.243 Win perfect for elk
06-19-2014, 11:37 AM
#91
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
06-19-2014, 01:29 PM
#92
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 5,605
I want to be clear, i would never suggest using one for elk is a good idea. I probably would not advise using a 6.5x55 for moose either but i am open to the discussion. Probably because it is my favorite caliber and a pleasure to shoot.
Shooting bison from hundreds of yards away with a 45/70 is not what i would think of as hunting either. Letting a creature like that wander around till it falls over from blood loss was not a hunt. It was a slaughter and not done by what i consider a ethical hunter. He was an executioner in my book sent to deprive the natives of a food source.
I guess what i keep trying to justify ( or not justify) is a good shooter with a 243 or 6mm vs a poor shooter with a 300 Win Mag. Neither is the ideal solution but there are people that simply dont tolerate recoil very well.
This makes a cut and dry answer for every hunter a bit hard to swallow. Knowing your limits and the limits of your caliber will likely lead to a better answer for you.
Shooting bison from hundreds of yards away with a 45/70 is not what i would think of as hunting either. Letting a creature like that wander around till it falls over from blood loss was not a hunt. It was a slaughter and not done by what i consider a ethical hunter. He was an executioner in my book sent to deprive the natives of a food source.
I guess what i keep trying to justify ( or not justify) is a good shooter with a 243 or 6mm vs a poor shooter with a 300 Win Mag. Neither is the ideal solution but there are people that simply dont tolerate recoil very well.
This makes a cut and dry answer for every hunter a bit hard to swallow. Knowing your limits and the limits of your caliber will likely lead to a better answer for you.
Last edited by Gm54-120; 06-19-2014 at 02:19 PM.
06-19-2014, 04:02 PM
#93
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Kerrville, Tx. USA
Posts: 2,722
Have a friend in Alaska whose 6 year old son just shot a big black bear with his mom's 300 win mag equipped with a recoil arrestor. Kicks about like a 243. Of course hearing protection is a MUST when you use one of those.
I am personally recoil shy and I have a couple of guns on the upper end that test my recoil limits. However, with a slip on SIMS recoil pad, they are tolerable.
My point is recoil doesn't have to be an issue, even with bigger guns..
I am personally recoil shy and I have a couple of guns on the upper end that test my recoil limits. However, with a slip on SIMS recoil pad, they are tolerable.
My point is recoil doesn't have to be an issue, even with bigger guns..
06-19-2014, 04:50 PM
#94
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Mar 2010
Posts: 5,605
No it really does not need to be the deciding issue and they even sell reduced recoil loads for several calibers. Thats one reason i love the 6.5. Bullet weight selection can take you to a healthy performance level without bad recoil.
06-20-2014, 03:55 AM
#96
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Allegan, MI
Posts: 8,019
***Because it's always a good idea to discuss stuff like this so newbies to the sport will get an education from us old timers on taking enough gun to the fight, LOL!
06-20-2014, 08:28 PM
#97
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2008
Location: Rapid City, South Dakota
Posts: 3,732
Stumbling onto this old thread sure brought up some memories. When wife, and i were first married i let her shoot a 30-06 Springfield. She has never shot a center fire rifle since. As our son grew older, i didn't want him to be recoil shy, so i pondered what to start him out elk hunting with. A custom rifle was out of the question. My choice was made by reading Outdoor Life. The Ruger 6mm came home with, one night. There were only 80g ammo available in Missoula, so that is what we started with. Dies, and 100g partitions were purchased, but there was no brass availble, so we had to shoot the ammo, to get the brass. The plan was to use the same 4831 to load the 6mm, as i used to load the 7 mag. Friday night after work, we went deer hunting.
