Savage 111

[gerard488]

Hello again, I`m thinking of buying a savage 111 in 25-06 Rem to use for moose, I have to keep recoil as low as possible due to a neck injury. Used to use a Win Mod 70 in 7mm Rem Mag but had to put it down.
Wondering now if this rifle is a good choice in accuracy and is it big enough to do the job.

[bntyhntr6975]

I do love the .25-06, but I'm gonna have to say a moose may be a little too much for it. I have not hunted moose, so I can not say for sure. As for the rifle/cartridge combo on accuracy, I doubt you'd be disappointed.

[BETH]

We have people on here who have hunted moose so lets see what they say

[JLA]

Ive never hunted moose, but I do believe the .257 bore to be a little lacking in any chambering for moose. I could be wrong. The Barnes X bullets have increased the killing power of everything these days. Heck even the .223 is a viable 200 yd deer round loaded with 53 gr TSXs. So my advice, if you insist on using it, use the heaviest barnes X your bore will stabilize at .25-06 velocity and put the bullet where it counts most.

[Bindernut]

I think it depends on what part of the country you're in. How large are the moose in your area?

Here in ND, the meese (Western sub-species) aren't big monsters like their Alaskan cousin. A cow will be around 500-750lbs and a mature bull will top out at 1500lb.
The Eastern is similar in size to the Western, maybe a touch smaller.

The .25-06 is on the bottom edge of being adequate for moose here in ND.
As already mentioned, use the heaviest bullet you can load (120gr) and use premium bullets like Barnes, Nosler Partition, Swift A-frame, etc.
If you keep your shots 150-200yds or under, you'll be fine energy-wise.

Go for a shoulder-bone breaking shot to anchor them as fast as possible.
If you do a lung shot (with any caliber) these guys will go a long ways...they've got tremendous lung capacity and can cover a lot of ground until they run out of oxygen.



I used the .25-06 with the 100gr Barnes X-bullet (my normal deer/elk load at the time) to harvest a 600lb cow with a 75yd shot.
Might've been a bit lighter than I should have used, but she dropped right where she stood with two broken shoulders.


If you're in an area with larger moose, I would definitely consider a larger bore.
One of my co-workers harvested his moose with the .308 and I know several others that have used the .270 and .30-06 succesfully. All of these will carry a bit more energy than the .25-06 and still have less recoil than your old 7mmMag.
Another good set of choices are any of the Mauser cartridges...6.5x55, 7x57, 8x57, etc but you'll likely not find these chamberings in many modern rifles.

[gerard488]

How about the 7mm-08? I`m wondering if it would be a better choice.

[Grizz]

what about a .338 lapua (available as 111 LRH savage) with the JP tank muzzle brake? Apparently recoil with the JP tank style muzzle brake is next to nothing.

[JLA]

.338 lapua would definitely do it. but at nearly 4 bucks a round who can afford to shoot it??

I think the 7mm-08 would be an excellent choice. Loaded with barnes TSXs of course. Another good alternative to the .25-06 would be the .260 remington AKA the 6.5-08 A square. minimal recoil and good selection of hunting bullets thanks to the booming popularity of the 6.5-284. Which would also be another fine alternative if you want a screaming fast 6.5, but factory ammo is expensive and only made by like 3 companies.

[CJ_56]

I'm not a moose hunter but I've seen enough of them to know it isn't going to be easy to bring one down. And you might only get the one shot so I'd make it count. A charging bull moose is a sight that is really shocking IMO. I was in a zoo where we were only separated from the moose by a fence and one came charging out of the brush and ran right by me not more than a couple of feet away. It was right on me before I knew what was happening. They're fast and BIG. Personally I'd want a gun that would have a chance to bring one down with a less than ideal shot placement. I would never choose to shoot anything in a bad spot but if you get charged you only have a short time to react. So give me a bigger round just in case. I know a moose attack isn't exactly a common thing but if I'm close enough to hunt them I'm close enough to worry about being knocked down by one. Heck I was nearly gored and trampled by a big white tail buck coming through a thick briar patch and that thing was a huge rush. I had a .45 but I had zero chance to pull it and fire it. That buck was on me in less than a second. If I had been ready to pull my pistol and fire instead of having my hands full of blackberries and a bucket I might have gotten off a shot. As it was I just stood and watched it blast by me about a foot away at full speed with my dog right on it's heels.

Never underestimate mother nature. I don't see a reason to choose a lighter gun like that for a moose myself. I'd want at least a 30.06 myself.

[Bindernut]

Originally Posted by JLA

I think the 7mm-08 would be an excellent choice. Loaded with barnes TSXs of course. Another good alternative to the .25-06 would be the .260 remington AKA the 6.5-08 A square. minimal recoil and good selection of hunting bullets thanks to the booming popularity of the 6.5-284. Which would also be another fine alternative if you want a screaming fast 6.5, but factory ammo is expensive and only made by like 3 companies.

I'll second all that Josh says here.
The 7mm-08 would be just fine for lower-48 moose, as would any of the .260Rem.
Starting with the .264" bores, you have a lot better choice of big-game bullets than with the .257" and smaller. Puts them more into the large-game catagory instead of on the fence between medium and large critters.

Since we don't know what area you're hunting in, I'll also add that I would go even heavier for Alaskan meece though...at the very least the .270, .280, or .30-06 with heavy bullets.
I've never seen one of those big guys in person, but I have talked with a few guys that have been around them up in Alaska and northern Canada and even the cows will match size with the largest bulls we have here in the lower 48. So what sub-species you're after is a factor in what to consider for a minimum.


Grizz does have a good point about recoil-reducing systems though. There are some pretty good recoil absorbers on the market now that will soften up your 7mmMag quite a bit too.

[CHW2021]

Gerard, I hate to hijack your thread, but, you state a neck injury; what are your restrictions? Are you trying to reduce "shock" from recoil or is it a range of motion restriction?
Sorta off topic, but there are a few ideas that come to mind on the recoil vs. rifle fit to body that would reduce perceived recoil,
By any chance do you or your buddies reload? There are several bullet designs that tend to expand at lower velocities that may help you shoot your current 7mag at reduced power and still get a clean kill.

I suppose that I am asking to help narrow your options, I have had my own issues and have tried several ideas to help me shoot comfortably.

After thinking a bit I am wondering if your best option would be to play with the bullet and load combination for your 7 mag. If it is practical to load the mag down to 7x57 power levels and use a heavier (175 gr.) bullet you should be able to shoot your existing rifle. I believe that the range of bullet designs should allow you to find a decent combination.

[gerard488]

Thanks for all the good advice, I`ve settled on the 7mm-08. I`m in Newfoundland, Canada and the Moose aren`t as big as their Alaskan cousins.

[JLA]

Best of luck to you gerard. Post picks of your gear and of your kills.

[3/2 STA SS]

I have that Caliber Projectiles ( .25 cal.Sierras) I will part with (3 boxes) let me know if interested. 1 box of 87 grain and 2 boxes of 100 grain.