“Shooting the Bull” has never had more meaning than to kill your 1000 pound Rut-crazed moose quickly before he sets his sights on you!

Bull Moose-in-rut, are in fact, crazy as all-get-out and considered by many including me to be “dangerous game” at close ranges of 50 yards or less. When vitals are missed on these beasts they can close 50 yards in just seconds.

If that doesn’t get your adrenaline pumping, nothing will!

Ok so you are determined to shoot a New Hampshire bull moose with a 50 inch spread or greater. Good Luck  because they are few and far in between. Can it be done? Of Course. NH produces some fine bulls particularly in the northern part of the state and can easily exceed 50 inches.

Whatever zone you have been assigned will determine the “success rate” for a bull with a rack that size.

Notice below in the Anatomy of a Moose rack where they measure spread. If this is the moose you are after then I recommend a Guide Service that specializes in moose and can judge a moose rack.

NH Guides can be found on the website below.

http://www.nhguidesassociation.com/hunting_directory.html

It is perhaps desirable to set a big bull with a large rack as your goal but remember that the joy comes from the hunt itself and the many days scouting and learning what your Zone has to offer.

Look at past data to get an idea and be realistic.

My Zone in 2009 was J2. I hunted in the lakes region very near to Lake Winnipesaukee. This photo is forever etched into my memory. This to me was “Heaven on Earth” and to hunt moose too. Wow! What was so great here is that I was observing good deer hunting territory as well.

My goal was simply to shoot what I considered a good representative of the species and I did. The moose I and my partner shot was a young adult and its rack was small/medium and body was fully mature and ready to mate. Its fur was without scars or blemishes and as handsome goes? He was all of that and muscularly large and ready to fight for his right to mate! He was killed at around 70 to 80 yards from us.

I have seen large bulls with giant racks but the face was scared and bony from all the fights.  I had my trophy mounted and am very pleased with the Taxidermy work. While you are scouting up your moose, you may want to locate a taxidermist to mount your trophy.

http://www.wildlife.state.nh.us/Hunting/NH_taxidermists.htm

Use Enough Gun!

Rifle Cartridge/bullet Recommendations to hunt Large Bull Moose.

I favor Nosler Products Such as AccuBonds and Partitions for moose size Big Game in Africa and here in the USA because they mushroom well and stay together for deep penetration.  See  http://www.nosler.com/bullets/

 

My recommendations are based on delivering energies nearing 2500 ft-lbs at the distances listed.

My .375 Ruger shot a 260 grain Nosler AccuBond below. It went through more than 4 feet of moose before stopping under the skin in the rump.

Most popular Cartridge loads are:

.270 Winchester – 150 grain heads at 100 yards or less

7mm Rem Magnum -150 grain heads at 200 yards or less.

30-06 Springfield -180 grain heads at 100 yards or less

.308 Win – 170 grain heads at 100 yards or less.

.338 Win Mag – 250 grain at 300 yards or less

.375 H&H or Ruger – 270 grain heads at 350 yards or less

444 Marlin -250 grain heads at 100 yards or less

In between these popular cartridges are many others for Moose just be aware of delivered energies to the vitals e.g. heart and lungs with a well constructed bullet. The faster your animal falls the less you will have to drag that 800 to 1000 pound dressed animal out of the woods. More on moose to come…©