243 for elk

[roosiebull]

I’m a fan of killing without fuss and the least amount of rodeos possible. Whether it’s extremely experienced hunters and shooters, or first year people, as recoil goes up, so to do poor outcomes.
In multiples of hundreds of animals killed with very small .224 cartridges to extremely large 338’s, the cartridge/bullet combo that has had the least amount of screw ups, and hence the highest shot to kill rate out to 600 yards, is the 223-77gr TMK. Next, has been the 243 with a couple of different bullets. The cartridges with the most missed shots, most wounded animals, most tracking, most lost animals that were hit, and most rodeos are all magnums; and magnums with monos especially.

this is worth bringing back up... i have not seen the critters shot with a rifle that Form has, but i have seen a good amount still.... of all of the critters i have seen shot with a rifle, many of them have been elk, and most of them have been inexperienced hunters, and only a handful have been with bigger cartridges.

every rodeo i have been involved in has been poor shooting, and i cannot think of one that a bigger cartridge could have fixed.... the poor shooting has been from people who were introduced to shooting a rifle that was too big for them and gave them really bad habits.....

is smaller better at killing all things the same? no, of course not, but from what i have seen, the vast majority of elk hunters i know are shooting too much gun for THEM, they just don't shoot their rifles that well, and don't shoot them a lot because they don't like shooting them.

i started my wife off with smaller cartridges, she has now graduated to a 6.5cm, and i don't think we will ever have a reason to go bigger than that. she is still relatively green, but she has really, really good shooting habits.... better than i do. she has never shot a rifle that gave her brain a reason to be afraid of pulling the trigger, and i don't want to change that.

my primary rifle is currently a 6.5cm as well, my 7RM has taken a back seat, because that 6.5 is just so pleasant to shoot. i don't consider myself recoil sensitive, but after 20 rounds shooting prone with my 7 mag, my shooting loses consistency, and i just don't want to keep shooting it.

braking a rifle is a solution, but here on the coast, it isn't a good one for most. for a good experienced shooter, the big magnums are great, especially braked... why not? most guys just don't shoot big rifles well, no matter how much they say they aren't recoil sensitive.... and if people don't like shooting their big cartridges, they aren't going to get very good with them....

quick, clean kills is the goal..... a well placed bullet with a cartridge capable of it is how to do so.... whether that's a 243 or 338-378WBY.

 

[drdrop]

I shot my first two elk with a .243, one shot kills, 95 grain bullets, both within 100 yards. A .243 was all I owned at that time. I've since bought a .270 which I use because it's a lightweight mountain rifle with a stainless barrel more suited for rougher conditions. The longest shot I've taken on an elk is about 170 yards. All others have been <100. I'd have no qualms with a .243 on any of them.

 

[woods89]

this is worth bringing back up... i have not seen the critters shot with a rifle that Form has, but i have seen a good amount still.... of all of the critters i have seen shot with a rifle, many of them have been elk, and most of them have been inexperienced hunters, and only a handful have been with bigger cartridges.

every rodeo i have been involved in has been poor shooting, and i cannot think of one that a bigger cartridge could have fixed.... the poor shooting has been from people who were introduced to shooting a rifle that was too big for them and gave them really bad habits.....

is smaller better at killing all things the same? no, of course not, but from what i have seen, the vast majority of elk hunters i know are shooting too much gun for THEM, they just don't shoot their rifles that well, and don't shoot them a lot because they don't like shooting them.

i started my wife off with smaller cartridges, she has now graduated to a 6.5cm, and i don't think we will ever have a reason to go bigger than that. she is still relatively green, but she has really, really good shooting habits.... better than i do. she has never shot a rifle that gave her brain a reason to be afraid of pulling the trigger, and i don't want to change that.

my primary rifle is currently a 6.5cm as well, my 7RM has taken a back seat, because that 6.5 is just so pleasant to shoot. i don't consider myself recoil sensitive, but after 20 rounds shooting prone with my 7 mag, my shooting loses consistency, and i just don't want to keep shooting it.

braking a rifle is a solution, but here on the coast, it isn't a good one for most. for a good experienced shooter, the big magnums are great, especially braked... why not? most guys just don't shoot big rifles well, no matter how much they say they aren't recoil sensitive.... and if people don't like shooting their big cartridges, they aren't going to get very good with them....

quick, clean kills is the goal..... a well placed bullet with a cartridge capable of it is how to do so.... whether that's a 243 or 338-378WBY.

