.243 for elk? d

Holy [beeep]!!!!!!! i stopped reading at page SEVEN! if all the micro bore advocates would stop wasting thier time trying to convince the bigger bore guys, they could be sending shot after shot after shot downrange perfecting thier surgically precise shot placement, and the big azz bore fellas could be practicing thier trigger pull and dry firing shot after shot after shot, working on overcoming the ill side affects of magnumitis (FLINCHING). and everyone would make a perfect shot everytime, no misses, no wounding, crippling, traking everyone would have a dull knife blade. but heck where is the fun in that. keep it up guys
 
I wouldn't shoot anything with a heartbeat with a bore smaller than the 460 Marlin, but that's just me. I like to have the hide at least half way off when I walk up to the animal I have just quartered with my cannon.. I mean rifle.
 
Originally Posted By: pieeyedYou're opinion doesn't count if you didn't endure reading the whole thread. And you have to choose a caliber or weapon. ok i'll go back and read all the pointless nonsense if it'll make everyone happy, calibers. rabbits and close range pd's .17hmr and .22lr, yotes .22-250 and .243, deer and antelope .280rem elk .300ultra and .35whelen a.i., anything bigger my .375H&Hor .460weatherby. not one caliber but pretty much covered my bases, and if i decide to shoot an elk with the .243 or .280 it'll be ok as long as my range is limited and there is a hole in the heart or lungs. common sense goes a LONG ways!!!!
 
I have shot my last 5 deer and this year I shot my first elk with a 22-250 55gr Nosler Ballistic Tip.
The deer were from 70yds to 160yds, elk was 167yds.
I shot them all in the neck, all hits were in the spine one deer was in the jugular.
Dropped ALL in there tracks, no wasted meat and weren't messy to clean.
Not braggin, just saying.
 
I'm impressed; however, I'll stick with my 280 Remington as my minimum elk cartridge. As I have said earlier, I'm just not good enough, in less than perfect conditions, to deliver a perfectly placed shot every time.

A limitation I'll just have to live with.
 
you gotta love them .280's i know i do mine, Winchester M70 Classic Featherweight in .280rem, nice little mountain rifle. Sorry just bragging a bit.
 
Originally Posted By: hickerx2Originally Posted By: mark shubert The 243 will work, but is marginal, in my experience.


+100
The .243 is marginal for ANY big game with the exception of maybe antelope and southern whitetails.


Really? I know of several whitetails taken right here in NY with .243 .
 
Originally Posted By: tnpnt1Originally Posted By: hickerx2Originally Posted By: mark shubert The 243 will work, but is marginal, in my experience.


+100
The .243 is marginal for ANY big game with the exception of maybe antelope and southern whitetails.


Really? I know of several whitetails taken right here in NY with .243 .

Wow..!! No chitt..!!
thumbup.gif


The amount of valuable information revealed in this thread has been amazing... What new revelations will 2010 bring....?
blink.gif


-BCB
 
Oh my Gad I must toss in my $0.02 worth in on this pleasant discussion
tt2.gif
A few years ago I read an article in one of the well known hunting magazines about a guide in one of the western states that used a .243Win. for his main elk killing rifle.
It would be fun to go after an elk with a .243 if it were in the rut and you called them in to 25 yds before you shot them.
Don't get your panties in a knot as in Oregon the rut is over by the time rifle season is open so I wont be doing that.
w00t.gif


I pack a 300 win. mag. when elk hunting and there are some fellers that think that is not big enough.

No matter what ya use there will always be someone that will tell you that you did not use the right caliber.

Opinions are like b--t holes and everyone has one.
Sorry but reading all the post on this thread gave me a side ache from
laugh.gif
ing so hard..
DAB

Was my stick big enough to stir the pot?
tt2.gif


 
Last edited:
Well you know we will NEVER hear about the one that got away after being shot with the.243! And did I see yet another confession of someone shooting an elk with a 22-250? You know there are some things you should keep to yourself!
 
Quote:I pack a 300 win. mag. when elk hunting and there are some fellers that think that is not big enough.

If you're hunting Roosevelt elk in the Coast range, you've got about the right amount of gun. If there's not a gushing blood trail, or they're dead on the spot, it's a real job tracking one through the ferns and brush.
I know a lot of elk get hit and lost because I find skeletons almost every year.
thumbdown.gif
 
Originally Posted By: quarterboredIf you can kill one with a bow... you can sure as heck kill one with an 85 TSX. Though, the scruples that apply to a bow shot... ought to be shared with small caliber rifles.

Thats comparing apples to oranges here, A bullet kills by shock..a well sharpened broadhead kills by hemorage,two different things here.

But not to get off the subject, why would anyone want to hunt elk with a .243?? Way too many ifs...why chance it. Elk are BIG and thier TOUGH...Living here in Montana I've taken alot of Elk with a rifle and they can run a long ways even after a good hit with a large cal. rifle. Just my 2 cents here but I would'nt even consider any thing less than a 06 on elk, thats just me. But a .243 NO WAY. I know I'll get trashed on this post..but just had to throw this out.
 
Originally Posted By: elkmasterwyoyou gotta love them .280's i know i do mine, Winchester M70 Classic Featherweight in .280rem, nice little mountain rifle. Sorry just bragging a bit.

Since this horse won't die, let's give it some help.

Yup, elkmaster, like you I am bragging on my 280, here's my Cooper M52. Scope is a Bushnell 6500 2.5-16X43. It's a whole lot heavier than your M70. But then I can't do a lot of walking anymore.

DSC_1061.jpg


DSC_1059.jpg


DSC_1062.jpg


It's NOT a 243! Hehe!

It's a low end elk cartridge IMHO.

laugh.gif
laugh.gif
laugh.gif
 
Wow i got on this one waaaay late...but heres my 2 cents on the subject,,,if you cant put any size bullet in the machine room on something the size of an elk....stay home.with that being said ill also throw this out there anyone who purposely takes neck shots on a animal that has lungs is foolish.......and if you got a good horse,like tracking,,shoot what you shoot well(flinching will cause as many or more wounded game than cartridge size ever will) and also you can kill 2 of any large animals with the same shot placement,with the same cartrige. one will drop like a stone ,the other will run 40 miles.
 
This old dude ran a 270Roy for a BIG polar bear...I guess one could extrapolate from that and rationally come to the conclusion to downsize for elk...after all, elk won't won't turn and kill you....will they? Sorry, couldn't help to add my stick to the pot stirring.

I'm also betting a paycheck that the guy pictured didn't have access to the bullet technology that we have today. I mean what was the best he had to choose from in that time....nosler partitions????

Copy2of2401Big-Polar-Bear.jpg
 
Important Tips for Big Game Hunting in Montana:

1. Montana is wide open county, and you may have to shoot a long distance to bring down your game. Remember this when selecting the rifle you will use. Flat shooting, long-range rifles are necessary. We recommend 7 mm mag; 300 mag; 338. We do not recommend 30-30, 30.06; 243 (not for elk; deer is ok).
 
Originally Posted By: pieeyed Important Tips for Big Game Hunting in Montana:

1. Montana is wide open county, and you may have to shoot a long distance to bring down your game. Remember this when selecting the rifle you will use. Flat shooting, long-range rifles are necessary. We recommend 7 mm mag; 300 mag; 338. We do not recommend 30-30, 30.06; 243 (not for elk; deer is ok).

That's too funny...where did you pluck that gem from?...Tell me it was the Montana DNR website.
 


Write your reply...
Back
Top