The boy was 8. He saw two bulls up the hill through the timber. He alerted me to their presence, and i shot one through the lungs. It took a step back, and ran off. The boy and i went up there, and found their tracks in the powder snow. He followed one; i followed the other. He yelled he had blood. We trailed that bull about 200 yard when he jumped up and ran away. I shot maybe twice at his head as he ran off, but missed. We trailed him some more. He jumped up again, and i missed again trying to hit him in the back of the head. He laid down again, and when we reached him i shot him right in the ham this time, which made him lay down. Then i shot him in the neck. Then i shot him in the head, which killed him. All in all i shot maybe 9 times, and hit him maybe 5 times. The first shot through the lungs made him sick, but he was able to keep going. He had a hole through an ear. As i gutted the elk, and skinned the hocks, the boy couldn't get a fire started, so i had to stop, and help him make fire. He was miserable with wet cold feet. Never ever again did he not be able to make fire. The next morning he didn't come with, to pack the meat out.
Next year, i put the rifle behind the couch on his birthday, Mother, and i told him his present was there behind the couch. When he saw it, he burst into tears, and i guess i did too; i had no idea it would mean so much to him. He killed his first elk with that rifle. Before he killed his first elk, i had killed 3 more using that rifle. The 100g partition were a way better elk bullet than the 80g varmint bullet. When the kids at school found out he was just shooting a 6mm, they evidently bragged about their 'elk' rifles. The next year he went ahead and took my 7 mag elk hunting. He killed his second elk with what used to be my 7 mag. He still has that rifle, but mostly bow hunts, and when using a rifle, hunts with a 350.
One thing i learned for sure those years getting the 6mm ready for the boy, is it isn't an elk rifle. After proving to myself a 243 bullet could kill elk, i shot one with the 7 mag; wow what a difference! In the years after the boy took the 7 mag i hunted with a 358. The 225g partition out of that rifle sure hurt anything it hit. Yup, after seeing 5 elk die after being hit by a 243 bullet, and seeing many more killed by larger calibers, i can say for sure, a 243 isn't an elk cartridge.
Well, i knew my time elk hunting was coming to an end, so i sold the 358. The last elk i killed was with a 6.5 swede. The 125g partition put it down in fine style. Several deer have fallen to the swede. There is a world of difference between how a critter acts when shot with a 243 bullet as compared to a 264 bullet. The 264 bullet is a real big game bullet, and i would use it again elk hunting; i will never again use a 243 bullet to hunt elk, unless i had to.
The boy was 8. He saw two bulls up the hill through the timber. He alerted me to their presence, and i shot one through the lungs. It took a step back, and ran off. The boy and i went up there, and found their tracks in the powder snow. He followed one; i followed the other. He yelled he had blood. We trailed that bull about 200 yard when he jumped up and ran away. I shot maybe twice at his head as he ran off, but missed. We trailed him some more. He jumped up again, and i missed again trying to hit him in the back of the head. He laid down again, and when we reached him i shot him right in the ham this time, which made him lay down. Then i shot him in the neck. Then i shot him in the head, which killed him. All in all i shot maybe 9 times, and hit him maybe 5 times. The first shot through the lungs made him sick, but he was able to keep going. He had a hole through an ear. As i gutted the elk, and skinned the hocks, the boy couldn't get a fire started, so i had to stop, and help him make fire. He was miserable with wet cold feet. Never ever again did he not be able to make fire. The next morning he didn't come with, to pack the meat out.
Next year, i put the rifle behind the couch on his birthday, Mother, and i told him his present was there behind the couch. When he saw it, he burst into tears, and i guess i did too; i had no idea it would mean so much to him. He killed his first elk with that rifle. Before he killed his first elk, i had killed 3 more using that rifle. The 100g partition were a way better elk bullet than the 80g varmint bullet. When the kids at school found out he was just shooting a 6mm, they evidently bragged about their 'elk' rifles. The next year he went ahead and took my 7 mag elk hunting. He killed his second elk with what used to be my 7 mag. He still has that rifle, but mostly bow hunts, and when using a rifle, hunts with a 350.
One thing i learned for sure those years getting the 6mm ready for the boy, is it isn't an elk rifle. After proving to myself a 243 bullet could kill elk, i shot one with the 7 mag; wow what a difference! In the years after the boy took the 7 mag i hunted with a 358. The 225g partition out of that rifle sure hurt anything it hit. Yup, after seeing 5 elk die after being hit by a 243 bullet, and seeing many more killed by larger calibers, i can say for sure, a 243 isn't an elk cartridge.
