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Thread: 230 grain in 30-06 looking for advice for a moose hunt

  1. #1
    Boolit Mold
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    230 grain in 30-06 looking for advice for a moose hunt

    I have 234 grain powder coated and gas checked cast boolits for my 30-06 at 2000 FPS I would like to use this on a moose hunt bigger is better right but cant decide if I should shoot for the shoulder and get one down on the ground right away with a later kill shot or do the standered bread basket shot what do you think I should go for?
    I am also bit concerned as it is a very pointy boolit and that it will just drill through with no expansion is that a concern with cast boolits at all or am I just fussing about it for no reason?

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  2. #2
    Boolit Master

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    if you cast those yourself you might consider doing a Bruceb soft point.
    ..

  3. #3
    Boolit Mold
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    Thanks yes that is interesting info!

    The ones In this batch shown above are pretty soft they are not water hardened in any way I still have no idea if they will expand or not though.
    I have not tested them out on milk jugs or wet newspaper yet.
    I have been looking at maybe doing a hollow point on them just need the jig to do it.
    Would rather just leave them as is though just less trouble/work.

  4. #4
    Boolit Master


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    Welcome; nice looking boolit and as a very famous Marine once said the 30-06 is never a bad choice! Shoulder shot is always a good idea on large game; put one of those where it needs to go and then the work begins; will you have any chance to shoot another critter or at least some heavy beef bones before your hunt? Even a pig “hunt” at one of those fenced in places would tell the tale on expansion and penetration. Talk to a local butcher shop maybe you could get a beef head or shoulder; that’s where I got mine; an actual slaughter house mind you not your local grocery.

  5. #5
    Boolit Buddy
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    aim for bone first
    break them down so they don't go far, use finishing shots as needed.

  6. #6
    Boolit Master
    Tom W.'s Avatar
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    I never shot a moose, but 90% of the deer I shot were hit in the middle of the shoulder, and seldom went very far if anywhere. Granted, moose is a tad bigger than a whitetail, but the principal is the same.
    Tom
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  7. #7
    Boolit Master


    Walks's Avatar
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    I don't know the circumstances surrounding your hunt.
    Where you are going to hunt & where you're coming from, and how much time & money you have invested in your hunt.
    I love cast bullets. Been casting & shooting all my Life. Ran miles behind a dog pack chasing a Cougar, killed with a LYMAN#358156 over a hefty charge of 2400. Ran behind another dog pack and killed decent Black Bear with a LYMAN 44MAG Bullet over another hefty charge of 2400. But this was in the late 1960's. We have not been able to hunt with lead in CA for about 50yrs, Jacketed only. Now NO LEAD AT ALL.

    But on my 2 ELK Hunts, and various trips to WY for Pronghorn, and MT for Mule Deer.
    I would never had considered CAST LEAD BULLETS, for Any of those HUNTS. It's one thing to shoot a Cat or a Bear out of a tree when you're standing under it.

    It's a completely different to shoot a 2000 lb MOOSE. I really believe you owe it to they game to use the BEST AVAILABLE Bullet for the cleanest possible KILL.
    And that is one of the PREMIUM BULLETS by NOSLER, HORNADY or BARNES. Think of your wallet too.
    Ethical Hunting. I just don't think a .30cal slug, even if It's a thru & thru is the BEST choice. There is no such thing as a guaranteed shot.
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  8. #8
    Boolit Mold
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    I have proven factory ammo along with me also but the first shot I would like to try a cast bullet their will be others with me so if they don't like what they see their will be another 3 shots in very short order nothing will be left to chance...

    They are very interested in seeing what a cast bullet will do too as they to are interested in starting to cast bullets for themselves I guess i'm the guinea pig of the group.

    The hunt will be in northern BC and not my first hunt for moose but this hunt has been in the plan for the last year with upgrading equipment and gear for all in the group this year. This is strictly a meat hunt for all of us. And their is a small chance of caribou as well in the area so one would be a bonus.
    We will have a couple of walk in coolers on the trailers as this is an Aug hunt and can be a warm at times.

