Asked Mossberg’s Linda Powell, “Interested in hunting a Canadian moose this fall,?” Before I could respond she continued, “It’s with Love Brothers and Lee, hunting with Ron Fleming. I suspect you and Ron have crossed paths many times in the past at DSC conventions. Other in camp will be John MacLellan, who you’ve known for years, as well as Jeff Johnston, another of your friends from Oklahoma. Should be a really fun hunt, mostly calling moose.”
“Ms. Linda you had me with Canadian moose…but all the other things you mentioned made me want to interrupt to say YES!”.
The next few minutes we visited about required paperwork, lists of items I needed for the moose hunt, and particularly what rifle I would be using. Lately I had and have been shooting Mossberg Patriot Predator rifles chambered in 6.5 PRC and 7mm PRC. No doubt my 7mm PRC loaded Hornady’s 160-grain CX Outfitter or 175-grain ELD-X Precision Hunter would do an excellent job on moose. And frankly, I seriously thought about taking my favorite 7mm PRC until Ms. Linda said, “You do know Mossberg chambers the .375 Ruger in their Patriot Synthetic Cerakote rifle.”
“I want one!” I blurted as soon as she mentioned .375 Ruger. I have often made the statement, “If I had only one rifle with which to hunt the world, it would be chambered in .375 Ruger!”. I dearly love that round when it comes to hunting, especially for big-bodied animals.
Since the introduction of the .375 Ruger, shooting Hornady ammo, I have used the round in Africa on elephants, buffalos, hippo, eland, lion, kudu, roan on down to vaal rhebok and blue duiker. In Europe I have used it on reindeer, red stag, alpine ibex, fallow deer, mouflon and roe deer; in Australia I’ve used it on Asian buffalo; in North America I have taken huge Alaska brown bear, elk, bear and deer with it. My .375 Ruger rifles have done all I have asked of them and more, including shooting out to 700-yards with great precision.
In years past I have hunted and shot moose in Maine, Colorado, Wyoming, Alaska and British Columbia. I shot them in Maine and Colorado with a .308 Win T/C Encore handgun, shooting Hornady 180-grain InterLock loads. In Alaska and Wyoming, I used a T/C Encore .30-06 handgun shooting Hornady InterLock. My British Columbia’s Prophet-Muskwa moose was taken with a .375 H&H Mag T/C Encore rifle, again using Hornady ammo. All my moose were shot back during the time I did public relation and media work for Thompson/Center Arms, before it was initially sold by the original owners.
My last moose, in British Columbia, was a horseback hunt from a remote camp. Recalling it brings back great memories, but also painful ones. On the long ride into camp in the dark, while leading two pack horses, my horse stumbled. I pulled hard on the reins with my left hand to “keep her head up”. Doing so I held on too tightly to the lead rope with my right hand. When my horse stumbled both pack horses jerked backwards pulling me out of the saddle. My left foot remained hung in the stirrup. My right ankle ended up under my horse’s right foot. At which point, my mount took the opportunity to put all her weight on my ankle, then tried to grind it into the rocky trail. It took some doing but finally I was able to get the horse off of my ankle, which immediately hurt really badly. We were still eight dark miles from camp. There was little to do but to pull the laces on my boot as tight as possible and crawl back into the saddle. For the next 8 days I did not unlace my right boot. I hobbled in pain up and down mountains for the duration of the hunt. Writing about “my situation” even now years later, makes my right ankle twinge with pain!
We hunted extremely hard! Before hunt’s end I had taken a really nice 54-inch, wide-palmed moose, as well as an ancient 6x5 bull elk.
With those memories I listened as Ms. Linda said the hunt would be conducted from a remote lake, fly-in camp where we would hunt the shoreline from a boat, stopping occasionally to call in hopes of attracting a bull. That made me ever more excited! The hunt is thankfully in the not too distant future.
While awaiting the arrival of my .375 Ruger Mossberg rifle (www.mossberg.com), I am getting ready for moose in several ways, including making certain I have proper footwear and clothing but also in selecting a proper scope and ammunition.
When it comes to choosing a scope for my moose hunt, there is no question. It will be a Stealth Vision SVT 3-18x44 Illuminated scope (www.stealthvision.com). I have one on both my 7mm PRC and 6.5 PRC rifle. I took one of my scopes with me to Alberta for the black bear hunt I did back in the spring. In Canada I mounted the Stealth Vision scope on a .308 Win, Mossberg Tactical rifle my long-time friend Brad Fenson graciously allowed me to borrow. Shooting Hornady ammo the combination worked to perfection!
I appreciate the Stealth Vision scope’s clarity and being able to utilize their patented anti-cant integral Green Light Technology as well as their on-demand lighted reticle. Canting my rifle may not be that important at close range shooting the huge vitals of a moose, but I intend to run my combination through a lot of paces out to 800 or so yards at Stealth Vision’s range before I leave for Canada. After my moose hunt, I plan on using the Mossberg .375 Ruger – Stealth Vision scope combination on whitetails where I might be shooting out to 400 or more yards. And who knows, my only chance at a moose of a lifetime may occur at something less than close range. I will be ready!
The scope’s on-demand lighted reticle will come in handy should we hunt during poor light conditions which can certainly happen with arrival of cold fronts, or, if we call in a bull in dense cover early or late.
Moose are big! I assure you one cannot appreciate how big they truly are until you walk up to downed bull. They have monstrous bodies! You really come to appreciate how big they are if you have to pack them out on on you back. In years back I packed out several moose, my own and those of friends. On our upcoming moose hunt, hopefully the bulls we take fall close to where we can get a boat to minimize the pack.
As to ammunition, I intend to use Hornady’s Outfitter, 250-grain CX loads. In the past I have taken a lot of animals, large to small with Hornady Dangerous Game 300-grain DGX (expandable) and in the case of elephant, hippo and follow up shots on buffalo, 300-grain DGS (solids). I too have used Hornady 270-grain InterLock SP-RP on a variety of animals.
The reason for choosing Hornady Outfitter is I like the idea of shooting a controlled expansion, deep penetrating copper alloy bullet into a moose. Moose have hard dense bones and big muscles. With called in moose the only shot might be a head-on or a quartering to shot. I want a bullet that will drive through heavy muscles and bone to penetrate a bull’s vitals. I also like the idea of Hornady Outfitter ammo having both the primer and case mouth sealed. This will be a hunt where we may deal with water, lots of it!
Based on conversations with Love Brothers & Lee’s Ron Fleming (www.lovebroslee.com) shots could be relatively close. I will sight-in at 100-yards, but them will also shoot my Mossberg/Stealth Vision/Hornady combination at 25, 50, and 75-yards, but also out to 400-yards. I want to know exactly where my bullet will strike at those distances.
Moose have huge vitals, heart and lungs, which present a big target. Yet, I may have to accurately place a bullet between two limbs or between trees and I need to know I can precisely put a bullet into my “target” at whatever the distance, or the shot presented.
I like shooting and recovering spent bullets to see how they performed terminally. Given the opportunity I will shoot “my” moose more than once. A second or thirds shot is usually required with most bull moose.
Placing follow-up shots in the same place does little additional tissue damage. When hunting big animals such as moose, elk, eland and dangerous game like buffalo or big bears, I place each shot four to six-inches from the previous shot to create more than one wound channel. This is another reason I like precisely accurate rifles.
Within the next weeks I will start putting together my “Moose Rifle” and spending time on the range while anxiously awaiting my late September departure to “moose camp”. I’ll keep you updated on the progress…
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