Moose Medicine

[Pygmy]

I took some time off my semi-frustrating exercise of trying to work up an accurate load with the 140 Barnes TTSX in my .280 to get some trigger time in with the rifle that I am taking to Newfoundland for moose next month.

My big medicine rifle is a CZ-550 American in 9.3 x 62.  I settled into the bench, and after several shots for scope adjustment, I fired a 3 shot group that made a neat little .550 inch triangle 3 1/2 inches high at 100 yards.  My load is a 250 grain Barnes X bullet at about 2500 FPS MV.  It shoots groups of under an inch at 100 yards with boring consistency.

The scope is a Leupold M8 fixed 4X, for the benefit of all you folks who seem to think you need a high magnification variable scope to shoot good groups.. ...

With that load and zero, I can hold center chest on a moose anywhere from point blank to 300 yards. The recoil is stout, but manageable...It's a lot more comfortable to shoot than any .300 mag or .338 I ever shot.

[Doewhacker]

Very cool, have a good safe trip aswell.

[MuzzyLoader]

Go get 'em D...  Bring home a dandy!

Make sure to post pictures of your adventure. 

[hunter]

Good luck and safe trip.

[moosemike]

Good luck. I'd take the 9.3X62 personally. I've shot Moose with the .30-30, .30-06, and .450 Marlin and I can tell you the larger the bore, the shorter the blood trail. Moose head for water when hit and your mission is to make sure your gun is big enough to bust them down before they get there. Fishing a Moose out of a lake or river is enough to ruin the fun. Personally I'm having a hard time choosing between the .338 Win mag and the .35 Whelen for my next Moose hunt (whenever that will be). I have complete confidence in the .270 and .280 in regards for killing Moose, but I have no confidence that those guns will put one down before they get into something that you don't want to have to get them out of. A friend of mine shot a medium size bull in '09 with a .308 Winchester. The hunt was videotaped and the shot was under a hundred yards. You can see the hit and it looked good. You can see the Moose go down at the shot. Then you see him get back up and run off and they never saw him again. They had a good blood trail but there was nothing on the other end of it. A .45-70 would have made all the difference.

[Pygmy]

" A 45-70 would have made all the difference"...

Hmmm...Maybe and maybe not. A .308 is certainly adequate with a good hit and  if indeed the animal was leaving a good blood trail I can't imagine it going so far it could not be recovered if vital organs were affected. Perhaps the hit was not quite as good as it appeared.  I have seen a number of game animals that were hit NEAR the spine ( usually high shots through the back above the spine, or neck shots that do not hit the vertebrae squarely enough to break it)) but not directly enough to break the spine. It is close enough so it SHOCKS the spine and they will usually drop as if poleaxed, but then they get back up  and run off. Often there is a lot of blood due to heavy muscle damage. Eventually they quit bleeding and are not recovered. They may even survive such a hit. The way a moose is built,  there is quite a lot of room for a non-vital hit above the spine.

With that kind of a hit, I doubt that a 45-70 or even a .338 would have a much different effect than a .308.

Just a thought. Since the moose was never recovered, you'll never really know how good a hit it was.

[ANTLERS]

Pygmy,Where are you hunting moose,I was lucky enough to draw a tag in Vermont this year.I'll be using my .308 180 grain.

[ANTLERS]

Ah..Newfoundland,I just reread the post .Good luck.

[moosemike]

Pygmy,Where are you hunting moose,I was lucky enough to draw a tag in Vermont this year.I'll be using my .308 180 grain.

What zone in VT? I've taken two of them in D2.

[Pygmy]

Antler....Have you had any luck getting a moose guide..?..

Did you consider a DIY hunt..?.. The hard part of moose hunting begins after you shoot the critter. I suspect it might be fairly easy to find someone with a skidder to get your moose out for you, since much of Vermont is logging country.

[ANTLERS]

I drew a tag in area c.I did get a guide.He's not cheap,But he comes with a good reputation and he's fairly well known.I could have hired a local yokel,But I wanted someone who I know is going to show up on opening morning,not late or hung over.In short,Its a once in a life time tag in a good zone,probably my only moose tag in the lower 48 I'll ever win.I have a place in central vermont,Sugarbush area that I could do a DIY,But not this far north.

[Pygmy]

Glad to hear you found a reputable guide. I agree that tags are rare as hen's teeth..

Good luck on your hunt. What dates are you hunting ?  Are you hunting bull, cow, or either sex ?

[ANTLERS]

Oct 15 -20 with an either sex tag

[moosemike]

In Zone C I would have looked into a guide as well. I went DIY both times in D2 and got my Moose but they are more plentiful in the NEK than the rest of the state. If I would ever be drawn for C though I think I'd hunt around Belvidere. Good luck!

[ANTLERS]

When you say Belvedere,Do you mean belvedere Junction,belvedere center or belvedere mountain which is about 4 miles east of Bel. center?I see that last years take in zone C all came from the extreme eastern part of that zone,Nothing to the west of it.

[moosemike]

I think it's Belvidere center where they shoot so many Moose. That's where most Moose in "C" are taken.