    I can too see that we here will have to be lead free in the near future too and I am sure the community will find another alloy that we will be able to work with so am not to worried about it. I think some are already going that way.

  9. #9
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by nagantguy View Post
    Welcome; nice looking boolit and as a very famous Marine once said the 30-06 is never a bad choice! Shoulder shot is always a good idea on large game; put one of those where it needs to go and then the work begins; will you have any chance to shoot another critter or at least some heavy beef bones before your hunt? Even a pig “hunt” at one of those fenced in places would tell the tale on expansion and penetration. Talk to a local butcher shop maybe you could get a beef head or shoulder; that’s where I got mine; an actual slaughter house mind you not your local grocery.
    I have done allot of reading over the last year on the use of the 30-06 in Africa and how well it did over their although its not allowed now for what they call dangerous game but back in the day it was the caliber of choice for many big game hunters and that they were shooting boolits up to 250 grains out of the 30-06 that just amazed me as I thought 220 grain was the biggest how mistaken I was and am looking for a 250 grain boolit mold now.
    The 30-06 sure is a versatile caliber for sure I have had magnums but never liked em and always went back to the 30-06 and I am now sticking with it till my end of days.

    Shoulder shot sounds like what I will go with as it seems to be the consensus here.

    I will take what ever words of wisdom anyone has for my cast boolit moose hunt..

  10. #10
    Boolit Grand Master Tripplebeards's Avatar
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    Never shot a moose but from all the tv shows I watch I don't think they will go a country mile with a marginal shot or clear three football fields in three seconds flat like a deer. They are like a extremely tall cow with antlers. If it were my hunt I would try and look for the heaviest boolit with more of a flat met plate and aim for the shoulder. Moose are a pretty wide animal so I would want a heavy, heavy, boolit to travel as far as it could through the animal and to possibly get an exit for two bleeder holes if tracking is needed. I'm guessing a you'd want a little harder than normal alloy to hold together and to make sure it drives all the way through the animal. I think its possible to get pretty close to most moose so I'm guessing shots will be close. I walked within 15 yards of one in Canada while bear hunting. It couldn't have cared less if I was there. If i were using a jacket bullet I'd go with the 200 gr nosler partitions. I harvested my last black bear with one out of my 300 RUM. A 180 grainers would work great in an 06'.

    My cousin has harvested three now. At $8G a hunt he pays there are a lot more things I feel are a better investment. As soon as I can find an affordable hunt I'm in. Sounds like a great hunt! Wish I could tag along with my 450 bushmaster and my Lee 300gr fn boolit and 35.5gr h110 load!!!
    Last edited by Tripplebeards; 07-14-2018 at 04:16 PM.

  11. #11
    Boolit Master

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    I'm not a fan of shooting anything other than paper with pointy cast. I prefer a higher BHN with a big fat flat nose, but you can't argue with a good heavy with a hollow point, especially if it's a Bruce B style HP.

    Going with a heavy for caliber is always a laudable idea.

    Look at the 31-245H, BUT, the longer it gets, sooner or later it's going to start putting the GC below the neck,,,,,,.

    http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php?page=3
    More "This is what happened when I,,,,," and less "What would happen if I,,,,"

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  12. #12
    Boolit Mold
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    I have shot several moose; used 06 with 180 grain (worked wonderfully), 338 Win Mag 250 grain (again worked just like you would think), 50-90 Sharps 500 grain soft cast (killed like thunder-hammer of Thor), 338 Marlin Express 200 grain "Gummy Bear" (worked very well, I could hunt rest of my life with this rifle). Really couldn't tell much difference except for the Sharps. If I were using the 06 I'd go with a well built 180 grain bullet and never look back. Jim

  13. #13
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by Hamish View Post
    I'm not a fan of shooting anything other than paper with pointy cast. I prefer a higher BHN with a big fat flat nose, but you can't argue with a good heavy with a hollow point, especially if it's a Bruce B style HP.

    Going with a heavy for caliber is always a laudable idea.

