.243 Big Game Animals
 

Is it possible to kill moose with a .243 say under 50 yards? Say you were hunting deer in moose country and stumbled upon a moose that did not know you were there, you were within 30 yards of it, would one shot to the heart,neck,or head kill it.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

Moose really aint that tough to kill, just big animals. Yes your 243 will kill a moose esp at 30 yards.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

it may,i can tell you this. i 've seen more deer lost that were shot with a 243 then any other caliber. lots of deer die every year with a 243 but i know to many guys that wish they'd never seen one.


i watched a friend shoot a bear that was close to 400lbs last sept . he hit him twice with a 243 ,we tracked him for 6 hrs . he never stopped.

you may kill a moose with it ,but to me you need a bigger gun.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

As far as losing deer to a 243, I have seen just as many lost with a 30-06 as a 243.You put a bullet in a vital area with a decent bullet and you will have a dead deer. the 243 is a great deer gun.

That said, NO, I would never shoot at a moose at any range with a 243 unless he was already wounded. I think the reason people say that moose are not that hard to kill is that they don't run after beingshot like a deer or elk, so you can keep shooting. They are huge animals with thick hide, big bones, and lots of meat.Sure, you can thread a bullet in between a rib into the lungs, and it would be dead quickly, but everything would have to be ideal. Please respect them more than to shoot them with a 243.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

I too wouldnt advise actually going hunting with the 243 for moose, however, he asked if it was possible to kill a moose. In his senerio while hunting deer came across a moose, 30 yards with the moose not knowing the hunter was there. Easyear shot equals dead moose.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

After seeing the eskimos routinely killing polar bear with a .223 one has to reassess. I know my guide was very happy when he saw me show up for an elk hunt with a .308. A .243 will kill any deer on the planet if shot placement is good. I would suggest a bigger caliber if you are hunting long distances or if you are trophy hunting and need to take a quartering away shot on a once in a lifetime Booner....

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

I'm curious how well a .243 would work on a caribou...

I think I wouldn't chance it and just bring something bigger, ie 270, 300wm, 340wby, and play it safe.

I'm sure it could do the job, ie perfect shot etc...but if it ment not taking a 1/4 away or towards you shot, then I don't really see the point?

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

Not looking to highjack the thread, but I know several guys who use a .243 for caribou with complete satisfaction...They are not that tough and they do not tend to run off into the thick s*** when wounded, as deer and elk usually do..

IMHO, a rifle in the .270-.280- 30-06 - 7mm Rem Magclass is ideal for caribou..The only reasonI mightuse anything more powerful is to defend myself from what might come to TAKEmy caribou, I.E a hairy volkswagon... That's why I've carried a .338 or a 9.3 x 62 on a couple of my Alaska caribou hunts..

To get back to the original question, a .243 is definitely too light for moose, despite the fact that it will kill one under ideal conditions...

The natives canoe up along side moose and shoot them with .22 rimfires , and I'm sure they shoot plenty of moose with thier .223 ARs and Mini 14s, BUT that does not make those calibers a good choice for moose hunting.. I watched a video of my Inuit guide's 10 year old son shooting a big polar bear with a .222, but that hardly qualifies the .222 as a good polar bear gun...

A more sensible minimum would be a .270 with premium 130 to 150 grain bullets...

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

Very true statement. However, if I tried to shoot a moose in the ear, he would probably move his head at the last second and I would just break his jaw. Leaving him to run off and starve.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

Yes, that is what would happen! Because moose move their heads way to much to succesfully hit one in the head!
-Jake

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

Yes.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

Just a guess here, but, I'd say those guys you know couldn't hit the broad side of a barn from ten feet away, and they'd be wounding deer no matter what cartridge they were using. I've taken deer with a .30-06, a 7mm Rem Mag, and a .243, and there has been NO difference whatsoever in terminal performance. The deer I've shot haven't run any farther after being hit by the .243 than the do with the others.

To 243heartshot, a .243 will kill a moose. You have to be very selective of your shot. Broadside, behind shoulder, not through it. Use a premium bullet that's been designed for penetration on a larger-than-deer animal. That being said, if I was on a once in a lifetime moose hunt... I'd be carrying something a bit heavier than a .243.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

Yes,a 243 would kill a moose if hit in the vitals...i hunted over 40 years with one and nothing got away from me yet and i killed deer all 40 years.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

No, .243 is not sufficient to hunt heavy boned, tough skinned big game! Even with heavier caliber and terminal forced rifle, you need to use either a quality "bonded", partitioned or solid that won't blow apart on impact. That's how and why John Nosler designed the first partitioned bullet over 50 yrs ago after a moose hunt with standard jacketed bullets fired at a big moose with some mud on his heavy hide. It took him a number of shots to finish the job. That started him working on an alternative designed bullet that would hold much of it's weight even after hitting heavy hide / bones.
A light weight bullet like .243 just doesn't have enough to make it through that and still do the damage needed to bring a big animal like a moose or Elk down quickly. You might wound and eventually find and finish it off or lose it and it die. But you can do much better. It's good you ask though. It shows you have the right intentions and want to the ethical thing. That's good.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

In the situation that you are facing in your thread, yes it would kill it. .

