Help me decide: Minimum caliber for larger NA game

[Wyo37]

There's a reason a lot of outfitters have banned 6.5mm cartridges for use on elk recently. I've personally killed one with a creedmoor at 550 yards and wouldn't do it again unless I had no other cartridge options.

Interestingly enough, a buddy who guides for a local outfitter just told me they had hunters use the guides personal rifles, because they had cans (tbac ultra 7's) in.....6.5 creedmoor. They wanted suppressed to keep from pushing elk out of the country. They killed 30 cows with them using the 143eldx factory hunter precision.

 

[wkdwdg66]

Seemed only one person had mentioned it. I was just rambling, I realize there's no perfect cartridge. To throw into the discussion, I know I'm on Longrangehunting, but in reality: Very rarely going to shoot anything over 300yds, and if I do, no bigger than deer. I don't get to hunt the larger stuff very often, and I'm willing to accept that I don't have a gun that can shoot 600yd at a moose. I was thinking that the 6.5 can make do for longer range smaller game. And obviously a .308 is not a 600yd moose gun, but probably good enough for 300 and under?

I'd shoot a moose at 600 with .308 and a mono......if I can judge the shot properly and am confident of proper placement. My old 1SG teaches folks to shoot 1500 yds with his .308 and 20 inch Barrel. If you have the skills, it can be done

 

[Tom Wright]

7 SAUM or one of the Sherman choices, 7 Max, 7SS, 338SS

I'm still working on a load for my 338 SS, recoil is not bad at all. 2800 plus with a 205gr Hammer. I have some 175gr Hammers on hand to try, I hope 29?? something can be reached.

My 7 SAUM is a great shooter, 162gr or 175gr ELDX. The 175s with 58gr of RE26 are running 2751 avg. Looking at my log book I don't see any notes about pressure so there might be a little more speed there. The 175s like H1000 too. The 168 VLD Hunters are also a good bullet for me.

The thing that puts the SAUM last on the list is brass availability

I swear by the 300 WM for many reasons—good without issues to 500+ yards, bullets 140-200 grains, easy to find world wide. Not a fan of breaks due to noise and blindness caused in last light shots. Have taken animals on three continents with it from steenbok and roe deer to ibex, beer, 300# whitetail and mulies and other African animals up to 1700# eland. I wouldn't go after moose with a 270/280, and as many animals as have been taken with a 30-06, the arc that bullet travels is NOT conducive to making 400+ yard shots in tough conditions/wind. One responder is right though that big bears require a bigger gun like .338 or .375.

 

[BearDawg]

I was in the same boat. Looking for that next size up. Went with a 300 win. Loved it. Now it's killed most of my game. From ground squirrels to Buffalo it's pretty much a one and done. Not impossible to find ammo. Good luck.

 

[Hespco]

Since 1994 I have been taking my elk each season with a 6.5 ( 6.5x308, 260 Rem, 6.5x55, 6.5x05 ) & a 120 to 127gr copper mono bullet. Has "never" failed me. In 1893 the 6.5x55 came out, & it has taken literally every type of game on earth. It has been used since it's conception to take Moose in Scandinavian countries. Still very popular there today. What counts is a tough deep penetrating bullet " PROPERLY PLACED ". In my younger days I believed I had to used my .338 mag. for elk. Still have it, but haven't fired it for years. Some how I still harvest my elk with out it. Any reasonable cartridge with a proper , tough , deep penetrating bullet . properly placed will work.

 

[Dooner]

Excuse me, but I take issue with those that claim you have to go up to a 338 or 375 for moose or the big bears, and that even the bigger 30cals, like the 300wm aren't enough!

First of all, my friends and I have killed multiple moose and bears, including grizzly, with a single well placed arrow. Then, there's Frank Glaser who killed every thing in North America with a 220 swift. Or, there's the 6.5×55mm Swedish that has been used successfully to take moose for decades in Europe.

IMHO, 300WM, or even a 7mmRM, is plenty to humanly take any North American game. Practice enough to be able to make a shot when it presents itself, and then wait for it to present.

 

[WildRose]

IMHO, 300WM, or even a 7mmRM, is plenty to humanly take any North American game. Practice enough to be able to make a shot when it presents itself, and then wait for it to present.

This is the truth. Those two rounds are the "do all's" of the magnum world.

If one was to want a single rifle to hunt everything in N. America bigger than rabbits either of those will get the job done with of course a slight nodd going to the Winnie.

The 300 PRC thought is most likely going to render the Winnie obsolete sooner rather than later in decades to come but for now and the next few decades you'll still be able to find 300wm ammo on the shelf anywhere hunting ammo is sold particularly during the season.

 

[arch408]

.280 AI. Right on th heels of the 7mm RM. Less recoil and one more cartridge in the magazine. About the same ballistics as the 7SAUM. Brass and ammo more readily available.

 

[Kline]

Following, as I'm in the same situation and debating different options.

 

[HunterMann]

I shot my first moose with a 308 right through the heart. Not much reaction from the moose, so I added second shot through both lungs. The moose turned away from me amble about 20 yards and fell over.

 

[rustyshackleford]

Excuse me, but I take issue with those that claim you have to go up to a 338 or 375 for moose or the big bears, and that even the bigger 30cals, like the 300wm aren't enough!

First of all, my friends and I have killed multiple moose and bears, including grizzly, with a single well placed arrow. Then, there's Frank Glaser who killed every thing in North America with a 220 swift. Or, there's the 6.5×55mm Swedish that has been used successfully to take moose for decades in Europe.

IMHO, 300WM, or even a 7mmRM, is plenty to humanly take any North American game. Practice enough to be able to make a shot when it presents itself, and then wait for it to present.

I know for a fact 7 mag will get the job done on a brown bear. Not me but someone I know. That being said if someone wanted a rifle for bear hunting I wouldn't even mention it. I'm sure as a bow hunter you used different tackle for bears than mule deer. I think everyone just has their own ideas of his quarry distribution. If I were hunting bears more often than elk, I'd trend toward the 338. Elk and black bear with a question mark next to brown bear I'd go 7mm all day.

 

[coop2564]

7RM is perfect in 8 twist. 300 WSM can be loaded down for deer and pronghorns 130gr TTSX @ 3000 to 3500fps or loaded up to 200 gr for anything else. But 7RM is my favorite for anything in NA. It will kill anything in NA.

 

[Clem Bronkoski]

I believe I go with your first responders answer if recoil is an issue. The good old 30-06 will answer your needs and IMO better than the 308. Especially with heavier bullets. Now this may not be enough proof for some of you but 2 bull moose with a 30-06 and Barnes 180 gr TSX. First one broadside dropped where it stood. Second at a less than ideal angle only ran 30 yards and tipped over. A mature cow elk angling away smashed the off side shoulder dropping her.

 

[Buckleman]

I believe I go with your first responders answer if recoil is an issue. The good old 30-06 will answer your needs and IMO better than the 308. Especially with heavier bullets. Now this may not be enough proof for some of you but 2 bull moose with a 30-06 and Barnes 180 gr TSX. First one broadside dropped where it stood. Second at a less than ideal angle only ran 30 yards and tipped over. A mature cow elk angling away smashed the off side shoulder dropping her.

7 mm Rem. Mag. Ammo easier to find than some of the others