    Look at the 31-245H, BUT, the longer it gets, sooner or later it's going to start putting the GC below the neck,,,,,,.

    http://www.accuratemolds.com/catalog.php?page=3
    Thanks for the link!
    The one that caught my eye was the 31-250E made for powder coat I could go for this one!

  14. #14
    Boolit Buddy
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    One thing you might consider is that since you're powder coating and gas checking your bullets you can get by with a somewhat softer alloy (not dead soft) than one would normally use in a 30-06. A softer alloy is going to equate to better expansion. You would want to do some testing ahead of time but a BHN of 11-12 with that powder coated bullet and 30-06 velocity may be a good combination. I would prefer more meplat but testing in an expansion medium will give you a better idea how that bullet may perform.

    It's never a bad idea to put a shoulder in the shot. Moose are not particularly hard to kill but they sometimes don't realize that. The situation you want to avoid is having one wander into the water before expiring. Breaking one or both shoulders slows them down considerably. Good luck.
    Only left handed guns are interesting!

  15. #15
    Boolit Master RKJ's Avatar
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    I was looking at your original bullet and wondering if you filed it flatter how would it fly,but then looked at that Accurate one you were looking at. That one looks awesome and would be the one I'd take with me. Good luck, hoping you get a monster (right by the trail, so you won't have to pack too far) But I'd say the chances of that happening are pretty slim.

  16. #16
    Boolit Master

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    I would suggest a flat pointed boolit rather than trying to fix a pointed one. I really like the "bison" boolit by either NOE or Accurate Molds. I have the Accurate Molds version that is 245gr and gas checked.

  17. #17
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by mart View Post
    One thing you might consider is that since you're powder coating and gas checking your bullets you can get by with a somewhat softer alloy (not dead soft) than one would normally use in a 30-06. A softer alloy is going to equate to better expansion. You would want to do some testing ahead of time but a BHN of 11-12 with that powder coated bullet and 30-06 velocity may be a good combination. I would prefer more meplat but testing in an expansion medium will give you a better idea how that bullet may perform.

    It's never a bad idea to put a shoulder in the shot. Moose are not particularly hard to kill but they sometimes don't realize that. The situation you want to avoid is having one wander into the water before expiring. Breaking one or both shoulders slows them down considerably. Good luck.
    I think I am in the ball park of BHN 11-12 as this batch dropped em pretty heavy out of the mold at 234 grain the next block of lead I melted down dropped em at 226 grains I did not load any of them yet!

    Since we will be right by the water on this hunt that is exactly what I want to avoid is them running in the lake I think that would just make for a hole lot of extra work the shoulder shoot is sounding better all the time...

  18. #18
    Boolit Mold
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    Quote Originally Posted by Moonie View Post
    I would suggest a flat pointed boolit rather than trying to fix a pointed one. I really like the "bison" boolit by either NOE or Accurate Molds. I have the Accurate Molds version that is 245gr and gas checked.
    I too think a flat top is what I will eventually get that 250gr Accurate Mold looks like what I am after now that I am powder coating.

    For this hunt I will give what I have a try always interested in outcomes good or bad they are all learning experiences for me.

  19. #19
    Boolit Master

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    In the past I've used this boolit in a 30-06 with 35gr of H4895 @1,950fps and was accurate. I no longer have that rifle but have recently aquired a 300 Win Mag and will work on a load for it using this boolit.

  20. #20
    Boolit Mold
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    have you hunted with this boolit Moonie if so did you get anything with it and did it work for you?

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Abbreviations used in Reloading

BP Bronze Point IMR Improved Military Rifle PTD Pointed
BR Bench Rest M Magnum RN Round Nose
BT Boat Tail PL Power-Lokt SP Soft Point
C Compressed Charge PR Primer SPCL Soft Point "Core-Lokt"
HP Hollow Point PSPCL Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" C.O.L. Cartridge Overall Length
PSP Pointed Soft Point Spz Spitzer Point SBT Spitzer Boat Tail
LRN Lead Round Nose LWC Lead Wad Cutter LSWC Lead Semi Wad Cutter
GC Gas Check