rather_be_huntin

Buckshot and I mean no offense to you however I'm with idahoelkinstructor on this. I disagree that a .243 is a better elk killer than a bow. In fact I strongly disagree. Now comparing a bow to a rifle is like comparing apples to oranges. Bullets kill by shock and a destruction. Arrows kill by hemmoraging. To compare them you would have to compare how each does it's designed job. At the end of the day a .243 is much more likely to wound an elk leading to a long tracking job that may or may not have a dead elk at the end even in the hands of a decent shot. A bow in the hands of someone who is a decent shot is MUCH more likely to end up with a harvested elk at the end of a shorter tracking job. A bow over a .243 would be my choice any day. Plus you throw in hunting the rut with a bow and there is no contest.

ELKINMTCWB

Buckshot
You are right but dose the avrage hunter go though all the steps you did to make sure? I would bet my gun that you are way above what most people would go tough to see if there gun will do the job right.I am talking about the avrage hunter that buys wallmart shells.I beleve any one that dose this should use a .308 or bigger.One of the best rifle hunters I know uses a 257 roberts and has for many years.But he allso reloads his own bullets and knows his gun inside and out. He to will say the avrage hunter should use a .308 or bigger.Some of the elk hunters are above the avrage.
I do not think I will kill an elk agin with a gun :} my bow needs the kills.I allso shoot a way over the normal in bows allso. Mathews safari 90# 480 grain arrow,29 in draw.

Not being a but head. Have you killed any elk buckshot?

Buckshot

All things being equal Ill stand behind my statement that a .243 is hands above killing power than a bow. Have you guys shot the premium bullets? Can you kill an elk at 100 yards with your bow? can you shoot thru one shoulder of an elk with a bow? Ill bet you can with a properly loaded .243. I have to tell you, I really cant believe Im having this conversation conserning killing power .243 vs. bow. I mean they arent even close. Theroiticly we could have a contest and see who stacks up the elk, but since I live in the real world Ill continue to stand up on my soap box and preach. Now as far as sheer excite killing anything with a rifle is at least to me, nowwhere near as exciting as killing something with a bow. As far as shooting an elk, yes I have.

ELKINMTCWB

nice elk
Kill it in CO?

Buckshot

Selway Bitteroot wilderness, Idaho.

rather_be_huntin

Fair enough but remember the way a bow kills and the way a rifle kills are entirely different methods. Nope, a bow will not kill an elk at 100 yds. But I wouldn't use a .243 at 35 yds. We'll just leave it at nearly every reply to this thread was a .243 isn't an elk rifle and a bow is clearly an accepted method of taking an elk.

barbs

hey guys im new here. First thing i saw was .243win...so i jumped in.

Although i have never hunted elk, i would still consider a .243win a reasonable choice for elk. I've shot 2 black bears (1 monster) plus a bull moose with mine. Plus there are others that i know who have taken moose with one. My friends dad took his little .243 north to hunt our quebec caribou and took 2 with 2 shots. Im planning to do the same this winter for caribou........leaving my .270 at home and bringing my favorite little rifle.

I like to hunt with smaller calibers............have to wait for the broadside shot. Just have to be sensible and not try to shoot through the shoulders of a monster bull moose at 300 yards.

Just my 2 cents

whitetaildeer87

I have heard of women taking elk with a 243, very close ranged though. Im a small stature female and I use a 243 hunting whitetail. Myself though would NOT use a 243 on elk. I love the gun, but I would not want to risk it. When my dream hunt in CO comes along, I plan on taking my mean little 30.06

DDC

[quote]ORIGINAL: whitetaildeer87

I regard the .243 as inadequate to reliably kill elk, unless distances are short, the elk is a cow or small bull, and that elk offers you a perfect broadside shot. Also, this assumes that the .243 is loaded with premium ammo.

About 15 years ago, all of my elk hunting buddies were shooting .270s, .30-06, .308's and an occasional 7mm Remington Magnum. Generally, they all shot their rifles quite accurately. But, as occasionally happens when hunting tough animals like bull elk, some were hit and didn't go down. I think that the primary problem was shooting across canyons too far away to be confident of hitting the lungs, but these guys all decided they were undergunned.

Over the next few years, almost everyone traded their trusty non-magnums for .300 Winchester and Weatherby magnums, with a few going all the way to the .338 Winchester. One masochist bought a .340 Weatherby which always brought beads of sweat out on his forehead when he prepared to shoot the cannon. Now since the ammo was expensive and the recoil unpleasant, they shot these powerful rifles seldom, and their accuracy showed it. They were all quite sure that a hit anywhere on the animal was sure to flatten them on the spot. The results were that far fewer elk were on the meat pole at the end of the week. Putting up with ridicule at staying with my popgun, I had stuck with my .270 shooting handloaded 150 gr Nosler Partitions. I practiced often because ammo was cheap, and amazingly, the elk I shot at generally tipped over.

It was very telling when we held our pre-season sighting in sessions. These guys were clearly flinching badly. 100 yard groups of 6 to 12 inches were not uncommon. So I've concluded that the perfect elk rifle is the most powerful rifle you shoot accurately and frequently. Use premium ammo like the partition, Barnes X, or any of a number of bonded core bullets available today.

Slamfire

I know this is gonna come as a shock in some minds, but there ain't no such thing as a magic bullet. Them super premiums were designed to hold together at impact velocities higher than the muzzle velocity of standard or even most belted magnums. At the same time there ain't no bullet proof elk, seperate his heart and aorta and he'll pass out from loss of blood pressure in less than 1 minute. I don't have any quarrel with some one who keeps shootin' as long as an elk is on it's feet. You ain't gonna blow up those big lungs like you can the ones on a deer, so if you can't get at the heart, punch a hole through both lungs high up, and follow them until they drown.