Type of rifle to shoot a moose?

[Sutty]

OK so I hunt deer in a shotgun zone and I need to buy a rifle. Can I buy a rifle that can shoot Moose, Elk, and Deer? Perhaps a 30.06?

[Gissert]

A 30-06 will work just fine for moose, elk and deer. The key is to use a premium controlled expansion bullet such as a Nosler Partition or Barnes XBT. You want something that will still hold together should you hit a heavy leg or shoulder bone.

I have had excellent results with Barnes bullets.

Some other good calibers out there are 300 Win Mag, 300 Win Short Mag, 325 Win Short Mag, 35 Whelan, etc.

The 270 Win or 280 Rem is also a possibility, although getting a tad on the light side (IMO) for big heavy game. Again, many moose and elk have been killed with these calibers - just use premuim bullets.

Personally I shoot a 338 Win Mag, but that is a lot of gun and it is really overkill for deer. I like this gun because it is a good shooter, and the recoil does not really bother me much.

Have you given any thought as to what type of gun you want to shoot, ie bolt, semi auto, etc?

[almostthere!]

The 30.06 is a good choice. You can not go wrong with this time tested round. Good ammos are cheap and plenty to choose from.

Now the real question is which brand of rifle. Keep in mind that all modern rifles are accurate the same if you find the correct round. If you can afford it, get a Sako in stainless steel. The stainless steel will hold up to the elements better.

Here are my reason for a Sako:

1) The trigger is excellent. It is light and crisp with no overtravel. There is no overtravel and it is fully and easily user adjustable. The trigger is the first thing a competition shooter changes on his gun: Sako comes with an excellent trigger, so you do not have to change it.

2) The bolt lift is very short: about 65 degrees. This will allow you to mount scope with large eye peices and will also prevent you from banging your thumb against the scope. The short bolt lift will also allow you to cycle a new round quicker in case you need to do a follow-up shot.

Note: I am a rifle enthusiast and I will buy any rifle; budget permitting. But, if I have to pick and choose only one, Sako would be it.

Anyways, good luck to you and enjoy.

[Sutty]

I am certainly not an expert and have not decided on which for sure but I was thinking a bolt action. I have been told they tend to be more reliable.

How much would a Sako cost? And how much should I spend on a good scope there is such a huge range in price and so many to pick from. How do you start narrowing it down?

Thanks

[Gissert]

Sako's are fabulous guns. I wish I had one or two in my cabinet. Not sure on prices, I would expect to see them in the 700-900 range. Tikka is also made by Sako, and are very nice guns.

Remington 700 is an excellent bolt gun, as is the Ruger 77, and Winchester Model 70 (recently discontinued.)

If you are on a budget, consider the Savage line of bolt guns. They have the new Accu-Trigger, which is fully adjustable, and are know for having excellent out of the box accuracy. My 338 happens to be a Savage, and is one of the most accurate rifles that I own.

Savage and Remington(Remington Model 710) both have bolt guns that come with scopes. Good budget rifles, though I am not familiar with the glass on these guns.

For scopes, I don't like the 100 dollar scopes at all. I would rather have a less expensive rifle with quality glass. I have been very happy with my Leupold Vari X II on my 338. I also have a Burris scope that I like on my 30-06. Nikon makes decent scopes also. If you have the cash, it'll be hard to beat a Swarovski.

Go to a few gun shops, and ask the questions you are asking here. Pick up several different types of guns, and see which one fits good and feels good when you shoulder it. Shopping for guns can be a blast. Try not to get caught up in Ford/Chevy type debates. As you do a little shopping, you will start to get an idea of what you like in a gun.

Oh - one other thing - do you shoot left or right handed? If you are a lefty, You'll want to look for left handed rifles.

[tealitup]

Gissert - have you tried the new Winchester XP3 ammo? I have read alot about them - seems they might be the next all around ammo???

