Long Moose Shots
Yooper,
I've never shot a moose but made some small study of their anatomy when I was hunting bear in an area of Ontario where there were a bunch of moose. I decided two things: One, I'd try to avoid moose every chance I had. Two, if forced into a confrontation, my ‘06 with 165 gr. Sierra Game Kings would PROBABLY see me through at close range.
I agree that the .338 and .375 mags leave bigger holes, etc., and one of these would probably be MY choice--- but I assumed you were limiting the choices to the three .308" bore rifles.
Of those you list, I have personal experience only with the .300 Win Magnum. With the 180 gr. Sierra Game King and a bunch of ReLoder 22 powder, you can get up over 3,000 fps. Believe me, you'd know you're shooting a powerful rifle, without it being crippling in recoil.
Remember, thousands of moose have been killed with well-placed .30-30, .303 Brit and .30-06 bullets, without regard to the larger-bore rounds.
If you hold the idea of smacking a moose in the shoulder, you'll really want a solidly-constructed bullet.
Bad Medicine's comments notwithstanding, I would not be loathe to take a shoulder shot, especially late in the day, and/or if the animal was close to cover, and more especially if the range was fairly long. I think 250 yards is pretty distant for a moose.
I know the stories about the Native Americans emptying a magazine full of .22 LR solids into a moose's lungs and then following it up for a couple of days. Observations---One: That is subsistence hunting. Two: They have trackers who don't mind taking a couple of days to do the job. Three: Those hunters tend to be quite agile in case the animal becomes aggravated by the proceedings.
The goal of the sports hunter is immediate incapacitation, and a humane kill--not a tracking exercise. That said, if you've studied the animal's anatomy well and can place the bullet through the lungs, high enough to get some spinal shock, it will probably drip in place. Certainly, though, we try to allow for worst-case scenarion.
Good luck with your hunt, and .
Best regards--
Johnny
COME AND TAKE ‘EM!