I'm not exactly the voice of experience, but I agree with this. I've had too many rodeos in the past, and they all had one thing in common, which is me not being familiar enough with my rifle. I'm not going to tell anyone what to do, but I just shoot more and better with lighter rifles.

I know brakes are popular, and if it's working for you, who am I to say you shouldn't, but I hate brakes. My brother has a 4 chamber on a 20'' 308 and after being around that rifle for 20 rounds, with ear pro, I'm sick of it. YMMV.

 

[woods89]

Would you guys carry a .243 for grizz?

Pat Sinclair took a .260 on a grizzly hunt a few years ago. They didn't have to track it into the alders because it didn't make it to the alders......

Not everyone is Pat Sinclair, though....

 

[roosiebull]

I know brakes are popular, and if it's working for you, who am I to say you shouldn't, but I hate brakes. My brother has a 4 chamber on a 20'' 308 and after being around that rifle for 20 rounds, with ear pro, I'm sick of it. YMMV.

i think brakes are awesome..... for certain hunters who expect certain types of encounters. i may brake my 7mag, and set it up for one type of hunting, which is glassing spring bear.... just to bring it back to life. it will work fine for that, but at the same time, i don't mind getting within 350yds with my 6.5cm, and i can take a quick shot if i catch one feeding down the edge of a logging road in the grass on my way in to glass.

i don't want a brake on my wife's rifle, because i want to have constant communication with her the whole time leading up to a shot, and practical ear protection for the woods doesn't lend well to that, especially when we have something working well for her now... why complicate things?

i took a 16yr old girl this year to kill her first elk, she was using my 6.5cm, we had it and a 270 we had her shooting pre season, and it was obvious what rifle was the better fit.... she is just over 5ft, and a little over 100lbs.... small girl.
the elk she shot went maybe 15yds after the shot, then we got her back on it, steep quartering to.... that shot impressed me later.... bullet traveled the length of the body, went into the ham and blew up the femur.... it was exploded, i couldn't believe it. long story short, she had her first elk, it it didn't go anywhere, and i learned more about how capable that cartridge can be.

i will also say, my biggest schooling in cartridge and bullet performance was reading through the 223 thread that Form linked on the first page of this thread, maybe the most informative forum thread i have read, and it connected a lot of dots for me and my experiences..... tons of great info in that thread if you go into it with an open mind..... it's a lot of reading but well worth it.

 

[Campcreek12]

I've taken 10 bulls elks in row OTC on public land with a 22LR loaded with subsonic snake shot. Took a cow with a slingshot and another with a super soaker full of Hawaiian punch. My buddy uses a Harrier jet and land mines. I think a .243 falls in between there.

 

[204guy]

Would you guys carry a .243 for grizz?

https://imgur.com/72j4dkx

Absolutely not. Burning 45 grains of powder to kill a griz is ridiculously not enough. I used a 260.

Worth noting I was also a NR on possibly a once in a lifetime hunt. I, gasp, waited for a good angle and shot presentation. Crazy I know.

 

[Trr15]

https://imgur.com/72j4dkx

Absolutely not. Burning 45 grains of powder to kill a griz is ridiculously not enough. I used a 260.

Worth noting I was also a NR on possibly a once in a lifetime hunt. I, gasp, waited for a good angle and shot presentation. Crazy I know.

