.243 for elk

[T Bone]

My daughter turns 12 soon and 2014 will bring new fun for me in taking my daughter hunting.

The 30-06 is too much gun for her.

She's little, shoots well, and likes puppies and unicorns.

Who has 1st hand experience with the 243 and elk?

Even with premium bullets, are we asking for trouble?

 

[noharleyyet]

Does it meet the minimum caliber Colorado statute for elk?

 

[Redwood]

It's my fathers favorite caliber, mines the 7-08. Same parent cartridge, the 308. We both kill elk with them, dad doesnt reload anymore so I think he uses hornady factory loads. Ive sold a lot of 243s to folks for youth hunts, just keep the distances realistic.

 

[Straight Arrow]

My son shot his first couple of elk with a 243. Shot placement is the key.

 

[JohnCushman]

It meets the minimum for CO for bullet size, so I'd say go for it and stress bullet placement

 

[Lawnboy]

I was on a hunt last year in which another youth hunter with us shot a cow with one. One shot and she dropped. About a 150 yard shot behind the shoulder.
As long as you're not a Core lokt hater they make some pretty cool "managed recoil" loads for many guns. I used them to help my son his first year on the 30-06. They really cut the recoil down without too much performance loss.

 

[BuzzH]

I've shot a couple elk with a 6mm, probably not enough to make an informed decision, but one shot on each of them.

However, I asked my friend Jerry this year how many elk he's killed with his .243...his reply was "30 I think....no it has to be more than that".

I've known Jerry for about 7 years and he's killed an elk every year I've hunted with him. He shoots 100 grain partitions, BTW.

 

[Ghostrider]

Shot placement is the key. Have her shoot that thing all through the year and she will be good to go.

 

[Blacktailbc]

If it were me, I would choose a stout bullet and go for it. Probably keep shots under 300 yds.

 

[buglum]

My first elk was a cow when I was 12. Shot it with a Winchester .243 at 120 yards and dropped right in her tracks. So my limited experience says take the 243 and carry it with pride. Shot with a Nosler Partition.

 

[Deleted member 20812]

Do you reload? You can make some very nice reduced loads for a 30-06. My 10 year old daughter shot her deer this year with an '06.

A .243 will kill elk just fine. I've found an 85 grain Barnes TSX to be very effective.

 

[T Bone]

Thanks for the responses guys. It sounds like the .243 has and will kill elk.

I do reload.

She is very recoil sensitive, so I believe I have one shot at getting it right with her.

I'm also looking at the 7-08 as a possiblity.

 

[1_pointer]

Looks like it worked for Kasandra...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hY0w1c-gf18

 

[mtmuley]

I've seen the bad side of elk hunting with a .243. My 17 year old daughter used a .243 for a mule deer hunt this year, but stepped up to a .270 when hunting for elk. In perfect conditions any number of cartridges will kill elk. Any elk hunter can tell you, a lot of times conditions aren't perfect. mtmuley

 

[JMG]

My nephew has taken several elk with a .243.

As stated above . . . shot placement. Just don't think your going to shoot through a shoulder to get to the vitals.

 

[sbhooper]

A .22 will kill elk, but that does not make it the best choice. I would look for a reduced-recoil loading in the 30-06 if it was me. Just make sure she has the trigger time and picks her shots with whatever you decide to use.

 

[Bambistew]

I've taken a few elk with one, and a girl that we used to take hunting, took about half a dozen with a 6mm. Killed em well enough. Wouldn't be my first choice for elk though. I think its a fantastic deer rifle though.

I think I would look at a 7-08 or 260 Rem. Recoil is marginally more, and I think its offers a bit more punch, albeit minimal. I think these two calibers are much more versatile. At least you can get bigger bullets. A 120-140gr TSX or Partition/Accubond would be my minimum choice for elk. Being small you'll probably need to work on the stock for her, or find a youth model. A properly fitting stock helps a lot with recoil management. You can add some weight to the stock to suck up a bit of the recoil, as well as a quality recoil pad. When she gets a bit bigger/older you can swap the stocks and she'll have a rifle she can hunt elk with the rest of her life.

Congrats on having a new hunter in the family. Must be exciting!

 

[What Map]

It's my fathers favorite caliber, mines the 7-08. Same parent cartridge, the 308. We both kill elk with them.

My wife shoots a .260 Remington. and it does just fine on all Wyoming and Montana critters. It does all things just a bit better than the .243. As Redwood said, same parent cartridge.

 

[spook12]

She is very recoil sensitive, so I believe I have one shot at getting it right with her.

.

Don't make the mistake of confusing ''Recoil sensitivity'' to ''Muzzle blast'' sensitivity.
Ear plugs and muffs used together,sure helps tame young shooters fears.

 

[MKotur325]

I'm also looking at the 7-08 as a possiblity.

Fantastic choice.

I killed my first two elk with a 7-08. When I was 12 I started shooting that rifle with 110Gr Speer Hollowpoints for Prairie dogs. My father down loaded them to about 2800fps. Recoil was not an issue, though I will say at 12 I did not enjoy shooting the hunting loads off a bench for much time. He loaded 150gr Nosler Partitions to about 2700fps. Rifle was a Rem Model7 Youth. Only complaint was the 18" tube created SIGNIFICANT muzzle blast for myself and those around me.

+1 on the plugs + earmuffs for Muzzle blast with young shooters. And a downloaded 7-08 110-125gr slugs at moderate velocities will not recoil that much more than a .243 with 100gr slugs at 2950-3100. Its physics.