6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

[AKAV8R]

My favorite “winter” rifle caliber for Ak Wolf, Deer, Caribou, Moose, and occasional spring bears. 30+ yrs. Factory Barnes Triple-shocks or handloaded 100gn Partitions. My FIL loved his .243 for everything; Walrus, Seal, Moose, Bears.

 

[Stache Attack]

Might as well add another shot 11/26/25. Not the deer I was after the last 7 days think he might have been coming off the Mountian. Most character I’ve shot. Had scope dialed to 200 and held 3” high if I was within my zone it was around 275. Mv is still 2560 ish impact should be around 2100. One rib then through other rib, then stuck in the meat on offside shoulder. Went through heart. Not as big of a hole as last time but had complete jacket and core sep. found jacket in shoulder core went through hide behind shoulder. Died in 50 did a couple skids it looked like a death sprint.

16”pbb from @hereinaz 6cm
108eldm black hills gold ammo
Tikka t3 stainless in vg1 added grip and paint
And of course rs1.2, the more I use it the more I love it might even put one on cheap coyote gun

 

[Poe]

I'll be hunting my cow elk draw here in a couple weeks with 243 and 108gr eldms up in the GP area. I think there's a couple of us Albertans in here lol

I’m from Sask if that’s close enough haha

 

[Thegman]

View attachment 974918
...but had complete jacket and core sep. found jacket in shoulder core went through hide behind shoulder. Died in 50 did a couple skids it looked like a death sprint.

Another bullet failure!

 

[packgoatguy]

A few more tags filled with the 6mmCM ultralight rifle. 18 inch barrel. 109 eldm, 2910fps n555 powder.

 

[Thegman]

A few more tags filled with the 6mmCM ultralight rifle. 18 inch barrel. 109 eldm, 2910fps n555 powder.

Nice bear! What did it square?

 

[6creed]

Quesrion about using 95 TMK in the 6mm Creedmoor. I just got a new PBB 6mm Creedmoor barrel put on one of my tikka actions with a saami chamber (.183 freebore). I checked the jam measurement with a 95 TMK and the bullets bearing surface is completely out of the case neck. Also, looking at sierra load data for the 95 TMK in the Creedmoor thier recommended coal puts the 95 TMK pretty shallow in the neck as well. The boattail is barely into the case. Can anyone advise if the recommended seating g depth works well in a saami chamber? To seat the bullet with boattail just below the shoulder neck junction as I have with other rounds would give a very long jump. I also checked the same thing with a 108 berger elite hunter and found the same issue. Is this normal with .183 freebore?

 

[KyleR1985]

Quesrion about using 95 TMK in the 6mm Creedmoor. I just got a new PBB 6mm Creedmoor barrel put on one of my tikka actions with a saami chamber (.183 freebore). I checked the jam measurement with a 95 TMK and the bullets bearing surface is completely out of the case neck. Also, looking at sierra load data for the 95 TMK in the Creedmoor thier recommended coal puts the 95 TMK pretty shallow in the neck as well. The boattail is barely into the case. Can anyone advise if the recommended seating g depth works well in a saami chamber? To seat the bullet with boattail just below the shoulder neck junction as I have with other rounds would give a very long jump. I also checked the same thing with a 108 berger elite hunter and found the same issue. Is this normal with .183 freebore?

6 creed saami chamber and 95tmk weren’t made for each other.

Load it as long as you can safely, and shoot it. Seems like some barrels like the bullets and some don’t.

Most seem fine even with the long jump. But the extended jump from creed freebore is exposing a few that don’t.

 

[packgoatguy]

Nice bear! What did it square?

A bit over 6ft. Skull was just under 20 inches.

 

[kkp005]

Quesrion about using 95 TMK in the 6mm Creedmoor. I just got a new PBB 6mm Creedmoor barrel put on one of my tikka actions with a saami chamber (.183 freebore). I checked the jam measurement with a 95 TMK and the bullets bearing surface is completely out of the case neck. Also, looking at sierra load data for the 95 TMK in the Creedmoor thier recommended coal puts the 95 TMK pretty shallow in the neck as well. The boattail is barely into the case. Can anyone advise if the recommended seating g depth works well in a saami chamber? To seat the bullet with boattail just below the shoulder neck junction as I have with other rounds would give a very long jump. I also checked the same thing with a 108 berger elite hunter and found the same issue. Is this normal with .183 freebore?

I’ve got a PBB 16” 1/7 with the .183 freebore… it shoots the 95gr tmks very well. 1” 10 shot groups. 2.725” OAL , 41.5 gr h4350

 

[6creed]

I’ve got a PBB 16” 1/7 with the .183 freebore… it shoots the 95gr tmks very well. 1” 10 shot groups. 2.725” OAL , 41.5 gr h4350

That's good to hear, I will try that.

 

[Thegman]

A bit over 6ft. Skull was just under 20 inches.

That's a big head for a 6' bear.

 

[packgoatguy]

That's a big head for a 6' bear.

Ya, he was a decent bear for Idaho I think. Compared to the skull of one of my other son's bear (just under 6ft... I think it was 5ft 10in, vs 6ft 4in) it's noticeably larger. The 6ft 4in bear skull weighs almost 170 grams more. (About 16% more mass/weight).

