Which Rifle for Utah Moose?

Which rifle should my daughter use on her Utah Moose hunt?

  • Family Heirloom Remington 700 Classic in 35 Whelen

    Votes: 10 17.5%
  • Really cool 1950's Winchester M70 in 300 H&H

    Votes: 12 21.1%
  • Her Remington 700 BDL 270 that she got when she turned 16 and used to take her LE Bull Elk

    Votes: 35 61.4%

  • Total voters
    57
  • Poll closed .

Sparks Shooter

Active Member
Messages
610
My daughter's Utah bull moose hunt is coming up and she is still trying to decide which rifle to use on the hunt. She has been shooting them all and is plenty proficient with any of them. All would be cool in different ways for different reasons. What do you think? ----SS

This lucky girl turned 25 this year and has taken LE Pronghorn, LE Deer, LE Elk, and now has her first OIL tag in hand!
 
The LE Deer, Elk and Pronghorn is more of a miracle than the moose tag...

I'd say whatever will thump that moose hardest with one shot is the way to go. I'm not familiar with the 35 Whelen... and rather than Google it to look smarter, I'm just saying, 'go with whichever one has the hardest hitting bullet'.
 
Out of the three, I think the 300 H&H load is probably the most powerful. The load is 175 LRX at 2975. The Whelen is shooting a light load with 180 TSX at 3000 to keep the recoil where she can handle it. Her 270 shoots 130s at 2950.

She wont shoot past 300 yards and shouldn't have to on this hunt so all choices should have enough oomph to get the job done.

She shot her bull elk at 300 yards with the 270 and the first shot behind the shoulder froze him in his tracks with a second putting him right down. He was a 9 year old bull with a huge body and I doubt the moose will be very much bigger.

I think she's leaning toward the 270 but its fun to hear everyone's thoughts and we're trying to make the most of the once-in-a-lifetime experience for her.-------SS
 
I'm not a big bore (recoil) fan and I've come to observe that most critters, including Shiras Moose are not hard to bring down when the bullet goes in the right place. If she is leaning that way, I'd especially encourage the 270.
My Shiras fell from one well placed 140g 7mm bullet, so I'm sure the 270 would do the same.
Best of luck to her.
 
I think your response with all the loads has answered your question. You can't beat feeling comfortable with a gun. If she had experience with, and is comfortable with the 270, thats what I'd go with. I sure hope to see some follow up story and photos..!
 
Luck has been on her side for sure. I have 20 moose points, 17 deer points. I may never draw a moose tag in Utah. But deer I have been holding out for a top unit, but may never get there either.
With her luck, she will draw the next year or 2 for her next OIL. When I had my bear hunt a few years ago, I debated using my grandpas old 25-35 lever action octagon barrel rifle. And I did not. With I would have. I shot my bear from 20 yards and went maybe another 20 yards.
I think I would use the oldest gun, family heirloom.
 
All three will bring down a moose. The question is, will it bring her down as well as Tikka mentioned. I helped a friend who's mom drew a moose tag. She has MS pretty bad and knew that a large hard kicking gun was out of the question. She used a 7mm-08 with a reloaded 150gr swift scirocco. 1 shot at 200 yards, moose went about 40 yards and piled up.

I'd hate for her to go practice with the larger rifles and develop a flinch. Not saying she will. Just a thought.
 
My dad and my brother both brought down their moose with a .270... It's all about shot placement. Plus, it's the gun she got when she was 16 that she already christened with an elk!
 
All three will bring down a moose. The question is, will it bring her down as well as Tikka mentioned. I helped a friend who's mom drew a moose tag. She has MS pretty bad and knew that a large hard kicking gun was out of the question. She used a 7mm-08 with a reloaded 150gr swift scirocco. 1 shot at 200 yards, moose went about 40 yards and piled up.

I'd hate for her to go practice with the larger rifles and develop a flinch. Not saying she will. Just a thought.
I think that he mentioned somewhere that shes 25 years old. She's been around the hunting block a time or 2.
 
270 will more than do the trick. It’s all about shot placement.
I watched my dad at 72 years old put two 130 gr. holes through a bulls heart at 250 yards standing freehand with open sights with a 15 mph breeze in his face. Yep, I’m bragging but I tell you, that old boy could flat out shoot, rest his soul.
 
