30.06 168 gr Silvertip vs. Moose

Silentstalker

Handloader
Jun 2, 2011
635
30
So my buddy shot a moose monday night and I pulled this slug out of the offside just under the hide. Factory load, 130 yard shot, hit near the last rib and stopped just in front of the hind leg off side. Did not hit bone. Not a great shot but his second anchored the bull in his tracks with a neck shot. I did not recover that bullet. Just wanted to show you all. Have not had a chance to weigh it yet but will this weekend.

Is this a normal mushroom for this bullet? Can I expect similar performance out of a .277 150 gr. BT?

What are your thoughts on these bullets for elk/moose? Tough enough? Obviously worked but what if he hit ribs? Shoulder? Would they get the job done?
 

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What caliber (308 30-06 300 mag). What was impact velocity?
 
I would avoid the shoulder joint. I'd be willing to bet the shoulder would stop one.

Did that bullet go thru the stomach? A 100pound sack of grass clippings will stop a bullet pretty quick.
 
It looks like typical performance for a cup and core bullet. C and C bullets are not my first choice for moose. TB78 is correct that the shoulder would possibly stop that particular bullet from a 30-06, depending upon impact velocity. I just prefer a more hearty bullet for these big critters.
 
I would look really hard at a mono metal bullet. E-tip, Ttsx, or similar. In my wife's 270 I loaded up 130 gr TTSX@3100fps. I'm getting excellent accuracy and after seeing the performance on a 120 TTSX out of a buddy's 7mm08. I loaded the 130gr Ttsx in my sons 308 @ 3050fps.

In my ultra light build in 270 I went with a 1-9 twist specifically with the 150 AccuBond LR in mind.

I think your 150gr BT will work, but I would really pick your shot, ribs aren't that worry some but the heavy leg and shoulder bones will test even the toughest bullets. The nice thing about a moose is their heart sits pretty low and the body tapers quite a bit to accommodate those heavy muscled front shoulders/legs. It's only 10-12" across where the heart sits. The lungs are huge and extend a ways away from the shoulder. Go for a quartering away or broadside shot, drive one in the sweet spot and don't stop shooting.

Don't try to shoot a moose in the head. Their heads are incredibly tough. I've shot them in the head as a finishing shot with 286gr 9.3 Partition, 250gr Barnes expander mz, and 240gr Jsp from a 44 mag and have yet to get a pass thru. I saw a guy shoot a bull in the head between the skull plate with a 30/06 only to watch it get up and shake its head. It took several more shots to bring him down.
 
It looks to me that the bullet ended up turning around which is why the jacket is not uniformly peeled down.
I agree with the others that a tougher bullet would be a better choice. The 308 cal 180 gr BT is a very robust bullet having a thicker jacket than the 168 gr.
The AB's are bonded core bullets and would retain more weight. The PT's of course are the benchmark to which all bullets are compared to.

Congratulations to your friend on his moose. He will be eating well this winter.

JD338
 
Wasn't a moose hunt the reason why John Nosler invented the Partition design in the first place, long ago?

I've never hunted moose, tag is Very Difficult to draw here in Washington. If I did, I'd be looking at one of Nosler's bullets designed for deeper penetration, the Partition or the AccuBond. Likely in 180 gr or heavier from a .30 cal rifle.

Love "my" Ballistic Tips, but I use them for mule deer & whitetail.

CONGRATULATIONS on the moose! OUTSTANDING!

Dang. I want to hunt moose someday... :grin:
 
I would agree with all that has been said. I know I can kill an elk or moose with a BT but with the Partition on my bench I might as well load some 150's and develope them for these huge animals! Thanks for all the input!
 
I have excellent, albeit limited, experience with the 140gr AB out of a 270win on moose. One rib shot pass through and one near side rib/far side scapula pass thru on a young bull. I think any bonded or Partition style bullet will perform fine from any .277 rifle as long as you choose your shots carefully and don't exceed 300 yds.
 
