30-30 for moose

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Gotta love the old .30-30 threads. Will a .30-30 kill a <your favorite animal here>. Come on everyone. You know deep down in your heart that the .30-30 is enough to take a moose, bear, elk, pig, and deer.
If you don't, then:
1) you haven't hunted with the .30-30.
2) had big gun envy as a kid. Dad h as a .30-06 and you had the lowly .30-30 WCF.
3) mad some bad shots, and lost an animal, and blamed it on the cartridge to save face
4) you get my drift.

What can a bow do that a .30-30 cannot? That is a serious question.

YOu may have to plug the moose 2 to 3x before it gets on the groud. You would likely have to do that with a .30-06, also.

I have a .303 British. If I get an elk tag or moose hunt, I'll likely take it with irons, or my .50 caliber Thompson Center Omega.
 
Many years ago a friend of mine nailed a cow elk square, right in the shoulder, over, and over, and over again. She continued walking, he continued shooting, reloaded, and put a total of eight rounds in her, all were good kill zone shots too. He only had 8 rounds of 30-06 with him, so I handed him my .270 win. loaded with the same powder work up, but with 130 gr. Hot Core's, she took 3 more rounds before she dropped. The first 8 from the 30-06 were loaded with a worked up charge of IMR-4350, and 165 gr. spitzer's, might have been Hot Core's, if memory serves me well.

I've also saw a black bear walk away from a solid hit in the shoulder from a .270 win, and a 12 gauge slug in the hip. We killed that same bear the next fall and found a healed broken shoulder from the high power, and the broken hip had healed from the 12 ga. slug, both projectile were recovered, the 12 ga. slug was buried in the bone tissue of the hip.

Animals are tough and capable of going long distances, and even with good shot placement with a serious cartridge, things can go south real quick and in a hurry. Like I said earlier, I'm sure a moose can be taken with a 30-30, but it's typically not the best cartridge for the task at hand, IMO. So if you must, at least try to get a shot within 50-100 yards so you can get everything you can out of it.

GS
 
For your consideration - The Maine Fish and Game Department has an on-line moose hunting guide (http://www.state.me.us/ifw/licenses_permits/lotteries/moose/pdfs/Moose_Hunters_Guide2.pdf). It includes a list of recommended and not recommended cartridges. The 30-30 and its close kin the 35 Rem and 32 Win Spl are on the NOT recommended list.
NH Fish and Game recommends bullets 150 grain and up that have 2200 ft-lbs muzzle energy as a minimum, 2600 ft-lbs is listed as adequate, and 3200 ft-lbs is listed as recommended.

Regards.

Dan
 
There is a gentlemen on here who's son uses a .243 to take Brown Bears with and it works just fine. So a 30-30 on a moose is no problem. I've taken Black Bears with a .223, it's all placement and bullet construction.
 
Oh, sure it will. hit a whitetail in the shoulder with a 7mm 150 game king and it won't walk away on what's left of its shoulder. It MIGHT not be DRT, but it will fall right there and die. You lose some shoulder meat....woopie, you don't lose the deer.
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I have never in my years of hunting (and it has been many) understood the shoulder shot.
 
I have taken some bad shots over the years on deer, but only once have I done such a job I scrapped a shoulder. People intentionally taking out both shoulders is stupid. It is disrespectful to the animal in that it's a longer more painful way to die with less benefit to the predator.
 
I have taken some bad shots over the years on deer, but only once have I done such a job I scrapped a shoulder. People intentionally taking out both shoulders is stupid. It is disrespectful to the animal in that it's a longer more painful way to die with less benefit to the predator.
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I've taken hundreds of whitetail, and my experience does not match yours. I've never had an animal suffer from a well-placed shoulder shot; everyone expired by the time I reached them, and none took a step. It is by far the fastest killing shot I take. Of course, this assumes you are shooting enough gun with the proper loads.

As for losing the meat of both shoulders, I have also not found this to be the case. You lose some of the shoulder you hit, but it is minimal in my experience. Rarely is the shot lined up in such a way as to take out both shoulders, in fact I don't recall having the issue. On the other hand, the damage to vitals on the Hill Country Whitetail I hunt is dramatic when some of that shoulder bone is put to use. It is a very effective, very humane shot.

It is also practical, especially in thick country. Some of us hunt in country so thick that a run-off may well be a lost animal. They don't run from a well placed shoulder shot.

Which takes us back to this thread; I'm not sure the .30-30 is enough gun for an effective shoulder shot on moose. It is fine for what I hunt, but I doubt it is going to be enough against the muscle & bone of a bull moose shoulder. If I am inside of 100 yards with a dangerous animal like the moose, that is the shot I want to take, so I would probably want more gun.
 
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Can a 30-30 kill a moose? Yes.

Is the chance of wounding said moose higher with the 30-30 than with a 30-06? Yes. By a bunch.

Don't make a cartridge choice based on what's possible. Base it on what's probable.

