Q: A mate and I have booked a hunt for moose, caribou and grizzly bear in Alaska. I have decided to take my Winchester Model 70 in .338 Win Mag, while my mate has a Mauser 9.3x64mm. What do you think of our choice of calibres?
Going on what you’ve written about your experiences in Alaska, I’ve reloaded my ammo with the 225gn Barnes while my mate is depending on the 286gn Norma Oryx.
Any tips you can offer?
Frank Berriman
A: I think your choice of rifles and loads are good. Moose are, more often than not, found in heavy woods and they are much harder to kill than caribou.
A bull moose can dress out at up to 600kg or more and since they have larger bones, heavier muscles and more meat to shoot through, they should be hunted with a much more powerful rifle than one which is adequate for deer.
I have shot a dozen or so moose myself and there is a big difference between the Scandinavian species and the larger, tougher Alaska-Yukon variety.
In Sweden, many hunters still use the 6.5x55mm quite successfully. I dropped five on a Norma moose hunt with it and not one ran more than 50m after being hit.
Many Alaskan hunters use a .30 magnum of some kind, but it is seldom they kill a moose in its tracks.
Unless it is struck in the spine or in the head, or unless its neck is broken, it is rare that a moose is killed with one shot with any cartridge.
I hit one moose three times with an 8mm Rem Mag before he went down.
The only moose I ever killed with one shot was with my .338. My guide’s wife had called him in and he came at a tremendous trot, running straight past me at about 40m. I had a beautiful shot and squeezed off with the crosswires swinging just behind his shoulder.
To my own and the guide’s amazement the massive animal dropped dead on the spot.
As far as calibres go, you have chosen well, as more is better for moose and a heavy bullet will handle the angling and rear-end raking shots better.
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