[eagle rider]

Love the 35 Whelen, I think its a true unsung hero.  Col Townsend Whelen knew what he was doing when he developed the big 35 as a brush gun cartridge for big animals that should fall down quickly.  A guy who retired from my job moved to Maine and uses that round for moose, deer and bear up there.  Says' he nevr had to shoot anything twice and nothing ever went more than ten steps.  Uses a 180 grain Sierra I believe for deer and puts them down in their tracks every time.  He has it chambered in two bolts, a Remington CDL and a Ruger Hawkeye as well as a Remington Semi Auto that he used to use when he hunted with us in the Catskills.  I can tell you that 180 gr bullet spit from that 35 was a show stopper every time.  The round makes a distinctive sound too.  Impressive rifle.  I have one in a semi auto (750) and absolutely love it.  I don't think a moose would stand up too long witha 250 gr partition bullet going through its boiler room. 

[Pygmy]

The .35 Whelen was the inspiration for my 9.3 x 62.

At a time when I was going on fairly frequent wilderness hunts, and started encountering grizzly bears, I decided it would be prudent to carry a rifle capable of defending myself against one of those hairy volkswagons, heaven forbid the situation  should arise.

So I found a good deal on a Ruger 77 in .338 Win mag.  I used it several times and it was a fine accurate rifle, but it beat the living snot out of me. It was really no fun to shoot.

I decided I needed a rifle that would carry enough bullet weight to be a show stopper in a grizzly charge,  but was still capable of the odd 300 yard shot and did not kick as badly as the .338. The 35 Whelen was my prime candidate, along with the .338-06.

I ruled out the .338-06 because I didn't want the bother of forming cases, etc. plus the fact that there were no factory rifles available in this caliber, except perhaps some high priced custom rigs.

Unfortunately at this time, the only rifles being manufactred in .35 Whelen were the Rem custom shop 700 ( more $$ than I wanted to spend) and the 7600 pump gun which I ruled out because I'm a bolt action kinda guy when it comes to rifles.

Then I started reading about the 9.3 x 62 on a couple of hunting/reloading forums. With similar bullet weights it is ballistically very similar to the Whelen and heavier weights , 286- 320 grain are readily available should they be required. With heavy bullets it is close in performance to the .375 , albeit at closer range...With 250 grain bullets it shoots flat enough for 250-300 yard shots on big game animals. My 250 grain handload shoots about as flat as a 30-06 with 180s.

It does this without loosening my fillings every time I squeeze the trigger. Recoil is robust but manageable, and more pleasant to shoot than a .338 or even a .300 mag.

AND it happened to be available in the very well made but reasonably priced CZ-550 American.

So, instead of ending up with a .35 Whelen , I have a very similar chambering in an interesting old metric caliber. Reloading components are readily available  and factory ammo is available from several sources. And it shoots like a varmint rifle. What's NOT to like ?

[moosemike]

Love the 35 Whelen, I think its a true unsung hero.  Col Townsend Whelen knew what he was doing when he developed the big 35 as a brush gun cartridge for big animals that should fall down quickly.  A guy who retired from my job moved to Maine and uses that round for moose, deer and bear up there.  Says' he nevr had to shoot anything twice and nothing ever went more than ten steps.  Uses a 180 grain Sierra I believe for deer and puts them down in their tracks every time.  He has it chambered in two bolts, a Remington CDL and a Ruger Hawkeye as well as a Remington Semi Auto that he used to use when he hunted with us in the Catskills.  I can tell you that 180 gr bullet spit from that 35 was a show stopper every time.  The round makes a distinctive sound too.  Impressive rifle.  I have one in a semi auto (750) and absolutely love it.  I don't think a moose would stand up too long witha 250 gr partition bullet going through its boiler room.

A few months ago I was corresponding with Bryce Towsley the gun writer about the perfect all around cartridge for hunting in Vermont. He told me to get a .35 Whelen and reload for it. When another gun is in the budget that will be an option I consider.

[Pygmy]

Good advice given by Bryce Towsley, in my humble opinion..

The .35 Whelen provides the capability to handle heavier bullets than the 30-06, and yet delivers a flat enough trajectory to handle longer shots than most of us require to shoot..

When I was on my quest for heavy rifle to replace my .338, I looked at a rifle advertised by a fellow up in Anhcorage, AK. We had communicated online and he arranged to meet me at the Anchorage airport on my trip up there in 1999..  His rifle was a .35 Whelen AI.. The price was right, but it was a very light custom rifle and he admitted that as light as it was, it kicked about like a standard weight .338. It was also one of the UGLIEST rifles I have ever seen...The stock was synthetic and had an ugly coat of paint...The damn METAL was also painted an ugly color...I decided that life is too short to hunt with an ugly gun.

I am much happier with my CZ-550 with it's satin finished walnut stock and nicely blued finish.. ;D ...

Especially since it shoot like a dream...

[jusputtn]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Point-blank_range

Pygmy,

With how your rifle is zeroed, 300 yds is the point blank range.

[Pygmy]

Thanks, jusputtn... ..

It's not an accident that I sighted it that way.. ...

[moosemike]

Well good luck and go get your Moose. Nothing wrong with a .280. Heck, I've even considered taking the .270 Moose hunting myself although I still think long and hard about getting a .300 Weatherby before I go for Moose again.

[Pygmy]

Moosie... I may have confused things here by discussing working up loads for my .280.

But , when I go to Newfoundland in two weeks, my 9.3 x 62 is going with me.

I did shoot a big Alaska bull with my .280, back in '89.  Using 160 Nosler partitions, it worked fine. However, considering how well the 9.3 x 62 shoots and performs out to 300 yards with a much heavier bullet, taking it rather than the .280 is a no brainer.

[moosemike]

The 9.3X62 should be perfect for Moose. Go get a big one.