270 will more than do the trick. It’s all about shot placement.
I watched my dad at 72 years old put two 130 gr. holes through a bulls heart at 250 yards standing freehand with open sights with a 15 mph breeze in his face. Yep, I’m bragging but I tell you, that old boy could flat out shoot, rest his soul.
Them old boys are bred different I watched my uncle shoot a bull elk from his truck at 400 yards with a 220 swift same thing right in the heart the bull took two steps and killed over. I can't hit a forked horn with my bipod and sitka camo and my 1000 dollar gun. I sure miss hunting with some of them old timers.
 
Them old boys are bred different I watched my uncle shoot a bull elk from his truck at 400 yards with a 220 swift same thing right in the heart the bull took two steps and killed over. I can't hit a forked horn with my bipod and sitka camo and my 1000 dollar gun. I sure miss hunting with some of them old timers.
This post made me chuckle. When I first started learning to shoot, the old timers only used a bench to get things sighted in. After that it was all off-hand and field position practice. Don't see much of that kind of shooting anymore. -----SS
 
Well, my daughter agreed with the majority here. I didn't show her the results until she had already made her final decision. The moose hunt was everything you would dream of in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Although it was not easy to find moose everywhere, there were plenty to keep it interesting and fun. Keying in on the waterways, marshes, etc, we got to experience the best of fall in the Wasatch mountains. When we finally saw the bull that my daughter wanted, he was feeding with a cow and smaller bull on the marshy banks of a beaver pond. We were able to sneak up in the timber directly across the water from him. By the time we got set up, the cow was already chest deep in the water and the bull was right on the bank standing in willows that covered the lower half of him. At 120 yards, I was confident my daughter could place the bullet within a half inch of where she wanted so I told her to take a high shoulder shot with the bull quartering slightly toward us. At the bark of the shot, the bull fell forward splashing into the water! He struggled to get up and she put another shot just behind the shoulder putting him down for good. The first shot hit just in front of the onside shoulder angling up and exiting just under the spine behind the offside shoulder. When we got around to him, he was 10 feet from the bank floating with just a bit of him showing above the surface. I stripped down to my skivvies and jumped in to pull him over to the bank before he sank. A bit chilly at 0745 with frost on the ground but well worth it and a fun cliché-type twist to a moose hunt. Both Barnes bullets passed completely through destroying the vitals and damaging very little meat. Exit holes were about the size of a nickel. The bull appears to be young but had a very big body. Definitely the biggest animal I have every dealt with on the ground, let alone in the water!-------SS

Moose.JPG
 
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Well, my daughter agreed with the majority here. I didn't show her the results until she had already made her final decision. The moose hunt was everything you would dream of in a once-in-a-lifetime experience. Although it was not easy to find moose everywhere, there were plenty to keep it interesting and fun. Keying in on the waterways, marshes, etc, we got to experience the best of fall in the Wasatch mountains. When we finally saw the bull that my daughter wanted, he was feeding with a cow and smaller bull on the marshy banks of a beaver pond. We were able to sneak up in the timber directly across the water from him. By the time we got set up, the cow was already chest deep in the water and the bull was right on the bank standing in willows that covered the lower half of him. At 120 yards, I was confident my daughter could place the bullet within a half inch of where she wanted so I told her to take a high shoulder shot with the bull quartering slightly toward us. At the bark of the shot, the bull fell forward splashing into the water! He struggled to get up and she put another shot just behind the shoulder putting him down for good. The first shot hit just in front of the onside shoulder angling up and exiting just under the spine behind the offside shoulder. When we got around to him, he was 10 feet from the bank floating with just a bit of him showing above the surface. I stripped down to my skivvies and jumped in to pull him over to the bank before he sank. A bit chilly at 0745 with frost on the ground but well worth it and a fun cliché-type twist to a moose hunt. Both Barnes bullets passed completely through destroying the vitals and damaging very little meat. Exit holes were about the size of a nickel. The bull appears to be young but had a very big body. Definitely the biggest animal I have every dealt with on the ground, let alone in the water!-------SS

View attachment 89240
awesome. Thanks for sharing the story. Congrats to you both.
 
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