Rebel Hog

Randy,

In fla., for Deer it's illegal with 22-250...

Buckshot

Arco is in Idaho

idahoelkinstructor

To let everyone know Arco is a town in Idaho, its about 60 miles west of Idaho Falls which is where I live.

Buckshot, no I am not kidding that I would use my bow over a .243. I am not saying a .243 will not kill an elk, but in September there is nothing like the rush of having a bull come screaming into you. I have even called back bulls and cows into me after the first shot and was able to put another arrow into them. Most elk after being hit with a well placed arrow throught both lungs will only travel 40-80 yards on average. I have seen elk after being shoot that still didn't even know I was their and went beck to feeding. Also many, many of times after I or my hunting partners have shot an elk and watched it lay down. Knowing its dead but waiting 15 minutes or so just to be sure, only to then have other bulls come into bow range. We could have killed several elk if we so desired or had tags left. I compare this to rifle hunting draw hunts with family and friends in early Oct. I have been asked on such hunts to be the caller. I have yet to be able to call an elk back into us after it was either missed or hit and running. When the gun goes bang most elk run like hell and there is not much you can do to stop them. Now with all this said I am not saying a .243 will not kill a elk at bow range and beyond. My bow range limit is 40 yards and under. The longer I bow hunt the more patience I have learned, and as a result the last 3 bow kills have been at 15, 3, and 18 yards in that order. My longest bow killed elk was my very first bull with a bow, at 35 yards and I have killed several in between 20 and 30 yards. Also all of my bow killed elk were broadside or quartering away, a perfect shot with any weapon. Again I am not saying under these conditions that a .243 will not kill an elk, with a good premium bullet it might be even better than a bow. What I am saying is I don't need a rifle to hunt elk in September, not trying to sound cocky but I feel that I and other dedicated bow hunters will kill more bulls in September with bows than most rifle hunters will in mid October to mid November. I am also saying that most rife hunters if given a .243 to hunt with will not make a smart choice with shot decision if a big to huge bull presents itself. They will shoot because it is, or they think it is the bull of a lifetime, they will shoot and take their chances on killing the animal. I have seen too many hunters hunting with both weapons come unglued and make bad decisions at the moment of truth. A .243, like a bow has no margin for error. I have yet to loose an elk with a bow (Thank my lucky stars). Last year I did rifle hunt for bulls in Oct, it was the first time for quite awhile that I have hunted with a rifle. I even had to buy a rifle, for the hunt becaue I simply didn't own one. In making my selection I wanted a rifle that I could reach out with force and knock a bull off its feet up 500 yards. A .243 will not do that, but a .300 Ultra Mag could as well as a lot of other choices. As it turned out I shot my bull at 70 yards broadside, a .243 could have done the job. But it was nice to see the bull flatened with the first shot, and I liked haveing the ability to shoot far as well. I hope I haven't offended you I am only trying to explain my statement and let you know I wasn' kidding. If I have offended you I am sorry. Jason.

Buckshot

Nope not offended in the least. And while I agree with you that the average archery hunter is much more careful about shot placement then the average rifle hunter, I still believe that as far as sheer killing capacity a .243 is head and shoulders above a bow. But like I said before, I wouldnt reccommend using it to hunt elk with.

I too hunt animals with a bow, havent hunted elk yet with a bow, but Im working on it. From my point of view there is nothing in hunting that compares to shooting an animal close up and personal with a bow. I really like the fact that your average bow shot on elk is comparable to my average bow shot on deer, gives me hope for when I do head out west for an archery hunt. Again no harm no foul, I knew your statement wasnt ment to offend me or anyone else for that matter, and I hope you were not offended by any of mine.

BTM

I always laugh when some gun writer says a man should use at least a 30-06 on elk, but a .243 is OK for a woman or kid who can't handle a larger rifle's recoil. Like the elk would care!

NVMIKE

my wife uses a 300win mag I love the 6mm but when useing it to hunt elk I was forced to pass up some shots I wouldnt even have thought about passing on w/ a 7mag or up. I to once thought the 270 was an elk gun, but it to is marginal for use on elk, it'll work as will the 243, but you HAVE to be willing to pass on shots even if you see that bull of a lifetime, I wouldnt want to pass on a 350yd shot at a 350+BC bull because I was carrying my 6mm instead of my 300

Jeep4x4

I wouldnt use a .243 on elk unless its with a super fast 100gr partition or a-square bullet.

GooseHunter Jr.

I would never use a .243 for elk. I killed my first elk with a .257 Roberts and that was pushing it. I would go with atleast a .270...me I shoot a .338 now.

ELKINMTCWB

I am with IDAHOELKINSTRUCTOR. I would allso use my bow befor I will ever use a 243 for elk.I have lived in montana for 6 years and killed 7 elk.One of my elk was killed with a 223 when I was out cuting wood.THIS will never happen agin.I did not give the elk the respect it needs.I shot the elk right behind the ear,it droped like a rock.When I was gutting the elk it came back awake [the bulet did not go though its skull so it was just knocked out] I had to track a bull with MOST of its guts draging the ground for around 400 yards.I did learn from my misstake and will NEVER shoot a elk with out useing a gun of respectable calliber.
When I moved to montana all I had to hunt with was a 30-06.After seeing many elk shot with rifles I now own a 300 win and a 300 wetherby.I do not think any bullet under the 30 cal is enough for elk hunting every year for the avrage hunter. The 270 is a very popular round so there will allways be people that shoot elk with it and kill them.Most people that shoot an elk with it and did not recover it will not post it.
My wife shoots a 300 win mag.This last year she shot one of her many elk at around 40 yards.The shot was placed in the basket.The elk than went well over 300 yards UP HILL.When guting the elk I inspected the damage from the bullet.The bulet whent one loung and allmost cut the top of the hart off.
I think what it comes down to is most people use the gun they have AND most people are deer hunters so the gun is for deer and they do not want to buy a difrant gun for elk or cant.

Buckshot

For the guys that distrust using anything under 30 cal, you have to realize that isnt 20 years ago when all people had to choose from were the standard soft points, todays premium and hand loaded ammunitions bare little resemblence to what you and your dad were using back in the day. I really did my home work before deciding to carry my 7mm08 as my main gun. After hours of home work and several trips to the range it became quite apparent that the barnes XLC bullet was just the ticket for elk. I could safly up the velocity a couple of hundred FPS over a standard bullet and they shot great. I used them to shot a whitetail buck with and the results where spectacular, the bullet broke the near side shoulder traveled the complete length of the body and exited the offside ham. After that performance I didnt have any reservations at shooting an elk upto and including 300 yards.