Round ball calibers for moose?

[Little Wattsy]

If I missed it, my apologies...are you asking because you've decided to get a new rifle and you're trying to make a final decision on caliber?

That is the intent of my post. However, I avoided asking the standard "What Caliber for Moose" question because everybody on the board has an opinion. Therefore, I posed the question to those who have some direct or reliable indirect experience.

The responses have been very useful and will be given great consideration in my final decision on caliber. At this time my *big* guns are .54 cal. Not sure if I'll use a .54 or not. Somehow a .58 seems like a good choice. Going up from a .54 will require a new rifle since none of my existing guns would accept a .58 barrel (15/16th barrel channel).

One thing that crossed my mind was picking up a cheeep Renegade or Hawken with 1" barrel channel and fitting a Rice barrel to it. OTOH, it would be much more satisying to simply build a dedicated .58 caliber rifle.

A .62 has my attention as well, but that is to be decided if I do indeed decide to bump up from the .54.

You are on track... A .54 IS enough but it s always fun to get new guns too.
A TC Renegade is a great gun and Pecatonica makes some VERY Nice after market stocks for them as well (as time goes on) can really pretty them up.

 

[roundball]

If I missed it, my apologies...are you asking because you've decided to get a new rifle and you're trying to make a final decision on caliber?

That is the intent of my post. Somehow a .58 seems like a good choice.

No argument out of me...it's proven to be an outstanding caliber, with some additional perks of non-lead balls available not readily available to all other calibers.

One thing that crossed my mind was picking up a cheap Renegade or Hawken with 1" barrel channel and fitting a Rice barrel to it. OTOH, it would be much more satisfying to simply build a dedicated .58 caliber rifle.

No question a new build is nice...and another alternative would be to try and find a used existing T/C Big Bore (.58cal)...or a T/C Hawken with a GM .58cal barrel already on it like I used to have.

 

[gmww]

Like the other fella, I've killed Bison with a .54. I've also killed moose but it was with a .300 Win Mag. Considering what it costs for me to hunt moose, I'd probably take my .62 RB hardcast just for the added insurance.

This was with the .54.

This was with the .62 RB

 

[Col. Batguano]

Here's how I rate em: buffalo, moose, beef,elk,deer, & antelope. By the way antelope is pretty good provide you didn't chase it with a truck prior to the shot and it should be eatten up fast. Antelope does not improve with age in the freezer.

I have read several articles written my doctors who stated moose meat was much better for you than beef. As in all animals a young one is better.

I'll add a few more, and my own ratings;

Bighorn sheep, Caribou, Moose, Elk, Beef, Buffalo, Javalina, Cougar, Mule Deer, Whitetail, Bear, Antelope, Mountain Goat, Raccoon, Beaver

 

[gmww]

It would be a toss up between bison and moose for me.

 

[peter hawbaker]

Close the energy of a .458 Magnum ? I am sorry, but I have a hard time imagining that. I guess it depends on your definition of close. I am not disparaging the killing power of a good sized round ball, I know better.

 

[okawbow]

It's been a few years, but I remember looking at a table for muzzle velocity for a .62 cal, with 180 grains 2F. It was well over 2000fps with a 365 gr. round ball.

I do know that not a single deer that I shot with that load ever moved from the spot. The ball was usually flattened under the skin on the far side, and the wound channel was incredible. No north american animal could go far when hit at close range. I've killed deer out to 200 yards and anchored them on the spot, when my eyes were younger.

 

[longcruise]

Yes the Big Boar and the Big Bore would both be good options.

The other thing that keeps jumping to the forefront and prying into my thoughts is essentially the same process that you have gone through in *stepping up* to rifles a bit more HC. My rifles at present are Lyman GPRs, Traditions and TC. I like all of these, but my final destination is evisaged as a small bore in flint and percussion and a large bore in flint and percussion.

So, from that perspective, it is also a question of what caliber will the final big bore guns be. Am sorta leaning back toward the .54 since I have just about all the parts needed on hand to build a .54 flint. Other than this moose escapade, a .54 is quite adequate for all my hunting.

You can see there is a bit of vacillating over the whole thing. :haha:

 

[roundball]

The other thing that keeps jumping to the forefront and prying into my thoughts is essentially the same process that you have gone through in *stepping up* to rifles a bit more HC.

You can see there is a bit of vacillating over the whole thing. :haha:

Understand that completely as I went through that struggle for quite a while...wouldn't have been a problem if was wealthy, LOL.
With me it was a matter of cost...trying to juggle the choices and decide on a final direction that would be most suitable after all the dust settled...being able to afford my final decisions was the lynchpin to it all.

Finally, I reached the point where I said "doggone it I want these"...and accepted the reality that if I'm going to keep doing all my hunting with Flintlocks anyway, there really wasn't any point in keeping around a lifetime accumulation of centerfire rifles, shotguns, handguns just laying in their cases waiting to be stolen, or a house fire, etc. Once I decided that and planned out what I could / would sell off, I ran the numbers and started placing the orders to TVM.

Totally glad I did it for the experience of it and the long-guns are outstanding...but I'll say again, functionally they are no better than the collection of T/C Hawkens I had with barrels of various calibers and gauges...have not punched a single additional tag on any game due to now using long-guns.

Over time I'm sure I'll reach a point of needing / using "all of them" less and less. And coupled with the first hand experience I now personally have with my smoothbores...one of them, and something economical for weekend range plinking is really all I'd need and will probably sell the rest back off before long.
In fact, the reason I jumped at the chance to help 'oldnamvet' with range & field testing of his custom .40cal x 200grn REAL bullet was on the chance that it would make my .40cal a much more versatile rifle if I ended up selling off some others in the years ahead.