Lot's of things can go wrong out in the field. But there is one thing you have complete control over; picking a cartridge that's suitable for the intended game. I wouldn't use a 30-30 for moose unless I was starving and I had no other choice.
 
AKElroy said:
I've taken hundreds of whitetail, and my experience does not match yours.
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Legally?

Because I'm having trouble with the math. Let's say you've been hunting for fifty years. And let's say that every year you have shot two deer. That's only a hundred. "Hundreds" must mean at least two hundred, right? So that would 4 deer every year for 50 years. That's amazing. That's modern day Leatherstocking stuff. How many rifle tags do you get a year? I guess you hunted multiple States each year? Very impressive. Most of us know dedicated, competent hunters who have gone entire seasons without getting a deer. To get 4 a year every year, or something like that is really remarkable...
 
RPRNY said:
Legally?

Because I'm having trouble with the math. Let's say you've been hunting for fifty years. And let's say that every year you have shot two deer. That's only a hundred. "Hundreds" must mean at least two hundred, right? So that would 4 deer every year for 50 years. That's amazing. That's modern day Leatherstocking stuff. How many rifle tags do you get a year? I guess you hunted multiple States each year? Very impressive. Most of us know dedicated, competent hunters who have gone entire seasons without getting a deer. To get 4 a year every year, or something like that is really remarkable...
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More deer in Texas than anyother state in the union. I live south of the mason dixon as well. We don't count deer here either there are 6 on my big game tag 3 antlered and 3 antlerless. After we get 6 we can purchase bonus tags 2 at a time to an amount only limited by the length of the season which starts in Sept and ends in Mar. I just drove to UPS customer center 11 miles 2 deer dead on the road.

I shot 26 one year and found a spot for all of them. I have a friend who shot over 70 in a season he doesn't waste any either.

Good luck and shoot straight

Bob
 
Because I'm having trouble with the math. Let's say you've been hunting for fifty years. And let's say that every year you have shot two deer. That's only a hundred. "Hundreds" must mean at least two hundred, right? So that would 4 deer every year for 50 years. That's amazing. That's modern day Leatherstocking stuff. How many rifle tags do you get a year? I guess you hunted multiple States each year? Very impressive. Most of us know dedicated, competent hunters who have gone entire seasons without getting a deer. To get 4 a year every year, or something like that is really remarkable...
RPRNY is online now Report Post
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The bag limit in GA is 12 per season. And anything killed on WMA's does not count on your bag limit.

The bag limit in Alabama is 1/day. With a 3 month season.

Not me, but I know folks who have legally killed hundreds, and been present with hundreds more were taken.
 
Legally?

Because I'm having trouble with the math. Let's say you've been hunting for fifty years. And let's say that every year you have shot two deer. That's only a hundred. "Hundreds" must mean at least two hundred, right? So that would 4 deer every year for 50 years. That's amazing. That's modern day Leatherstocking stuff. How many rifle tags do you get a year? I guess you hunted multiple States each year? Very impressive. Most of us know dedicated, competent hunters who have gone entire seasons without getting a deer. To get 4 a year every year, or something like that is really remarkable...
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There are states where this is not only legal, but entirely feasible.
I lived in Alabama and knew a guy who killed over 50 legally in one year, and that wasn't half of what he could have legally killed.
It was awesome. He put 5-6 in his own freezer and every sunday he would bring a couple of them, quartered and on ice and give them to folks at church. He had a blast in the woods, families got lots of free venison and not a single scrap went to waste. That's a win win win in my book.

If I'm not mistaken when we lived there, you could take a buck a day and during the month long bow season you could take a buck and doe a day. It added up to over 100 per year possible.
 
Wow! Very interesting. Our seasons in NY and VT are like 20 minutes long and you can't shoot anything more than 4 points off the Boone & Crockett record....
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by AKElroy
I've taken hundreds of whitetail, and my experience does not match yours.
Click to expand...
Legally?

Because I'm having trouble with the math. Let's say you've been hunting for fifty years. And let's say that every year you have shot two deer. That's only a hundred. "Hundreds" must mean at least two hundred, right? So that would 4 deer every year for 50 years. That's amazing. That's modern day Leatherstocking stuff. How many rifle tags do you get a year? I guess you hunted multiple States each year? Very impressive. Most of us know dedicated, competent hunters who have gone entire seasons without getting a deer. To get 4 a year every year, or something like that is really remarkable...
Click to expand...

Yep, legally. I've filled my tag (3-5) most years since I was 13. I'm 49 now. I've also been on reduction hunts on game managed ranches when taking 12 in a weekend was common. They have a legal exemption in Texas; not easy to get, but possible for folks with the means.

Incidentally, taking a dozen on a two day reduction pretty much requires a shoulder shot. We had zero time to be chasing animals.

The funny thing is, I am the least experienced of most guys I hunt with. Texas is apparently a different animal than what you are used too, good buddy.
 