[Fish to Win]

I shot a moose 2 years ago with a Win. 270 and the bull dropped in its tracks- it was a perfect shot opportunity as it was quartering at me at 80 yards but none the less my 270 did the job- I would have liked to have had a heavier cal. due to the fact it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and there is no room for error- Good luck.

[Jackpine Rob]

Took mine last fall at 200 yards+ with a 30-06 and he dropped like a rock. Quartering towards me (not the most ideal angle, but doable).

I was shooting Winchester Supreme ammo with 180 gr. FailSafe bullets, and the terminal performance of that round was more than adequate... Experimented quite a bit with various bullet weights and manufacturers before settling on the Winchester ammo. Do a little reading on the various premium bullets out there such as the Barnes X, the Nosler Partition and the Fail Safe and I'm sure you will find a round that both you and your gun are happy with.

The nice thing about the '06 is that there are a great many factory loadings out there for a guy who doesn't want to reload, but still wants to spend time tuning the gun and finding the right load.

[Gissert]

tealitup-

Nope - have not tried the Winchester ammo - I pretty much handload everything I shoot.

Sound like good stuff, though.

[almostthere!]

Sako's are generally in the $1100-$1300 range. Since you mentioned Elk as one of your intended game, I would recommend a Sako Finnlite or a Grey Wolf. They are light weight and will be a little easier on the shoulder.

If the Sako is out of your price range, Tikka's should fit the bill nicely: Mid $400 to $800 guns. Tikka's are everybit as good as a Sako, just different looks and bolt design.

As for scope, there are many. A decent scope will be in the range of $150 and up. Nikon makes very good Monarch scopes for about $299. The only draw back is the eye relief; too short for mine personal preference. The eye relief is the distance from your eye to the eye-piece. Two great American companies are Leupold and Burris. You can get a Leupold VX III for about $449 and roughly the same for a Burris Signature Select: these are all in the 3-10X40 power scopes. Leupold and Burris has a longer eye relief and you won't have to worry about being cut by the scope.

If you can afford it, Swarovski is the way to go.

Have fun shopping.

[harvey lee]

Boy,you have been given alot of good advise.I have shot the Tikka and it is a very nice rifle for the money.I have numerous rifles and my deer gun is a 700 Remington 7MM bolt action which is a very accurate rifle.

I also have a Ruger bolt 300 mag and this thing I believe will take down without any problem any animal in North America.I have a Leupold var111 scope on it.It shoots well,ammo isnt to bad except it does have a little kick.I had a muzzle brake put on it which makes it a shooter for anyone.The only downside to the brake is the noise as she is loud.I have shot numerous deer with it and if you hit them right your o.k. If you make a bad shot then you will have a messed up deer.I really believe the best caliber for deer,moose and elk might be a 7mm.Its good for deer and elk even at long range but might just be a tick light on the moose if you dont have a good hit.

When you go to by a scope check with Optics4Hunting as they are a sponsor on FM and they have some pretty good prices.If you go to the sponsor forum and look for them you will see thier contact info.I bought a scope and a pair of field glasses and was very happy with them.Ask for Nick.

Also,mention your from FM.

[Sutty]

Thanks for all the good advice. I know it will be years before I draw my moose tag but I am going to try for elk next fall and thought I might as well try for a nice all around rifle since I use a shotgun for deer..

[BLACKJACK]

One thing you experts didn't mention much is recoil, and which guns have less, but will still get the job done. For rookie rifle guys like myself (or Sutty), thats important. About 15 years ago I went elk hunting out west, borrowed a .35 caliber, found out the hard way that it was too short range, so when I got back, I bought a used Remington pump 30.06, I think its a 740 or 7400. Long story short, I hate shooting it because of the recoil. I'll bet I haven't shot three boxes of shells threw it, the only reason I've kept it is in case I get the opportunity to go antelope or elk hunting out west. So lets hear about recoil.

[harvey lee]

As stated in my post above,the 300 bolt mag kicks like a mule,but with a muzzle brake the kick isnt bad.The new problem is the noise.Ear plugs are needed when pratice shooting but when I hunt and take one shot it is not to bad.

