Gun for big game

Ok guys I’m in need of some of your knowledge. My wife has decided that she wants to go on a moose hunt in Canada for a graduation gift.

My question for right now (I’m sure there will be more) is what kind of calibers would you recommend? I’m thinking that I want something that would also work for elk,caribou, etc. if she likes this trip, I’m sure she would like to branch out into other species.

Thanks guys,
Brian

What does your wife shoot now and how comfortable is she shooting it?

Moose in general are not that hard to kill and shots on guided hunts are rarely very far. For decades the classic moose rifle was the .270 Winchester.

Which IMO would be a great starting point for your search. The 270 hits plenty hard, lots of ammo choices available and almost any rifle you can find will offer it as a chambering. Recoil is relatively manageable for all but a sensitive shooter.

.280, and .30-06 are also good choices.

I will tell you what every guide will tell you. The right rifle is the one she shoots well and is comfortable with. Do NOT push her past her tolerance for recoil. It will have a negative effect on her shooting. Shot placement trumps big cartridges every time.

I have a 300 wsm I’ve used for deer bear and elk. .300 mag would be another good option

I agree with much of what grouse stated. Many here know I’m a huge fan of a 270win and the 270 wsm.

The quality of recoil pads have increased many times over during the last couple decades. That has great benefits if you choose to look at something with a little more thump. Additionally, i see too many guys hand off a small cannon to their girlfriends/wives that don’t fit them right. Not all, but many women have a shorter pull length. If you invest in a rifle, please consider having the stock cut to fit her and add a quality pad.

Another thing to consider is the ammunition, then the rifle to a certain extent. If you stay with a solid copper bullet in lieu of fragmenting crap, you deliver AND TRANSFER more energy. As an example, sending a solid copper in a 270win is like shooting a lead fragmenting bullet out of a 7mm mag. I site that as a loose example. We can all start a wizzing match of exact equivalents, but you get the point.

I see a variety of 308 hunting ammo in a lot of places right now but not much else. Fairly low recoil and should do the job with good bullets.

3006 all a man needs, or gal! DK.

Thanks for all the info. When we get into deciding what we end up doing, I’m sure I’ll have more questions for you.

Thanks again

disco bobber wrote:

I see a variety of 308 hunting ammo in a lot of places right now but not much else. Fairly low recoil and should do the job with good bullets.

Another good suggestion, the .308 is very versatile.

Another good option is the 7-08. Versatile and low recoil.

I totally agree with Randy. Fit is essential especially for a female Hunter. Proper gun fit minimizes recoil and maximizes accuracy.

7mm08 in my opinion is a gun I have always recommended for kids and women, not only is a great caliber for whitetail, but the ballistics ar similar to that of a 270, but the recoil similar to a 243.I don’t know of anyone personally that used it on moose,but I can’t see with the right round why it wouldn’t do the job

I have used the 7-08 on moose as well as a 3006 and a 30-30 All the moose died.

.338-378 Weatherby Magnum

30.06

270, 30-06 have always been great rounds. I am a big fan of .264 rounds they are low recoil and with the right bullet produce great results. 6.5×55 swedish has put down more moose in europe them probably any other caliber.

The best gun for her is the gun she will shoot the best.

Remember that recoil is not necessarily about caliber.

I have sot 300 win mag that would dislocate your shoulder and use the same ammo and be quite manageable.

If you are looking for a magnum .30 cal I would look hard at the 300 PRC

Grouse is right on. There is also a lot of ammo produced for the .270 and .30-06 so finding ammo will not be as difficult. Imagine losing or forgetting your ammo on a trip, most everywhere you can find the above mentioned calibers and in proven game stopping loads. Disclaimer, I shoot rifles, but do not hunt with them, other than smaller caliber for coyotes. Rifles for deer are not allowed where I hunt and live. I have been trying to draw a bear permit for a few years, I should get one next year or the year after and I will more than likely use a .30-06 that I have.

gunsmith89 wrote:

….and with the right bullet produce great results…

This is exactly right, and the good news is that we have fantastic bullet choices and performance these days. Modern bullet performance makes cartridges that used to be considered “marginal” for big game, now be considered more than enough.

For example, basically since its introduction the 243 Winchester has prompted sideways glances from a big section of the shooting public that considers it marginal for deer size game. Between what I’ve shot and guests at the farm have shot with my 243, I can tell you that 10 deer in a row have literally died in their tracks after being shot with this “marginal” cartridge. I put that down to today’s bullet performance.

6.5 mm cartridges used to be considered no man’s land in America. Many considered 6.5 to be too big for varmints/predators and too small for deer. Almost nobody thinks this way now and why should they? Bullet performance is so good now, the 6.5s are more than enough.

.270wsm with the appropriate ammunition will take down anything in North America while also having manageable recoil. 30-06 is similar in it’s flexibility to different applications with the right ammunition.

My wife weighs 110# and has shot at the range with mine without issues. Everyone gets caught up in caliber. To me, the caliber is not nearly as influential in determining recoil as the fit of the gun, weight, and shooting position. I’ve seen a .243 that kicked like a mule and large caliber rifles that anyone old enough to shoot could handle.

TheFamousGrouse wrote:

<div class=”d4p-bbt-quote-title”>gunsmith89 wrote:</div>
….and with the right bullet produce great results…

This is exactly right, and the good news is that we have fantastic bullet choices and performance these days. Modern bullet performance makes cartridges that used to be considered “marginal” for big game, now be considered more than enough.

For example, basically since its introduction the 243 Winchester has prompted sideways glances from a big section of the shooting public that considers it marginal for deer size game. Between what I’ve shot and guests at the farm have shot with my 243, I can tell you that 10 deer in a row have literally died in their tracks after being shot with this “marginal” cartridge. I put that down to today’s bullet performance.

