150 gr Nosler BT for moose hunt???

[Mike Fontaine]

Hi Guys,
My name was just picked in the Maine moose permit lottery. A chance of a lifetime! :lol: I currently use (for whitetails) a 150 gr Nosler BT with my 7mm rem mag. Should I make a change for the moose hunt? :roll:

 

[chet]

you load would work fine, but an AccuBond or Partition would be a better choice.

 

[Blaine]

I'm envious......I've been applying since its inception with no luck. I live in northern Maine (Aroostook county). Your 7mag will be more than enough gun. I do agree that partitions or Ab's would be a tad better IF they shoot as well as the BT's in your particular gun. The PT's and AB's will afford just a little more insurance in the event of a less than perfect broadside shot. Last year I saw a moose that had been dropped by a 14 year old boy with a 243. Moose success rates are very high. You should do well. What zone did you get the permit in? I am a rural letter carrier and I've been seeing lots of moose this year up here. I have a 100 acre woodlot that I visit weekly. I have seen more moose sign this year than ever before. Good luck.

Blaine

 

[JD338]

The 7mm RM with a 150 gr BT is a great deer bullet. For Moose, I would go with the 160 gr PT or AB.

JD338

 

[skeeter]

While I am sure it can be done or has be done the 150 NBT, not what I would want for a draw moose tag (or any moose/elk hunt for that matter). Let me first say I love the 150 BT for deer down...so not a BT hater in any fashion. Ok with that said, I have harvested many moose with a variety of calibers and bullets but in my 7mm rem mag I would choose the Ab, PT or CT Failsafe from the nosler line up when anything larger than deer are on tap. All have performed wonderfully for larger game in my experience. If your looking for a deer/moose load the choice is pretty large 140-160 gr of the AB, PT or CT Failsafe will give you insurance to break to the otherside. While moose are not especially hard to topple they are large in body mass - large bones and muscle groups - so one must consider needing more penetration power to get to pay dirt than a whitetail requires. I'd reccomend trying the 160 Ab's and 150 PT's first to see how they fair.

Good Luck!!!

 

[7 STW]

Mike
On a hunt like that why leave anything to chance.I'd use Partition's myself.

 

[Bruce Mc]

I don't know why you would think of any bullet other than the 175gr. Partition for moose.

 

[Charlie-NY]

160 AccuBond - and don't look back.

 

[Guy Miner]

Mike, when I got a chance at a real "once in a lifetime" wilderness area hunt for big Wyoming trophy bull elk a few years ago I took a long, hard look at my trusty 7mm Rem mag... It was smaller than recommended...

Rather than getting a new rifle, I worked up a load with Nosler's great 175 grain Partition bullet. Wow... Averaged 2930 fps from the 24" Rem barrel, with good accuracy.

Nailed the big 6x6 bull elk at about 180 yards. The bullet went through about 4' of elk, and exited, producing about a .45 cal sized exit wound. The big elk only walked a few steps, then collapsed. It took the rest of that day and the next to deal with hundreds of pounds of elk, 10 miles from the nearest road. Hard to say exactly how big that 6x6 of mine was, but I got 300 pounds of meat off him and the antlers spread 51" - he made all my mule deer look like rabbits in comparison.

I was very impressed with the performance of the long, heavy 175 Partition, and would recommend them for anybody hunting heavy game with a 7mm of any type - particularly the magnums, which can generate some good velocity with that heavy bullet. For big game, go for a big bullet.

Regards, Guy

 

[FOTIS]

you load would work fine, but an AccuBond or Partition would be a better choice.

Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Blaine]

I wouldn't worry at all about anything out of your 7mm. Just use what shoots best out of YOUR gun. Folks up here have been killing moose for a lot of decades with the old thutty-thutty. No need to get all worked up about this bullet or that. If you can shoot with it, use it. Lot's of "experts" out there with all kinds of advice, but most have never been moose hunting. Put a 150 gr slug in the boiler room, it will go down.

Blaine

 

[JD338]

I wouldn't worry at all about anything out of your 7mm. Just use what shoots best out of YOUR gun. Folks up here have been killing moose for a lot of decades with the old thutty-thutty. No need to get all worked up about this bullet or that. If you can shoot with it, use it. Lot's of "experts" out there with all kinds of advice, but most have never been moose hunting. Put a 150 gr slug in the boiler room, it will go down.