My 7mm does not kick to bad.You can always go with a auto to reduce some of the recoil.I prefer the bolts for accuracy.

[Gissert]

A good recoil pad goes a long way to helping with recoil. I have a Pachmyer on my 338, and will take some of the sting out. I never really notice the recoil when shooting at game.

When practicing, I use a slip on pad made by PAST. It slips over your arm, and can be used on either your left or right sholder. This unit really takes the bite out of recoil.

As harvey lee said, muzzle brakes are super for taming felt recoil, but add a lot of noise.

A 270/7mm is a very potent gun for big game, yet the recoil is very manageable.

Another component in recoil is the velocity in which gun recoils. Some rifles have a sharp, quick punch, while others are more like a shotgun and spread the recoil out over a longer period.

Do a Google search on Rifle Recoil Tables, and you will get an idea of recoil values for different calibers, bullet wieghts, and velocities.

[almostthere!]

Felt recoil is relative to the weight of the gun and the absorbing power of the recoil pad added on. So, a rifle chambered in 30.06 will have a different felt recoil than another different model rifle chambered in 30.06.

There are so many things you can do to reduce felt recoil that recoil is not as big of a factor as it once was.

Sutty,

If this is your one hunting rifle, you may as well spend as much as you care to and get the best rifle possible for your money.

[Sutty]

I am not too worried about recoil. I used to shoot a 870 express for goose hunting and shooting 3 inch mags all day gets you used to it...

I have been doing a little research on both Sako and Tikka. A couple of questions it looks like there was a recall due to a barrel flaw can I assume that has been fixed? And what are the advantages of the sako over the tikka lighter? better trigger assemly? better finish?

Thanks again!

[almostthere!]

The barrel flaw was due to a bad batch of stainless steel from one of their suppliers. That was limited to a batch of barrels which have been recalled. If you google it, you can find the serial numbers affected by the recall.

The bolt, action, and stocks are the main differences. Sako will allow you to extract the round with the safety on: there is an extra lever that will allow you to do this on Sako.

Best thing to do is run over to a gun shop and compare the two side by side. Sako's are hard to find, but they can be found at certain Gandermountains and Sportsman's Warehouse.

[Swamp Scooter]

You are getting great info on this. I have shot a lot of different calibers and have liked my old 30-06 but it is a heavier and old gun. I now shoot the Browning 7mm mag. I have this in auto and can really knock the animals down. Do use good quality optics.

One thing not mentioned already is if you happen to get a chance to shoot in other countries. In Europe and Scandinavia you CANNOT use an auto. In Norway and some others you also have to pass a shooting test to be able to hunt. Not a bad idea all in all. For a single gun purchase and all around action the auto may work for everything but you can have issues in bitter cold and sleet/rain/cold. The action can freeze open or not fully eject or re-load the shell due to freeze up. I had this happen on a 3 buck opening morning a couple of years back where it was -12F. The first shot went fine but the second did not completely eject due to the bitter cold and change in temp from hot gas on cold metal.

[Sutty]

The only places out of country I currently have asperations for is Canada and Alaska. But I suppose once I get those done I might start looking elsewhere. Its gonna be a long time before I get there...

[monstermoose78]

Well i got my moose app in now is the waiting game if i have to wait as long as my grandpa did i will be an old man and i aint and i am 27 it took him 30+ years before he drew his tag same for my uncle. My gun of choice is a Browning a-bolt with the boss topped with a lepould 3-9 as for bullets federals 180 nosler partitions will take the biggest minnesota bull to the ground with a well placed shot. My gun has one minnesota bull under its belt and i know it will have another unless my brother buys that 416 riby then will lord have mercy on my shoulder and the moose.

[Sutty]

Well I am glad I started doing research. I figured I had 15 years before getting drawn for moose and would have a few elk hunts under my belt first. I got drawn on my first try how is that for beginers luck...

[Gissert]

Nice goin! Better hit that range!

[Sutty]

Ya better buy that rifle to!

[monstermoose78]

I want my tag too