Congrats. But my point was never that you couldn’t kill anything with smaller/non-magnum cartridges.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

https://imgur.com/72j4dkx

Absolutely not. Burning 45 grains of powder to kill a griz is ridiculously not enough. I used a 260.

Worth noting I was also a NR on possibly a once in a lifetime hunt. I, gasp, waited for a good angle and shot presentation. Crazy I know.

Sick brother - I love the 260! Only rifle I have ever regretted selling. Mine was a Milspec 5r Gen 2...I miss that rifle so much.

People fail to realize that anything less than a CNS shot, even with a big 338 isnt going to stop a charging grizzly. Hunting them on the other hand - I would shoot one with a 243 any day. Like you did, just be patient and wait for the right shot.

 

[Jusgunn3]

Get the rifle you want in 7mm-08 and you will be a happy camper

 

[JPeters218]

Ok I've heard a lot of different statement on wether you can or or should use 243 for elk I ask because I have one and I'm looking at a new rifle and I may get a chance to go elk hunting shortly. It will be used mostly for deer and here in arkansas we don't have really long shot nothing past probably 350 yards

I shot my first elk with a .243 when I was 12. Did the job just fine on a cow. I’d go 25-06 over 243

 

[TDawg]

My son killed his first bull with a .243 from about 150 yards. A good bullet well placed is what counts most. Stay within your shooting limits and wait for a good shot (broadside).

 

[Short Track]

The .243 impresses me with the exit wound. Typically a golf ball size exit.

 

[Fullfan]

243 for elk, you would be a fool. I have hit them with a .210 TTSx from a 338 and the took it like a champ. And the shot placement what in the vitals. Elk have a strong desire to live, and can suck up several impacts from a well placed bullet.

 

[black dawg]

243 for elk, you would be a fool. I have hit them with a .210 TTSx from a 338 and the took it like a champ. And the shot placement what in the vitals. Elk have a strong desire to live, and can suck up several impacts from a well placed bullet.

Thats the thing though.......a much smaller expanding bullet usually makes a bigger wound channel than a hopefully somewhat expanding mono.

I have killed elk with 270 through 338wm, none died quicker than with the 270. All cup and core bullets. Mostly hornady interlock and nos partitions.

 

[Butler247]

A .308 would do the trick as would many other calibers. However in times like these you may be better off finding ammo then buying a rifle to match. Just a thought.

 

[nphunter]

I've seen a lot of elk killed with a .243 and have killed several with one myself, I have also seen a lot of people split their face open with magnums and miss elk at the same time, two of those were 338's. I've never seen someone scoped with a .243. I have hearing loss in one ear possibly from being around guns with brakes and not wearing hearing protection, I wouldn't personally have one on my rifle or my wife or kids guns.

I decided to set up both of my boys with 6.5cm's and they are great rifles and for myself, I shoot a 280AI. I wouldn't hesitate to elk hunt or have my kids elk hunt with the .243 either, I think it is a great underrated round for both accuracy and lethality when it comes to big game.

The only reason I went with a 6.5cm over a .243 is because we already have a couple .243's and I wanted to get my boys their own rifles. I have seen zero advantage with the 6.5cm over the .243.

I honestly think people get way too caught up over cartridges, shot placement is key.

 

[Southforkguy]

I think they title of this thread should now be... 243 is the best elk cartridge available everyone should buck off who doesn't agree

 

[Stainless83]

I hear you Formid, and not gonna argue but just wanted to point the op in the direction of Sherman wildcats. If you hand load, Rich Sherman has developed some of the most efficient case designs the shooting world has seen in my opinion. More speed with less powder and with better pills and less recoil/ longer barrel life.

 

[Stainless83]

My 7mm SS pushes 180gr eldm’s at 2960 comfortably and Still has over 1500 ft-lbf of energy at 1000 yards. Shot placement key yes. But having the confidence in your equipment and skills to squeeze one off over 500yrds opens up a lot more opportunities in my experience.