Well, i knew my time elk hunting was coming to an end, so i sold the 358. The last elk i killed was with a 6.5 swede. The 125g partition put it down in fine style. Several deer have fallen to the swede. There is a world of difference between how a critter acts when shot with a 243 bullet as compared to a 264 bullet. The 264 bullet is a real big game bullet, and i would use it again elk hunting; i will never again use a 243 bullet to hunt elk, unless i had to.
06-26-2014, 06:13 PM
#98
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: PUEBLO, CO, USA
Posts: 636
243 for elk
I used to get no longer published bi monthly rag called "Colorado Hunting & Fishing". Was a very good up to date magazine with lotta local stuff pics and local stories. Having read it for about 6 yrs mtil it folded, I can assure you all that literally hundreds of elk are killed every year with a 243 by women, children, flyweights, old ladies, young ladies, heavyweights, old men. young men, and regular working folks. And that is a FACT. So do not let the many 'experts' here in the fishbowl dissuade you.
Would I do it? No. Would I recommend it? No. But if I had to do it I would use Hornady Superformance or other premium such ammo as Winchester PowerMax or the Rem Scirrocco stuff. As I recommend you should(no I don't own stock in it).
My wife and I each have our own .270 bolt action rifles which are more than sufficient for any Colorado game from Jackrabbit to elk.
Good luck on your .243 hunt. Shoot straight.
Would I do it? No. Would I recommend it? No. But if I had to do it I would use Hornady Superformance or other premium such ammo as Winchester PowerMax or the Rem Scirrocco stuff. As I recommend you should(no I don't own stock in it).
My wife and I each have our own .270 bolt action rifles which are more than sufficient for any Colorado game from Jackrabbit to elk.
Good luck on your .243 hunt. Shoot straight.
06-26-2014, 06:29 PM
#99
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2011
Location: Colorado
Posts: 9,557
I used to get no longer published bi monthly rag called "Colorado Hunting & Fishing". Was a very good up to date magazine with lotta local stuff pics and local stories. Having read it for about 6 yrs mtil it folded, I can assure you all that literally hundreds of elk are killed every year with a 243 by women, children, flyweights, old ladies, young ladies, heavyweights, old men. young men, and regular working folks. And that is a FACT. So do not let the many 'experts' here in the fishbowl dissuade you.
Would I do it? No. Would I recommend it? No. But if I had to do it I would use Hornady Superformance or other premium such ammo as Winchester PowerMax or the Rem Scirrocco stuff. As I recommend you should(no I don't own stock in it).
My wife and I each have our own .270 bolt action rifles which are more than sufficient for any Colorado game from Jackrabbit to elk.
Good luck on your .243 hunt. Shoot straight.
Would I do it? No. Would I recommend it? No. But if I had to do it I would use Hornady Superformance or other premium such ammo as Winchester PowerMax or the Rem Scirrocco stuff. As I recommend you should(no I don't own stock in it).
My wife and I each have our own .270 bolt action rifles which are more than sufficient for any Colorado game from Jackrabbit to elk.
Good luck on your .243 hunt. Shoot straight.
Isn't that what we did? I'm sure none of us said a .243 wouldn't kill an elk.
06-27-2014, 03:52 AM
#100
Nontypical Buck
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: WY
Posts: 2,056
There are very few people I hunt with who I would say are good enough to use a .243 on an elk. Some of them can't even seem to consistently kill a deer with one shot from a .270 either. The .270 is a fine elk cartridge, but in their hands I wouldn't recommend IT for elk, either. And if they can't shoot a .270 well, I'll put money on their not being able to shoot a .300 or .338 any better.
I consider myself fortunate to have cut my teeth on a .243. No question, it's light. But I owe my proficiency with much heavier chamberings to my early days with the .243. It demands marksmanship, and it doesn't forgive bad hits on game. It's not for everyone. It's obviously not for you. But, you might exercise some caution if you're using what the rifle or cartridge looks like - rather than what the rifle or cartridge does - as the measure of the hunter's skill or effectiveness. Ultimately, it's the hunter that makes the difference - no matter what it is they're shooting.