Well there have been thousands of moose killed with the 180gr Nosler Partitions, and they work flawlessly, and in Alaska many are shot each year with 220gr bullets and back in the 60's[Peters] were the standard, out of the 06 or 300 H&H. I think you will be more satisfied with either over the 168 Silvertip performance, when it comes to bullet weight and construction.................. for this size animal especially if you get into some larger bone structure :wink:
ps. I think Peters went out of business around 1968 but of course I saw cartridges in the trading posts all over Alaska well into the 1980s .
Remington has carried on with the 220gr Corelokts from memory and I think they are still available???
I used to handload the old "Barnes 250gr" 30 cal for my 06 and had some in the gun when I was packin meat in Grizzly country. I have some recovered bullets somewhere from a couple of bears that wanted our sheep meat more than we did......................... they worked perfectly on Brooks Range sized bears. I would of course rather have my 35 Whelen but if you already have the 06 either load will do the job.

ps. Just noticed some old notes from a 220gr loading and it was taken from an early Hornady book and back then listed 55.4 gr of 4350 and a 220gr bullet for a MV of 2600fps that of course will flatten any moose, that ever strolled the bogs of North America, hit properly, and from memory that's just about what they did too !!!!!! DO NOT LOAD this with out, proper working up to it...... enough said.
 
The Remington 220 gr factory load is still available and is a good choice for close range stuff.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/547799 ... -box-of-20

I would caution anyone using the Hornady 220 gr RN on big stuff, a friend of mine had one come apart on a grizzlies shoulder the short story is one hour later after looking for it the bear charged him and his partner stopped it with a 338 WM and a 200 gr E Tip. The bear was coming up to jump on him and brushed him on the way by after our friend stopped it. I will concede he was shooting a 300 Wby at around 2800 fps but it still has sworn me off of any RN Hornady bullets on big game, they have a reputation of being quite erratic in performance. The 220 gr Partition is my choice for a heavy bullet in 30 cal and I bet the 240 gr Woodleigh does pretty good too. I shot my first moose with the 220 gr Win Silver Tip in 30-06, it worked but one of the bullets came apart on the spine, even as a young guy I knew that was bad news.
 
gerry":1sxdly1v said:
A friend of mine had one come apart on a grizzlies shoulder the short story is one hour later after looking for it the bear charged him and his partner stopped it with a 338 WM and a 200 gr E Tip. The bear was coming up to jump on him and brushed him on the way by after our friend stopped it. I will concede he was shooting a 300 Wby at around 2800 fps but it still has sworn me off of any RN Hornady bullets on big game, they have a reputation of being quite erratic in performance.

I do believe that would get my attention, Gerry. I do not like going into the bush looking for a wounded bear. I've done it a few times on bears others have wounded, and it does put all the senses on high alert.
 
Jerry,
I thought that Remington still had them for the 06, I am sure that the loading will conform to the old preasure standards and probably be way down in the 2350 fps area. [no reason why you couldn't just pull the bullets and dump the powder out and fill er up with 56.6grs of 4831 and turn it into a "wacker"] While I was down in SE Alaska last year I spoke with some of the older guides down there that have taken hundreds of brown bears in their lifetime experences guiding there, and even though most of them use a big magnum for "backin up" hunters that wound bears, everyone seamed to agree that the old 30/06 with 220gr bullets lobed into your standard 8ft Brown Bear was in a world of trouble, if the hunters, will hit them correctly! I have seen more than one, hit with that load, in the "pocket" where the shoulder meets the neck, and angled down into the body, Shot with this 220gr load, go down INSTANTLY; and hardly ever wiggle, it flatten them, right now.
I also remember a hunter with a 458 WM, shooting a nice brownie down on the peninsula, he hit it twice with shots, that looked like snake eyes, thru the back of the lungs [like he was shooting a deer?] and the animal never showed ANY sign, of being hit , he actually turned to me and asked me "Am I missing him?"..................... he couldn't believe that the big magnum wouldn't just blow, a thousand pound bear right over, but its still all about shot placement . :(
The 06/220gr combo works fine if you can do your part! :!:
 
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