“Drop shot” placement on a moose??

[HillHound]

I shot mine high in the shoulders with a 300 Wsm 180 gr. and he went strait down. But in all the excitement I ran up the hill and when I got to him he opened his eyes and jumped back up bulldozing down hill snapping dog hair pines to the bottom of the draw where he expired. so even if they do go straight down give them some time and be ready for the second shot, that’s a lot of blood to pump out. Also a side note mine was in the process of protecting his cow from two other bulls so he probably had some extra adrenaline on his side too.

[trophyhunt]

Good advise, thanks all.  I'm thinking a high shoulder shot at this point, it will be hard to not go behind the shoulder and double lung him, that's always my aim point.  But something is going to die I know that much!!! 

[Okanagan]

Unless it is critical that you put him down on the spot, I'd go for the double lung you prefer, or maybe mid shoulder, depending on how he is turned.  It is a more sure-to-kill shot with more margin if the bullet is a few inches off from aiming point.

 Also, as several have mentioned, it is common for a moose to take a mortal hit and do nothing but lock his legs and remain standing as long as he can, which can take awhile as that enormous body empties of blood.  Long time moose hunters advised me that if the moose stops and locks his legs, keep aiming at him in case he moves, but otherwise shooting more only ruins more meat.

I grew up with the rule to keep shooting as long as he is on his feet, and I still do that with elk.  But with moose, when I KNEW that I'd put a killing round through his heart/lung area, I have simply kept the rifle loosely shouldered and looked over the sights at the motionless bull till he fell over.  If close, I'd put one through his brain or behind his ear. 

Along that line, be wise with head shots. A friend of mine put a bullet through a bull's sinuses rather than his brain on that long, mostly-empty-of-vitals head. 

After thought:  if it is your first moose, keep shooting till he is DOWN!

[h20hunter]

Keep it coming folks. Hunting in Oct and will be sticking with the double lung'r myself!

[DOUBLELUNG]

To be sure to drop any big game animal on the spot, you need to bust the brain or spinal cord. 

Your best shot and greatest margin of error with a bull moose is broadside, directly below the highest point of the hump and in line with his back behind the hump.  Perfectly executed, you will break both shoulders and sever the spine; miss by a few inches and he will still die fast and be a fast recovery.  If you take that shot and he DOESN'T drop, keep shooting because you didn't hit point of aim.

[trophyhunt]

 

[Okanagan]

To be sure to drop any big game animal on the spot, you need to bust the brain or spinal cord. 

Your best shot and greatest margin of error with a bull moose is broadside, directly below the highest point of the hump and in line with his back behind the hump.  Perfectly executed, you will break both shoulders and sever the spine; miss by a few inches and he will still die fast and be a fast recovery.  If you take that shot and he DOESN'T drop, keep shooting because you didn't hit point of aim.

Doublelung, who am I to quibble with an internet picture, but that diagram of the moose sure looks to me like it has the spine way too high as it passes between the shoulders under the hump.  In my recall, there is a LOT more hump above the spine than is shown in that diagram.  I'm likely wrong...  but if shooting at a moose today, I'd aim lower than the diagram shows if I wanted to hit the spine under the hump. 

This to basically repeat, that if a hunter isn't sure where the spine is, hold on the low side of best guess.

[BULLBLASTER]

Moose in holes build character!

Just shoot him and deal with it.   

[elkrack]

Moose in holes build character!

Just shoot him and deal with it.   

Lmao

[trophyhunt]

Moose in holes build character!

Just shoot him and deal with it.   

lol, trust me, I have lots of character !   

[Karl Blanchard]

Moose in holes build character!

Just shoot him and deal with it.   

lol, trust me, I have lots of character !   

HA!!!! Any man who blasts John Denver in public is obviously lacking character and should probably have to retrieve a moose from a pond and then pack it out of a hole.  My recommendation to you Jerry is don't suck at killing moose


Seriously though, if it were me I'd be shooting for behind the shoulder, double lung. I like braised shoulder roasts too much. Stear clear of head shots if you want a euro. Probably just stear clear of those anyways. I've slaughtered close to a hundred lambs as well as more than a few head shots on wild game and if you hit the brain it is lights out right now, on the ground instantly. You miss that brain or spine though and they either go zombie mode, or you are gonna have a chase on your hands. I had a cow elk come running by me one season and someone had shot her in the jaw. That image and the stern words my grandfather had about it has stayed with me to this day. Go for the 100% guarantee and put it center mass

[trophyhunt]

Took you long enough to reply!!!  I believe half your comment !  Lol

[WSU]

Having been part of a head shot gone wrong, I'd avoid that like the plague.

[Karl Blanchard]

Took you long enough to reply!!!  I believe half your comment !  Lol

  am I gonna see you guys at Steven's next weekend?

[trophyhunt]

Not this year, might go scout out the Selkirk. Honestly that shoot is a blast but the traffic and amount of people make it not worth it, going to miss going.  Really hoping for a crystal mnt location someday. If I didn’t need to save all my vacation time for moose, I might have went anyway.