308 winchester vs moose

tyson22250

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Nov 8, 2010
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looking for some help here... need to know if anyone has a moose load they would like to share for a 308 winchester remington 788. I am leaning to towards 165gr banres tsx. Further upon work on this gun it sure does like flat based bullets more than boat tail. Maybe with speeds of the 308 i could probably get away with and old fashioned lead syle bullet.
 
It will be hard to beat a good 165 or 180 Partition, usually the 308 is very easy to work with. I remember Varget and RL15 working well for speed and accuracy in a 24" 308 a friend had it was pretty much in the 30-06 range.
 
I would load up some 165gr PTs with RL15 or Varget to around 2700-2800 and call it a day. Not what I would use for moose but I know it would work just fine. Scotty
 
The 308 is one of those rounds that doesn't get a lot of respect but in reality it will do very well a lot of guys use them on moose with good success with cheap factory loads, having a good bullet will make it even better.
 
I would look at the 180 gr PT in your 308 Win for moose. The 165 gr PT would work but the 180 gr will give you more penetration on a quartering shot.

JD338
 
My friend has killed four Maine bulls using a Speer 165gr Grand Slams with no issues. I would use the 165or 180 gr Accubonds or the same weight in Partition. The Hornady Interbonds are also equivalent. With your rifle's dis-tatse for boattails, the Partitions would be the first place I'd look. The Speer TBBC is another excellent option.
 
The .308 is a greatly underrated cartridge that will work very well on moose. I prefer heavy for calibre, but the 165 grain bullets will work just fine on moose at the ranges you are usually called to use them. At the velocities generated, I would prefer the Partition, though the TSX will certainly work.
 
thanks for all input fellas!! I think the more i read into it i think i am going to grab a box of 165 partitions and a box of 180gr partitions and go from there. And if i can't get those to group or shoot i will have to load some 115gr barnes tsx up for my 257 weatherby mag at 3450fps 8)
 
Never shot a moose, but I can tell you that the 165 Nosler Partition shoots surprisingly well from my .308 Win, loaded over either Varget or RL-15. Under MOA for sure, at 2700+ fps, no problem.

The 180 makes a lot of sense for increased penetration, but I have much more experience with 165's from my .308 Win.
 
BK":17apg79r said:
I'd probably throw the 168 e-Tip on the list, too.

That is a great point Kurt. Didn't even think of that bullet. Heck, I would even run the 150gr ET for a moose in a 308 knowing that it will retain virtually a 100% of the weight. Scotty
 
For critters bigger than 3-400 lbs live weight, the 180 gr. PT is my bullet of choice in a .30 caliber. Some other good ones also already mentioned, but in the .308, it would be 180 PT.
Not that it's secontional density is always needed for this class of animal, but in certain senario's it might come in handy, Pretty much what JD said.
One could make case for the lighter ET or other mono's as well, with there inherent weight retention characteristics.
Pretty much boils down to your money, your choice, and of course, what the firearm likes to shoot.
 
Hello. Here in Finland about 70-80% of moose hunters use 308win. loaded with 180gr bullets. It does the job but you have to know how to shoot :) I think that Sako's factory loads gives 180gr bullets velocityy around 2600fps.
 
tyson22250":vorxom0l said:
looking for some help here... need to know if anyone has a moose load they would like to share for a 308 winchester remington 788. I am leaning to towards 165gr banres tsx.

I just did a load workup for my brother in law in his .308 788. I had great success with a 165g Partition over R15. Great combo to load for. Very good results across a wide powder range.
 
It's good to see a dormant thread revived. As I stated earlier, the .308 is underrated. It is a fine cartridge for hunting moose. Kuula is correct that loaded with 180 grain bullets at 2600 fps, the .308 will take any moose at appropriate ranges. A person could do far worse than equip himself/herself with the .308.
 
Yup, the 180 gr PT at 2600 fps is more than enough to convince a moose to spend the winter in the freezer. :wink:

JD338
 
DrMike":3t17p610 said:
I wonder how many moose have been killed in Maine and north with the .300 Savage?

Or with a .303 in Canada?

Or the 30-30, 30 Remington, 32 Win Special and 35 Remington. The answer is way more than we think!

JD338
 
JD338":3rw10bp7 said:
DrMike":3rw10bp7 said:
I wonder how many moose have been killed in Maine and north with the .300 Savage?

Or with a .303 in Canada?

Or the 30-30, 30 Remington, 32 Win Special and 35 Remington. The answer is way more than we think!

JD338

...true, & add the 6.5X55 to that list...

...but, seriously, how many of those odd .308 owners, & more importantly, those iconclastic .270 shooters do you actually think will 'fess up to shooting a moose, only to have the bullet bounce back off the hide???
 
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