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I have never in my years of hunting (and it has been many) understood the shoulder shot.
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Quite easy to understand. Break the animal's shoulder/s and, whether it's still alive or not, it's anchored. It's going nowhere, but down. All my grandpa ever took was shoulder shots. He shot the .257 Roberts I now have and it's not a terrible meat destroyer, but kills deer just as dead as a .300 Win Mag. Little light for moose, though.

For your consideration - The Maine Fish and Game Department has an on-line moose hunting guide (http://www.state.me.us/ifw/licenses_...ers_Guide2.pdf). It includes a list of recommended and not recommended cartridges. The 30-30 and its close kin the 35 Rem and 32 Win Spl are on the NOT recommended list.
NH Fish and Game recommends bullets 150 grain and up that have 2200 ft-lbs muzzle energy as a minimum, 2600 ft-lbs is listed as adequate, and 3200 ft-lbs is listed as recommended.
Click to expand...

Is that energy on target or at the muzzle? Figuring it's on target, but too lazy to follow the links to find out. :D By that, if it's energy on target, my 7 mag is not recommended past about 100 yards.
 
I have taken some bad shots over the years on deer, but only once have I done such a job I scrapped a shoulder. People intentionally taking out both shoulders is stupid. It is disrespectful to the animal in that it's a longer more painful way to die with less benefit to the predator.
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Between those shoulders is the heart/lungs and plumbing. I shot a spike this season, 50th anniversary of the 6 point I shot that was my first. Both were taken with the same rifle. Both where high shoulder shots. The spike was standing, the 6 point was on a dead run. Both fell so fast I didn't see 'em fall, the spike from the muzzle flash (was at dusk) and the six point from the recoil (when you're 11 years old, even a .257 Roberts handloaded to max has that sort of recoil). In both cases, the bullet cut the aorta above the heart and smashed both shoulders. That's the fastest kill you can make, faster than a CNS hit. It instantly cuts off blood to the whole brain.

If you hit the deer square in the heart, it can run 100 yards if a bone isn't broken due to the fact that the heart valve on the aorta slams shut and there's still blood pressure on the aorta and carotid and brain that takes time to bleed down. If you cut the aorta, you instantly drop all blood pressure in the brain to zero, DRT.

And, even if it kicks a few times, my eyes don't get all teary nor to I go girly man. I just put one in the brain from my .22 pistol if it's needed. That happened 2 years ago on a 9 point I spine shot, yes, SPINE. It was paralysed in the hind legs, Kicked around pawing at the earth trying to get up as I climbed down out of my stand, walked up, and put a Federal HP in its head from my NAA mini revolver to end its pain. Hey, it happens, even with a CNS shot. It's part of hunting. Far better than being mauled and partially eaten alive by coyotes or a mountain lion, I reckon. Mother nature is tough. As pampered humans that live in houses and sip coffee to wake up in the morning, we often lose sight of that fact.

If you can't handle the possibility of having to track a wounded animal every time you shoot, having it have to bleed out to die, don't bother with Archery.

You know, if I were hunting moose, it sure would be nice to anchor that beast by breaking both shoulders, not having to track a dangerous animal into an alder thicket or something. Now, the .30-30 with whatever bullet ain't the gun for that. You're going to likely have to track a lung shot moose. Me, I'd start lookin' into .338s or .375s or the like if I got a chance to go after moose, good excuse for another rifle. :D But, that's just me, I guess.
 
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Granted shoulders are small, but they still are usable meat. Even high shoulder causes loss of meat. My aim point is 1" behind the point on the shoulder. Not a DRT hit but they always fall within eyesight, even at a dead run. All that gets wasted is a chunk of ribs which have basically no meat anyway. The high shoulder shots I have seen have been pretty brutal, and all have required a finishing shot. I don't so much see the point in it, but if it works for you then good for you.
 
Good post above from MCgunner.

Quote: "If you hit the deer square in the heart, it can run 100 yards if a bone isn't broken due to the fact that the heart valve on the aorta slams shut and there's still blood pressure on the aorta and carotid and brain that takes time to bleed down. If you cut the aorta, you instantly drop all blood pressure in the brain to zero, DRT."

Didn't know about the aorta valve keeping brain blood pressure up awhile. Thx.
 
Any shoulder meat gets ground. If I ruin a little, so what, I got the animal and there's more where he came from.

Now, if you're unwilling to take a shoulder shot, DO NOT hunt pigs! EVERYthing that will stop the beast is under the shoulder. All that's behind the ribs is guts. I tracked a gut shot hog into a thicket because of that and got charged, not a pleasant experience, though I won the fight by virtue of superior fire power. Hogs are mean, but they don't shoot back. I now shoot for the shoulder, bigger target than his head. Hogs will almost always do a long dirt dance before they expire. I've even stabbed a couple runnin' 'em with dogs. They squeal and chomp and try to get a good swing at their tormentors, human or canine. Dog runners usually carry suture kits and know how to use them. Hog hunting with dogs is a blood sport, no place for the meek. :D Probably ain't got nothin' like that up north, eh? :D
 
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