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

I pack a .243 more than any other caliber, but that is because I am usually planning on shooting Coyotes, varmints, etc.. and it is hard to beat for those tasks. I also have taken many deer with it, but by no means is it a great large game rifle. A 300 win mag fills the bill for my Elk, bear, Mule deer hunts. For moose the ethical thing to do is bring as much gun as you can handle and shoot well.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

I would think with proper shot placement it's more than capable. I wouldn't try alot of angle shots through shoulders. But saying that any fast caliber can bounce off bones at bad angles. I have personally seen a deers shoulder blade turn a 300win mag. The deer was up hill and just enough of an angle to send the bullet out the withers of the deer. Second hunter killed the buck so we got to see the recourse of angle shots gone wrong. Stay behind the shoulder in the heart and lungs dead animal everytime. And if you don't have that shot, do you really think you should of pulled the trigger in the first place?

Like all things it's the operator not the tool that makes the difference. Some hunters need 105 howitzers. Just sayin.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

It makes about as much sense as hunting them with a bow or a muzzleloader. It can be done, but in my opinion you are limiting your opportunities and increasing the chance of wounding an animal for no reason other than to prove something.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

A .243 will kill anything a 300 will kill as long as a premium bullet and proper shot placement are used. However, if I were targeting moose, I'd have one of my 30 cals with me, not my .243.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

Yep a .243 bullet should certainly kill a moose if it was shot in the brain or the heart.
As long as the bullet hits the vitals in the neck such as the juggular or the spine it should drop almost in its tracks as well.
I personally try to avoid broadside shots on moose only cause the potential ruuning and causing follow up shots, and damaged meat are inevetable.
I favor the the "head on", frontal chest cavity shot and split the 2front shouldersin half.
This animal ain't going anywhere but on the ground.
Very very little meat damage and very deep bullet penatration. The frontal section isquite a week spot.
The trachea and juggularwill be severed before the bullet even breaks through the chest cavity and the lungs and heart are inches behind the front ribs.
Once the frontchestis broken,the animals front shoulders cannot hold its own weight.
Its on the ground almost instantaneously.
That bulletwill severe the trachea from the lungs, (lungs are justchunks of little pieces), and the main ateries from the heart and and there is a not to mention hole in itsdiaphram.
I personally find this is the best shot to kill any animal and its my favorite method of killing them.
I have seen .243 and 30-30 kill evfectively this way with one shot kills on moose and the guys that use these cal on these animals choose this method of killing as well.
From 50 yrds away, there is more than enough energy for that cal. bullet to kill an animal this size.

RE: .243 Big Game Animals
 

also not to hijack the thread
i have seen a guy take a full size black bear with a 243 to the heart ran 20 yards and collapse

What's a .243 Good For
 

I agree with the comments made by those that mentioned shooter experience, ethics, and bullet type.

In the past I have hit Elk between the shoulder blades with a Hornady 30-06 150gr SST Superformance that went down and then got back up, whereas with a Hornady Custom .243 100gr BTSP Interlock, same placement, they dropped like a rock, every time. Ranges where from 50 to 200yrds. (Locations with cwd I would avoid shots near spinal areas) Yes these shot placements lose some meat but for me are worth it for a quick kill.

The point is a well placed shot with a bonded round should work (and have) on any north american mammal using a .243 at short ranges, but think a bigger bore might be the wiser choice.

Here we go again with a dead 8 year old thread brought back to life out of the archives by a newbie! Welcome newbie, but please stay with the current threads, as there are plenty to post in or start a new one!

PS: Your experience with the SST is not unexpected, as it opens up quickly when you hit a big animal like that where you stated. Also, please be informed that the Hornady Interlock is not a bonded bullet and that's what I reload in .243, 25-06, and 30-06 calibers. Their Interbond is their bonded bullet and it's great for bigger game like elk, moose, etc. where you want deeper penetration before full expansion.

Absolutely. And I wouldn't be afraid to hunt Moose with a .243 either. Just give me a Partition or a TTSX and I'll have Moose meat.

Hydroshock of a .243 is usually greater than a larger caliber.
I use short track cartridges on all big game. No more .30-06 or magnums. Can't practice with them.

Why? Are you delicate? I've spent a lot of time at the rage practicing with things up to 375 H&H and 458 Win Mag. And hydroshock never killed anything. Damage to vital organs does and if you think a .243 is better than a bigger caliber on game like elk and moose then I'm betting you haven't shot many of either.

Yes, I am delicate. You have a problem with that??????

Guess you never seen a 3" exit hole from a .243 hydro shock. Hydro shock is indeed what kills.

My bet is I've got a lot more experience with bullets hitting flesh, in both man and beast, than you do.

You may want to read the definition below because what you're referring to doesn't have anything to do with your 3" exit hole and I think flags has seen more than his share of exit holes, LOL!

"Hydrostatic shock or hydraulic shock is a term which describes the observation that a penetrating projectile can produce remote wounding and incapacitating effects in living targets through a hydraulic effect in their liquid-filled tissues, in addition to local effects in tissue caused by direct impact. Just as force applied by a pump in a hydraulic circuit is transmitted throughout the circuit because of the near incompressibility of the liquid, so the kinetic energy of a bullet can sometimes send a shock wave through the body, transferring physical shock to tissues whose physiologic function may be disrupted by it (especially in the circulatory or nervous systems). (Other kinds of shock, namely circulatory and psychological, may follow, but mechanical shock is the immediate disruptor.) There is scientific evidence that hydrostatic shock can produce remote neural damage and produce incapacitation more quickly than blood loss effects. In arguments about the differences in stopping power between calibers and between cartridge models, proponents of cartridges that are "light and fast" (such as the 9×19mm Parabellum) versus cartridges that are "slow and heavy" (such as the .45 ACP) often refer to this phenomenon."