncles 300 Weatherby. I'm running 215 Seirra Gameking in 340 Weatherby. Let us know how your hunt goes.
 
If you are hunting in the rut and calling, Some bulls will just walk in from any direction, Not a sound. Keep ears open for Pine Squirrels/ Ferry Diddles climbing trees and barking. When a bull come in he is looking for the cow. Your view will usually be quartering to you or straight head on. A big bull will have 8 to 10 inches of mussel before the bullet hits the ribs. A little more angle and the large leg bones and shoulder blade covers the chest. Deep penetration is needed.
If your catch a bull feeding or traveling broadside. Then 2 or 3 inches of hide and ribs is easy to penetrate. Deer bullets work good then shedding energy quick in lungs, And blood vessels above heart.
 
340 in Va said:
Good luck on your hunt, we have a group hunting Sept 23-28 in Newfoundland. I loaded 180 Hornady Interbonds in brothers and uncles 300 Weatherby. I'm running 215 Seirra Gameking in 340 Weatherby. Let us know how your hunt goes.
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Thank you. And will do. Please do the same.
Where will you be flying into? We will be landing at the Deer Lake airport.
T
 
topcat265 said:
Thank you. And will do. Please do the same.
Where will you be flying into? We will be landing at the Deer Lake airport.
T
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Enjoy the Deer Lake Motel! The restaurant actually isn't to bad, however the restaurant in the truck stop across the highway is better. The bar, eh. There is a liquor store across the highway. What guide service are you hunting with?
 
Great choice! I have hunted with Bob twice, first time was the year after the Canada covid shutdown at a "regular " fly in camp and last year at a trophy camp. He runs a great operation.
 

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