6.5 mm cartridges used to be considered no man’s land in America. Many considered 6.5 to be too big for varmints/predators and too small for deer. Almost nobody thinks this way now and why should they? Bullet performance is so good now, the 6.5s are more than enough.

I agree with everything said here, but if I was buying a rifle specifically for Moose / Elk / Caribou, I would go at least 7mm, but that’s just me.

A well placed shot from a small caliber is far more deadly than a poorly placed shot from a large caliber. Find her a gun that fits well and have her shoot it a lot. Would rather have a cheap, solid gun with great glass on it than an expensive gun with cheap glass. Most guns and calibers are extremely lethal with good glass and proper bullet selection. Am in the camp of good glass and bullets over specific calibers. Like 270’s and really like the 270wsm’s, but there’s no right or wrong answer with calibers, only opinions. A lot of calibers have killed a lot of stuff effectively and a lot of them have had problems from operator error more than anything vs the calibers effectiveness. My oldest kid shot a big doe a decade ago with a 270wsm, it was his 3rd deer. He was bothered we had to trail it in some head high tall grass 40 yards with a garden hose trail of blood. His first 2 deer dropped in their tracks with good shots. That doe took a 150 grain round right in the heart at 180 yards and the heart was done with a good exit hole and still went 40 yards. Some critters can take a hard hit with any caliber and do some interesting things. Back in the late 90’s we took our first trip to Colorado elk hunting. We checked our rifles at a local sportsmans club. They were swamped and you only could shoot like 3 rounds with a range guy spotting for you, it was basically a check your rifle vs a sight-in a new rifle deal. Shot my gun and my dads. They let you shoot once at 100 yards and twice at a 300 yard 18″ gong. Range guy told me he’d watched a ton of guys with big calibers not able to hit the gong at 300yds. Said most guys would be closing their eyes by the 3rd shot shooting the big magnum calibers and couldn’t hit the 18″ gong. If a person can’t hit an 18″ gong at that range because they are closing their eyes because of recoil, might be time to rethink the effectiveness of large calibers and recoil. Like lite weight guns and smaller scopes. But that weight savings can have added recoil. For small framed shooters, a lighter rifle is nice to carry, but increases recoil. But a heavy rifle stinks to carry if walking a lot. Good luck with it.

If there are any recoil concerns, I’d put a 270 WIN with 130 Barnes (or 140 ABs) or a 7mm-08 with 140 Barnes/ABs up against any other caliber inside 500 yards. Stick a quality projectile where it matters and watch critters tip over

That said, a 7mm Rem Mag (in a medium weight rifle) with a good brake recoils no more than a 308. I’m in the process of putting together a 7mm RM right now.

Savage makes an Axis Youth model (#57533) in 7mm-08 that is very reasonably priced. It addresses concerns with length of pull and recoil. My experience with Savages is that they shoot darn well.

Have read several articles referring to a .270 being the “one gun” for any big game in North America. If the moose hunt may be a one and done hunt. .270 great deer gun going forward. Same could be said for a 30.06. I’m nursing a rotator tear. Couldn’t agree more on recoil distracting shot placement.

I like shooting big stuff with a 338 Win Mag. I load 250 grain Partitions and it works on about anything outside of the big 5 of Africa. If you are looking for a standard, non-magnum cartridge, I do recommend the 30-06. I love 180 grain Partitions out of that and it will kill all things in the lower 48.

Corey sunderman wrote:

I have a 300 wsm I’ve used for deer bear and elk. .300 mag would be another good option

That’s a heck of a big thump for almost any shooter. I owned one for several years and all my buddies wanted to shoot it. That was for one shot anyways. Not many wanted to shoot it much after that

Muzzle Breaks are amazing. I have shot 50 rounds through a 300 Norma Mag doing load development the last few weeks. The recoil is not bad at all. Thats 85.5 grains of powder pushing a 230 grain bullet 2925. I would not hesitate to hand it to my 120 pound girlfriend and let her shoot it.

I guarantee it is nasty to shoot without a break. Would not be fun.

basseyes wrote:

Like lite weight guns and smaller scopes. But that weight savings can have added recoil. For small framed shooters, a lighter rifle is nice to carry, but increases recoil. But a heavy rifle stinks to carry if walking a lot. Good luck with it.

Very true. A number of years ago, I was in this position wanting to set up 1 “for all big game” rifle. I was on the fence for a long time between a 270wsm and the 7mm wsm. Ultimately, I went with the 270 because it produced nearly equal energy with a smaller charge.

From there, I didn’t care about weight. If I can’t carry 16-22 extra ounces for 10 days, I need to get in shape. I get a lot of crap over my rifles being “over kill” with larger quality glass, bedded stocks, and so on. Funny though, that everyone that shoots my “mag” is blown away at how comfortable it is.

638 meters is nothing when you know your equipment. However, plunking steel consistently is a result of knowledge, comfort, and practice. The 4 shot group on steel is one I just shot today. 638 meters – 270 wsm /17” bipod- 140gr Barnes tsx over mag pro. Steel is 10” tall 8” wide. Roughly 5” group. On a bench with a sled, at same distance I shoot about 1-1/2” group

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Thanks again guys. IDO is my first stop when I need I reliable information on all thing outdoors. The depth of the information about hunting from you guys is amazing

The 30.06 has by far the greatest variety of cartridge options. From light kids/women’s load very heavy. AND they are (at least were) available everywhere.

FWIW I hunt with a .308 in WI and have a .300 Win Mag for Alaska.

My suggestion is to buy the most expensive scope you can afford and put a rifle under it. It will shoot better than you can. Well at least than I can.