The .338 Winchester Magnum is among the popular choices for large bears—both my Alaskan guides carried a rifle so chambered—and I see the wisdom of using bullets of 250 grains. Can you safely hunt a black bear or moose with a .45 Colt revolver? Colorado has minimum caliber, bullet weight, and bullet energy regulations. While the .338 Win. Moose&Bear Design. Want more hunting gear? Check out our other reviews on:     Copyright © 2020 Gear Lobo  |  As an Amazon Associate, Gear Lobo earns from qualifying purchases. Friday, February 17, 2017. “Gird your loins,” is the warning given any writer attempting to list the best cartridges for any type of hunting. About the AuthorCork Graham has been covering guns and hunting since 1983, when he asked for an LOA from his NROTC squadron at UC Berkeley, and headed to SEA to cover wars as an 18-year-old photojournalist. The .30-06 is a good flat shooting, long range moose hunting rifle. .300 H&HMaster Alaska guide and longtime outdoor writer Phil Shoemaker, owner of Grizzly Skins of Alaska, has this to say, “There are no particularly bad cartridges but only improperly using them for unsuitable chores. Minimum bullet weight requirements are 70 grains for antelope, bear, and deer; and 85 grains for elk and moose. The .308 has more than enough power for the range that you will likely be taking shots, and has light enough recoil to remain on target even if you need to take multiple shots in one foray. This is the “new kid on the block.” Born in 2007, it isn’t an old ammo option. It died with a single, well placed bullet. brass is everywhere—just run the .338 Federal resizing ball through it. You want to go hog hunting?  If so, you would be best served by a .308 Winchester rifle, and preferably one in semi-automatic (such as the AR-10 or M1A Scout Squad) so you can get multiple shots off fast, knowing full well the aggressiveness of wild boars. The best caliber to use for elk will be one that can deliver a lot of ‘umph’ and power at long distances, and the round that fits this bill the best would be the .300 Winchester Magnum. See .308 Winchester Rifles Here See .308 Winchester Ammunition Here. See .338 Lapua Rifles Here See .338 Lapua Ammo Here. I’ve even nicknamed it “Thor,” because I love carrying and shooting it so much. But for longer distance shooting that go beyond the effective range of a .30-30, you’d definitely be better served with a slightly larger round such as the .270 Winchester.  The .270 is a high velocity and highly accurate round that is an excellent choice for bringing down deer, and can even be used on larger game such as elk. Â, See .30-30 Rifles Here See .30-30 Ammunition Here. Buffalo Bore’s 225-grain Heavy load is the best option still going, but the.358 has largely gone the way of the dodo. Just a month before moose season a whole table in sporting goods section of a large Alaska discount retailer in Kenai was stacked with case after case of Core-Lokt .35 Whelen. The ballistics are even better than that of its grandfather, and in shorter action: it will fit the action of a .30-06. as their top choice for the best moose cartridge, although several noted it was only their top choice if the hunter could handle the associated recoil. Best Calibers for Brown Bears Now let’s talk about weapon choice because you’re not going to find a guide who wants to follow a wounded bear into the bush. If you can have just one gun, I'd go with a .30 caliber magnum, and if bear and bison are on the menu as well as the ruminant species, I'd go with the versatile and time-proven .375 H&H Magnum. .300 Winchester MagnumA strong following for this round in Alaska. On that T&E, I learned a lot about stock design and distribution of rifle weight from muzzle to shoulder—choose wisely. 4..338 Winchester Magnum This was the round that was made for Alaskan big game hunting, and is the preferred caliber of grizzly bear and moose hunters across the continent. Having shot them with the 6mm/.284,.264 Winchester,.270 Winchester,.300 Winchester,.375 H&H … Do you have to use the calibers that we have recommended for each of these respective game animals?  No, but at the very least it gives you an idea of the kind of power that you need for each one.  You’ll need a much larger round to bring down a moose or bear (surprisingly tasty actually!) .375 H&HHunters do like to bring much bigger rounds to Alaska and Canada in their search for that wall-hanger Bullwinkle. See .338 Win Mag Rifles Here See .338 Win Mag Ammo Here, As with brown bear, the best choice of caliber for moose would be the .338 Winchester Magnum.Â. Now personally, I prefer the .338-06 just because I have more space to work with powder loads. Get the American Hunter Insider newsletter for at-a-glance access to industry news, gear, gun reviews, videos and more—delivered directly to your Inbox. I once tested two rifles in .375 H&H: one was the Winchester Model 70 Safari Express, which was a true pleasure to shoot. Bulls in the Lower 48 (Alces alces) weigh from 800 to … It was a shooting range weapon Tikka T3x in 6.5x55se .. Following close behind was the .30-06, with 29 per cent of the outfitters listing it as their top … When the Alaska gold rush picked up in earnest with the Klondike in 1899, those who had the money and wisdom brought their Winchester 1886s and Marlin 1895s: they shot a much better round for putting moose on the table than the .30-30 and .38-55, and such, of the time. I do think when you get to brown bears, a .30 caliber represents the minimum bore for serious consideration. As I said in my cartridge intro for the 8th Edition of the Nosler Reload Guide, “If I have to choose a single rifle, my ‘shoot everything’ rifle, even if I’ll be running into one of my angry neighbors that others call a coastal brown bear, it’ll be the .338-06 A-Square.”. Calibers up to .270 Winchester or .308 Winchester could be used as well, but anything above that is only going to make a significant mess out of it. There are two calibers that come to mind for bear: the best caliber for bear hunting, and then the best caliber for bear defense. But is .30-30 the best deer hunting round?  It depends.  