 

[flintlock75]

Quite the variety of answers to your question.
I have lived in Alaska for over 30 years now and have taken moose just about every year i have been here. I used a .54 T/C NewEnglander for many of them, my load was the 425 gr Hornady Great Plains bullet and 110 gr of 3F, this load shot 3 inch groups at 100 yards all day. the majority of my moose were shot at less the 50 yards, only two were at long range 125 yards. Every one was a one shot kill, all but one was broadside. I only used a round ball in the .54 once on a spike bull at about 30 yards, took both lungs and exited, the moose ran about 50 yards and went down. the majority of them went down quickly or only went a short distance after the shot. I have taken two with my Brown Bess with .72 cal round ball and 90 gr of 3F, both were close, one at about 30 yards and the other 30 feet. Both shots were broadside, the 30 yard shot dropped in his tracks and the closer one only took a few steps. I have found that in most of the heavy cover areas i hunt putting them down fast is important since most spots are in swampy areas and you dont want to have to go swimming the recover a moose.

 

[longcruise]

Thats more great info! Have considered the use of a conical for this hunt, but my exp in the past with deer and elk has told me that the rb is equal to and in some ways better than the conical. Always with the caveat that one must shoot a large enough ball!

Can't believe the way I'm vacillating on this. :haha: :redface: Since my materials on hand are for a 1" barrel in .54 cal, I'm thinking seriously of going with another 1" barrel in .58 for the current planned build.

Meanwhile, the clock is ticking!

 

[petew]

Moose are easy to put down, just stay away from water and wet swamps. They will head right in there.
Lots are sucessfuly taken with the old 30-30, and 303 brit, but it seems necessary/fashionable today to need a big magnum. . I think the big boomers create a better tale of the giant beasts demise.

 

[Little Wattsy]

Moose are easy to put down, just stay away from water and wet swamps. They will head right in there.
Lots are sucessfuly taken with the old 30-30, and 303 brit, but it seems necessary/fashionable today to need a big magnum. . I think the big boomers create a better tale of the giant beasts demise.

Yah all you really need is a .32 with a connical... you just gotta "do your part". I mean yah they can weigh in at 1500 lbs or more but they die like hummingbirds "if you do your part".

 

[ryoung14]

I'd take the .54. You probably won't see anything worth shooting anyway and it'd be silly to buy a big fancy gun and not shoot anything.

And if you do see a good moose, you'll think long and hard before you drop the hammer on him. That'll be good too.
:thumbsup:

 

[longcruise]

Yah all you really need is a .32 with a connical... you just gotta "do your part". I mean yah they can weigh in at 1500 lbs or more but they die like hummingbirds "if you do your part".

C'mon Wattsy, give the guy a break. Was nothin untoward in his post, IMO.

 

[BrownBear]

Yah all you really need is a .32 with a connical... you just gotta "do your part". I mean yah they can weigh in at 1500 lbs or more but they die like hummingbirds "if you do your part".

C'mon Wattsy, give the guy a break. Was nothin untoward in his post, IMO.

And the guy is right. Moose do die easy, even if they can take a while to do it with almost any round. And get in all kinds of mischief in the process.

Poking fun at a guy who lives in Alaska or Canada and shoots moose with a 30-30 or a 303 British makes about as much sense as hazing a guy in Detroit for driving an American car.

 

[Moose Guide]

Moose are easy to put down, just stay away from water and wet swamps. They will head right in there.
Lots are sucessfuly taken with the old 30-30, and 303 brit, but it seems necessary/fashionable today to need a big magnum. . I think the big boomers create a better tale of the giant beasts demise.

Yah all you really need is a .32 with a connical... you just gotta "do your part". I mean yah they can weigh in at 1500 lbs or more but they die like hummingbirds "if you do your part".

How many moose have you shot Wattsy?

 

[Spikebuck]

And the guy is right. Moose do die easy, even if they can take a while to do it with almost any round.

I have never hunted moose, but it's certainly a bucket-list game animal for me. I have seen many statements like the above and it confuses me. If something takes a long time to die, then why do so many people say they die easy? Seems like they die hard if they tend to live a long time after the shot and travel a long ways.

I have watched videos (all bow and arrow) and in those videos they really do seem to "die easy" many times going down in seconds after only a few yards.

So for a person completely ignorant in the ways of killing moose, seriously, which is it?

 

[BrownBear]

They often don't drop at the shot, rather run off a ways before they die. They're gonna die, but it takes a little longer and they can go through their gears in the process.

Caliber doesn't seem to matter, cuzz I've lung shot them at 70 yards with a 375 H&H and had one drop and the next one go 150 yards with the same shot and bullet. Had them drop in their tracks with rounds like 270 Win and 7x57, but had them take off too. They're gonna die, but they put "new meaning" on what you see deer do after a hit. I've had deer run 100 feet after similar shots with a 58 cal RB and other modern rounds, while most go a lot less.

That's not a problem in "good" terrain, but around water and deep brush tangles, a moose is a biiiiiiiig animal to get out if he drops in the wrong spot.

 

[Moose Guide]

Pick your shot well, and know your weapons capabilities. A good double lung shot will put meat on the table but if you wound him and he starts running he may never stop! The key is to make the first shot count, the same as anyother hunt. The farthest I have seen a mortaly wounded moose go is about 60yds, and I have seen many drop within 5 or 10 yds.