Tips for hunting the Newfoundland moose

Snap Shots

Sixguns and Moose

It was the third day of our client’s 10-day hunt for Alaskan moose, but we had not seen anything – no moose, no bear, nothing but brush and marsh and spruce thickets. Obviously we were beginning to get concerned. It was coming up on mid-September on the Upper Yentna River in South Central Alaska, and we expected to hear some moose, even if we didn’t see them. The area was blessed with few open areas, and 50 yards appeared to be a major opening, as far as visibility was concerned, but our hunter wasn’t looking to shoot any moose at 500 yards with some new rocket-science magnum rifle; rather he was packing the venerable .454 Casull.

The pistol is pretty famous by now, in Alaska and other places as well, but in this day and age when everyone is clamoring over the new ultra cartridges, and many guys are trying to find rifles capable of shooting deer at ranges over a halfmile, the pistol hunter is still a relative oddity. Odd as they may be, we planned on getting Roger Koziczkowski his moose, so we kept at the calling, regardless of the fact we had not heard any moose vocalizing yet.

I belted out a woeful cow moose imitation with my mouth, then we listened, then we moved on a little farther, then we heard the muted response. We looked at each other for a moment, then we heard the low pitched response of the bull moose again, the sound almost like a subconscious thought, similar in my mind to the faint drumming of a ruffed grouse. The bull seemed to be grunting several hundred yards below us, along a section of marsh that fed the lake near our camp, but we headed on up the ridge we were traveling, hoping to get into a more favorable position with a little visibility.

We spent another 10 minutes or so moving to a spot where the wind was in our favor, and we had about a 30-yard opening down the hill in front of us, the direction from which the bull appeared to be coming. We let out another cow call, and the bull continued to grunt while working his way closer and closer. We positioned Roger between the forks of an old birch tree, and we waited, hoping the wind wouldn’t change.

The problem that many hunters have when they decide to try hunting with a handgun is an obvious lack of suitable loads for big game. There appear to be a number of loads available for individuals hunting deer-sized game, but when it comes to the bigger North American species, such as moose and brown bear, bullet selection becomes a little more difficult. Roger had tested numerous bullet designs, and loads, and each time he came to the conclusion he just couldn’t trust any of them to expand reliably at the slow velocities of the big Casull. For moose hunting in the US, see our Minnesota Moose Hunting page to find out more.

It appeared that anything that would expand would also come apart at the seams if it contacted anything substantial, so Roger opted for hard cast. Starting with Starline cases, Winchester 296 Ball powder and 360-grain LBT heat treated cast bullets, Roger gradually worked up to 27.0 grains of W-296 for about 1,500 fps from the Field Grade Casull with a 71⁄2-inch barrel.

Of course, the .454 Casull is not really designed for the meek of heart, and it certainly requires more effort to handle the recoil than the smaller .44 magnums. Nonetheless it offers those who are interested in larger game an effective alternative to the long gun; at least this is what we were desiring when the moment of truth arrived!

The bull uttered another low grunt, and he was obviously closer than before. We were sure the bull would be in our sights with a few more grunts, but in this part of Alaska, bull moose have to be over 50 inches wide or have three or more brow tines, so we knew we would have to get a pretty clear picture of the bull before we could give Roger the go-ahead. Another grunt and our eyes were straining, then another, and another, and finally the antlers began to swing back and forth through the alders, and the old bull began to take shape. He moved into the opening we were betting on, and it was obvious he was well over 50 inches, so my partner (Dan Cisewski) gave Roger the nod.

The bull turned almost broadside at around 30 yards, and Roger fired. The bull turned directly into the opening and came full steam up the hill, straight toward us, although he didn’t have a clue where we were, and Roger never let up with the big pistol. The old bull came roaring by us at less than 3 yards, and Roger unloaded on him, attempting to anchor him on the spot, rather than allowing him to run for the nasty country below. The huge bull soaked up all five rounds from the Casull and continued on for another 20 yards before he paused, turned and collapsed in the alders. For a moment, the earth was quiet, all was still, then the harsh realities set in – huge moose require a lot of sweat.

Roger had considered this hunt a kind of testing ground for the loads he had developed, with a future brown bear in mind, so we were interested to see exactly how the bullets performed on moose. One thing was obvious: None of the rounds had a visible effect on the big bull. After a lot of butchering, one bullet was recovered just inside the hide. It had penetrated completely through the vitals and, as expected, revealed no deformation; rather it appeared it could easily be used again.

The hard cast bullets had easily penetrated through the moose without any expansion at all, hence the lack of noticeable shock to the animal. Regardless of this, the .45-caliber bullets made substantial wound channels. While I might have preferred the extra shock of an expanding bullet, the hard cast .45s did the job efficiently. Indeed the first shot on this bull was sufficient, and we should probably point out that moose routinely ignore the fact they have been shot at all, even when the rounds are coming from more explosive rifle calibers. We encouraged the extra shots from Roger, simply as a practical matter.

The .454 Casull’s performance, in view of future brown bears, from my perspective, leaves me with an annoying question: Is this performance acceptable in an up-close and potentially dangerous encounter with a big bear? Certainly the .454 Casull loaded in this manner will take the largest of bear down with proper shot placement, but as a guide, one has to consider the most pessimistic scenarios, and honestly I would not want to be using the Casull (regardless of what it is loaded with) in one of these less-than-optimal scenarios. If you like hunting moose in Canada, also see our Manitoba Moose Hunting page for find out more.

On the other hand, we have the gents taking brown bear with archery gear, and the Casull comforts me a great deal more than a broadhead ever will. All in all, the .454 Casull loaded with hard cast premium bullets is suitable for all North American big game, and Roger’s 65-inch Alaskan moose is testimony to this. With proper loads, and precise shot placement, the pistol-packing hunters of this country can rest assured the .454 Casull will continue to put meat in the freezer, as well as trophies in the book.

By Tony Dingess

This article and many more like it can be found by Successful Hunter Magazine. Visit them at www.successfulhunter.com