Blaine

Agree, but not with a bullet designed for deer.

JD338

 

[Guy Miner]

You know it's kind of interesting, this being Nosler's web site and all... I understand that John Nosler designed the first Partition bullet, after being particularly unimpressed with the performance of conventional soft points on moose. According to what I've read, they failed to penetrate...

Now, I'll admit, I've never been moose hunting. I could only offer my experience with the big bull elk which is the biggest thing I've ever killed, and not as big as a bull moose...

A .30-30 with fairly low velocity isn't likely to blow up a bullet. A 7mm Rem mag, which can send a 160 downrange at 3100 fps, or a 150 at 3200 fps... That's another story. I have no problem believing that at 3000 fps striking velocity, a conventional "deer" bullet could come apart and/or fail to adequately penetrate on bigger game, such as elk or moose.

Regards, Guy

 

[Guy Miner]

Just 'cause I like looking at it, here's a photo a buddy snapped of me and the big bull's antlers. He was a whopping big bull elk and I'm still in awe of him when I look at those antlers hanging above my fireplace... Bigger by several times than any mule deer I've ever shot, for sure!

This is the kind of critter Nosler makes those 7mm/175's for!

Regards, Guy

 

[JD338]

Guy,

Beautiful bull! Congratulations.

JD338

 

[Blaine]

Although a moose looks bigger than a deer (and make no mistake, I'm not saying they are not) they are "constructed" the same way. The hide on a moose is no thicker than a buck deer, there is no more fat or muscle covering the rib cage than a deer. The long and short of it is that any bullet/rifle combination that will kill a deer will drop a moose with equal dispatch. Now having said that, IF the shot is less than perfect, and the animal is quartering, there is a longer distance for the bullet to travel inside the animal to reach the vitals. Of course a shoulder shot would require a well constructed bullet, but why would you want to ruin all that meat? :wink:

Blaine

 

[Ron_T.]

Mike Fontaine........

I'd recommend you go with a heavy-for-caliber Partition like the 160 grain or, better yet, the 175 grain.

I used a 210 grain Partition (.338 Win. Mag.) on my 1500 pound (guide's est.) moose. His 5-foot wide antlers are hunging above the fireplace and got the bullet that killed hiim (a "bang/flop" kill)... it ended up just under the off-side shoulder's skin & weighed 148.5 grains (approx. 71% retained wt.)

Ballistic Tips are great DEER bullets, but for moose, you need greater penetration than the BT is likely to give.


Strength & Honor...

Ron T.

 

[moreloader]

If you are comfortable with your shot placement with the 150, don't worry. Moose are not considered a particularly tough member of the deer family. The 270 is a very common arm of choice with a 130 gr. However, if you are leary the 160g ab would be perfect.

 

[JD338]

If you are comfortable with your shot placement with the 150, don't worry. Moose are not considered a particularly tough member of the deer family. The 270 is a very common arm of choice with a 130 gr. However, if you are leary the 160g ab would be perfect.

I agree with you about the bullet weights and the 270 Win with a 130 gr Partition will work for elk and moose. Bullet construction is the issue here.
The 7mm 150 gr BT is designed for game that would weigh 400-500 lbs, not 900-1200 lbs. The 150 gr PT or the 160 gr PT or AB would be better choices in the 7mm Rem Mag. These tougher bullet designs can break bone and get through the vitals And you would only have to butcher a moose in knee deep water once to realize that you want to put a moose down quickly. :shock:

JD338

 

[338-06]

I write as someone who has taken somewhere on the high side of 50 white tails with a 30-06 or 308 shooting ballistic tips, and who has also taken quite a few caribou and moose. In my experience, the ballistic tip bullets are quite possibly the finest bullets available for game under about 300 lbs on the hoof, but they absolutely DO NOT have the penetration for larger animals. I have had them fail to penetrate through the shoulder blade of a caribou at less than 100 yards, and I simply would not use a ballistic tip for moose. This is particularly true in places like Maine where your shots are likely to be fairly close up. I strongly agree with the general sentiment here that the Partition or AccuBond are much better choices. Both provide adequate penetration at close range where the ballistic tip will simply blow up.

Best of luck with your hunt. Let us know how it turns out.