 

[np307]

Had a doe come in to my weak side behind me today. She was 15 yards from me when she saw me but couldn't smell me. Decided to skirt around to find my wind and when she got parallel to me I risked it and wheeled on her. She faced me and froze. 30 yard frontal shot, 15 yard death run. .243 shooting hornady precision hunter (90gr eldx). Core and jacket separation, found the biggest chunk just past the liver and another chunk in the liver. About 1.25" hole from entry through right side lung, diaphragm, and liver. One laceration on the left side lung, no jacket or bone seen over there. Heart was intact including pericardium. Ill put the recovered sections on the scale when I get home. (Edit: 20.4 grains. Looks like the main body of the core is missing. Probably missed another chunk of it in the cavity but there was no ruptured tissue beyond where I pulled the base from)

Left side with ribs pulled back:
Entry:
Right side with shoulder removed:
Bullet recovery behind liver:
Wound channel:

 

[24valve]

Am I the only one that gets nothing of real value of the necropsy photos? Just looks like any bunch of goo to me. I’d rather see the hunter, the rifle, the countryside and a brief story. The cup and core wound channels all look about the same.

As @Ajsomp mentioned, part of it was and still is to demonstrate that smaller calibers using reliably fragmenting bullets can create adequate wound channels to effectively kill deer and elk.

There is also value seeing differences in wound channels between bullets, and how bullet selection can make a bigger difference in the size of wound channels as opposed to caliber. There is no better way to find out what a bullet does in tissue than actually seeing what a bullet does in tissue, and rokslide is an incredibly unique place to have the amount of necropsy photos that it does compiled and documented in a useful way.

Sometime else that is harped in frequently around here is sample size, and there is something to said for the sheer number of similar necropsy photos for certain bullets like the 108 eldm on here and 77 TMK in the 223 thread in terms of consistent performance.

However, you also hit on a point that is often overlooked to the rokslide crowd, and that is that cup and core wound channels often look more similar than they do different, and that we probably spend more time and brainpower than necessary analyzing the nuances between them when taken in the greater context of hunting as a whole. But Rokslide is a technical hunting forum, and exists for that kind of in depth discussion with other hunting nerds.

For an example of meaningfulness beyond red goo, this is an exit wound from a 175 ABLR on an elk (entrance was a small, caliber size hole):



And this is an entrance wound from a 95 TMK on an elk (no exit, caught in the offside):



They look similar, but when taken in the context of entrance/exit wounds, mean very different things for the shape of the wound channel.

However, at the same time in terms of overall result, mean similar damage (specifically on elk for the 175 ABLR) with very different amounts of recoil (7 mag vs 243).

 

[Thegman]

Ya, he was a decent bear for Idaho I think. Compared to the skull of one of my other son's bear (just under 6ft... I think it was 5ft 10in, vs 6ft 4in) it's noticeably larger. The 6ft 4in bear skull weighs almost 170 grams more. (About 16% more mass/weight).

Yeah, a 5' 10" bear, or even 6' bear, is markedly smaller than a 6'4" bear. Doesn't sound like much, but it is. 5'10" is a "decent boar", 6'4" is usually "a toad". The one in your picture looks 6'4" ish.

 

[cornstalker]

Tikka T3X .243 Winchester. 108 ELDM at 331 yards. Stumbled a couple of steps and went down for the count.



Exit side.



Entrance.




I did the gutless thing and didn't survey the internal damage.

 

[packgoatguy]

Yeah, a 5' 10" bear, or even 6' bear, is markedly smaller than a 6'4" bear. Doesn't sound like much, but it is. 5'10" is a "decent boar", 6'4" is usually "a toad". The one in your picture looks 6'4" ish.

Ya, I've seen plenty of pictures of bigger idaho bears, but we were sure tickled to find this one. We've only added spring bear hunting to our schedule these past few years. As a family we've only been able to pull the trigger on 5 bears so far, so to find a good bear like this was a real blessing! This was Tuck's 2nd bear (one when he was 14, and this one when he was 15). He sure likes to rub it in... considering neither of his older brothers have bragging rights like he does lol. But... this year will be a tough one for him to top... took that bear this spring, harvested his first pronghorn with his bow this summer, his first mature mule deer buck and a 350+ bull elk this fall. I cherish every moment I get to spend with him in the woods. It was just 5 years ago he survived open heart surgery, so every day is a gift!

 

[Unclecroc]

I was able to shoot two does today with my 6mm Remington and the 95 Berger classic hunter.
First was a 142 pound doe at 270 yards, she was quartering away so I aimed for her opposing leg and hit her in the paunch just behind the ribs and I found the bullet in the meat in the middle of the rib cage.
She ran 60 yards in a big circle and tipped over.
The gut, liver and entrance side lung was shredded. It was a mess inside. Impact was roughly 2600 fps.
Entrance

Exit
Recovered bullet jacket.
Next was a small doe that was with her. She was at 180 yards and the shot entered the shoulder deleted the heart and the front of the lungs. She dropped stone dead on the spot. Impact velocity was 2800 fps roughly. It left 2” exit in the ribs.
Where the heart should be.

Lungs
Exit in ribs
Love this combo for deer.

 

[Wa2tx]

Son shot a unique buck yesterday using 6cm 108eldm at 2920ft/s at muzzle about 110 yards turned slightly quartering to. Entered right on crease and exited slightly in front of midline of ribs. About 15” penetration diagonally through. Entrance was larger than exit. Ran about 30 yards. Pics are entrance, exit, can see both, and cool pic as the bullet hit the deer and can see the ripple.