For moderate distances of a hundred and fifty yards or less, or as a general brush gun, it absolutely is a good choice. Moose are not smart or tough, but they are big. The .35 Whelen, .338-06 A-Square, 9.3x62mm Mauser and .375 H&H all make worthy brown bear cartridges, and there is nothing wrong with a lower .40 or .458 caliber cartridge. The Alaskan also has a set of iron express sights, which are a must- … When selecting a firearm to use for hunting, even more important than choosing the gun itself is choosing the caliber that that gun will be chambered for. The other rifle, even though much heavier, clocked me so much I couldn’t get it shipped back to the manufacturer quickly enough. And although technically they can go out to hunt … had an accident but would like to get back into hunting. I’ve got one and find it a pleasure to shoot in Remington 700 Stainless Steel Synthetic that I switched the factory stock out for a recoil-dampening, H-S Precision Sporter, effectively taking it from shooting 1-MOA to half-MOA with the new stock, and a switch out of the trigger for a Timney Trigger at 2.75 pounds pull. The only thing a writer can do is respond with the most consistent rounds. .35 WhelenThis round has a definite following in Alaska, and is one of friend and colleague Bryce Towsley’s favorites. One-hundred-and-eighty AccuBond and Bear Claws are my choice, while other Alaskans prefer to send 200 grains. Capable of velocities of nearly 3,500 feet per second, the .300 Winchester Magnum also offers around twenty percent more power than the popular .30-06 Springfield round offers. As fast as it is, I don’t think the .338-378 Weatherby is the best bear caliber on our list. The .300 Win. There will always be exceptions, like the Eskimo who thinks nothing of taking a polar bear with an AR-15, or that tiger shot in the head with a .22 long-rifle. In short, the 30-06 shooting a 180 grain bullet is a winning combination and makes the best caliber for moose sized game, a hunter who practices regularly should have no problem taking moose out to 340 - 350 adding in that extra 50 or so yards is going to take some skill for sure. .45-70The .45-70 is my moose and bear defense round when I’m at gold camp, or out picking berries. This is an ethical issue just as much as it is a practical one: you want to use a cartridge that you know is going to bring down your game with a single shot assuming you hit it in the vital regions (which you absolutely should). But it’s certainly climbed up the caliber ladder in short order. The American .30 calibers, from the .30-30 and .308 through the .30-06 and various .300 magnums with all the great bullet choices available, seem to be less affected by those problems than most other calibers. basicly animals in northamerica. Again, the .338 was intended to be used on the biggest North American game, and it excels at this role. It’s that easy. 1 | 6.5 Creedmoor. Mag. So, let us consider the best cartridges for same. and … Alaska has some very large game animals, including 1600-pound mature bull moose and 1500-pound coastal brown bears. what caliber rifle is recomended for dear bear and moose? It shoots flat out to 300 yards, which makes it a point and shoot rifle caliber for the vast majority of shots on big game. Which One of These Gets Your Pick? Moose or brown bear hit in the gut with a large caliber magnum … Just took a Swedish hunting permit exam on my trip there. See .223 & 5.56 Rifles Here See .223 & 5.56 Ammunition Here. A good bear … #8 lead shot under normal circumstances is preferred — #7-1/2 lead for handicapped or windy conditions. Here’s the deal: you’re more than likely not going to need to bring down a big game animal at distances of one thousand yards or more.  But if you do want a rifle capable of traveling accurately at those distances, it’s really hard to ignore the .338 Lapua. It is an accurate caliber with lots of energy; loaded correctly, has a point blank range of approximately 330 meters. With the number of bullets available that dwarf the list of those for the .35 Whelen, and the fact that I can send 200 grain .338 only 200 fps slower than the same bullet in a .338 Win. See .22 LR Rifles Here See .22 Long Rifle Ammunition Here. .338 Winchester MagnumI don’t know about you, but for some reason, next to a .50 BMG, I seem to get my noggin rattled by just about every rifle I’ve shot this in, except for the Winchester Model 70 Extreme Weather SS I’ve learned to love because of a well-designed Bell & Carlson stock that makes it a pleasure to shoot. I have an Alaskan in .375 Ruger, and it is an ideal brown bear rifle. As an Alaskan, I’ve seen a number of moose taken with a variety of cartridges. For more on his articles and books, visit his official site here. The.338 Win Mag will drop anything and everything to walk North America. The Best Ammo for Elk and Moose Hunting By Josh Honeycutt March 7, 2019. With that said, here are our recommendations: There is absolutely no question that the most popular deer hunting caliber of all time is the .30-30 Winchester.  The .30-30 is more than capable of bringing down whitetail deer or mule deer, and the fact that it produces limited recoil also makes it a good option for youth or smaller statured hunters. It becomes your call once you are faced with that long shot! i had a 300 wsm. Mag., but the recoil of a .270 Win. As with brown bear, the best choice of caliber for moose would be the Alaska has some very large game animals, including 1600-pound mature bull moose and 1500-pound coastal brown bears. When you head into bear country, you must accept that you are no longer at the top of the food chain. Bullet placement is the most important factor in killing power. E-mail your comments/questions about this site to: EmediaHunter@nrahq.org, For questions/comments about American Hunter magazine, please e-mail:Publications@nrahq.org, You can contact the NRA via phone at: NRA Member Programs1-800-672-3888, To advertise on American Hunter, visit nramediakit.com for more information. Mag. Some you may find surprising. Well I doubt that would be a good idea with a typical cowboy style .45 LC revolver. With a shorter case than a .375 H&H and the ballistics of a .375 Ackley, it packs a lot of punch into a standard long action. Ten different cartridges received votes as the best choice for moose, though only four earned significant support. Answer: Any .30 caliber magnum, including the .300 WSM, loaded with 180 grain or heavier bullets is a great all-round choice for Montana big game. .45-70 The .45-70 is my moose and bear defense round when I’m at gold camp, or out picking berries. 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