Favorite 243 bullet for deer....elk....

[Horn Seeker]

My daughter, nor I have killed anything with her 243 yet (that'll change next year...guaranteed. I have been loading the 80 grain TSX in it, figuring it ought to do the trick just fine. Has anyone else had good performance with this bullet or any other that they'd like to share? Particularly interested in one that is proven elk medicine?

I think GH killed a big bull with one a few years ago. GH?

Thanks all.

 

[gundog]

There is no .243 caliber bullet that is proven elk medicine nor should a .243 even be considered. I think the absolute minimum for elk would be something in the .270 Winchester range.

 

[smarandr]

80 grains for elk? I use those on rockchucks--maybe a bit of overkill, but they sure do disintegrate well. I'm not nearly confident enough in my ability to try that load out on an elk though.

 

[1_pointer]

Couple of folks have posted videos/pics of cow elk taken with .243's from 350yds to over 600yds on a different website. The shorter distance used the 90gr Etip and the longer a 105gr Berger. Both were one shot kills, with the longer dropping in her tracks (there was a video). A 80gr TSX should penetrate about like a 96gr Partition.

Here's the link to the longer shot mentioned above.

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

 

[Oak]

That was a big rock chuck.

 

[Frenchy]

I've used a .243 for deer and antelope and it works just fine. Never hunted elk with it, but a buddy used to say that is all his mom used to use including elk.

 

[BuzzH]

I've shot 3 elk with a 6mm...MV of 2850ish and nosler 100 grain partitions.

I thought I'd recovered a bullet fom a bull I broke both shoulders on at about 80 yards, but after looking at the bullet, it was actually from a deer accoding to the notes I have. So, I guess I didnt recover it, or I did and dont have the bullet anymore. Anyway, it broke both shoulders...

I also shot a cow through the neck with one, right at the junction of the body...I know it broke the neck and exited for sure. I shot through a gap in the trees and it was all I could see.

Shot another and broke one of the shoulders and it did also exit.

I've used a lot of the old style lead-tip nosler solid base (100 grains) on deer and antelope. I've also shot a few with the 95 grain hunting ballistic tip...performance mirrors the 100 grain solid base.

I know many will disagree, but I wouldnt hesitate to use a .243 or 6mm on elk with good bullets...its way more capable than most think. Certainly not ideal and many, that havent shot much with a .243, will yell and scream about it not being enough. I just dont agree based on having shot over 50 animals with the .243/6mm. I've just seen it work wayyy too well to say it wont.

 

[mconway951]

You will be just fine with the 243 and bullet of choice just make sure she knows her max range i would research the ballistics to help determine that. i have shot plenty of antelope and deer out to ranges of 300 yds with 100grs and almost all were complete pass throughs and did plenty of damage.

Good luck to the lil hunter.

 

[Bambistew]

My experience with the 243 is almost exactly the same as Buzz's... While it wouldn't be my first choice for elk given the rifle selection I have now, if it was all I had I'd feel just fine hunting elk with it. A friend of our family used to hunt with us a lot, she has taken at least 15 elk with her 243, her sister took about half as many with her 6mm.

I can still remember every detail of my first elk I killed with mine at the age of 12... 300yards across a small canyon, one shot to the lungs, 3 staggers and down he went. Small 5x6.

 

[devon deer]

OK my 2 pennies worth, i have shot with my .243 for 20 years, and whilst i have obviously never shot Elk i believe its a confidence thing, it has shot more large red stags than i care to remember, i am 100% confident in it, get me within 200 yards of a red stag and its a dead deer.
I bought a 30-06 for the wild boar over here, but its a case of learning all over again, but what i have learnt since planning my trip to hunt elk it is a heavily recommended calibre, so based on the advice given i will bring my 30-06 with 165 grain bullets, but i will admit to not be so confident with it compared to my .243
But back to the original question, i use speer boat tail 100 grain soft point and 40.4 grains of reloader 19.
Cheers
Richard

 

[sneakem]

LOL- I was thinking "oh great! Another only a man cannon will kill an elk thread." While its not the "optimal" elk cartridge available, I personally am a big fan of the smaller calibers. I even shot a .338 for elk for a few years and still like the performance of the smaller calibers. Anyone who says its not big enough has certainly never killed an elk with one, what a small caliber lacks in foot pounds it usually makes up for with speed and damage from hydrostatic shock...In my opinion a poor shot is a poor shot regardless of caliber and usually results in a lost or wounded animal...

100 grains would be a good load, preferably a bonded bullet to punch through thinner bones intact in case a shot is pulled a little into the shoulder???

 

[justdada]

Buzz beat me to it... 6mm rem with 100gr partition is your recipe. It fills the freezer when I point it at stuff and i have never doubted its ability to do so effectively.

 

[fiveptbill]

I think it is funny that the only person that says it is to small is from Florida.

 

[----]

I personally would pick the 100 grain partition over the 80 tsx. Just seems to me that you might as well take advantage of that extra 20 grains.

I will say that you should definitely try to go with a bonded or stout bullet. My wife killed a bull with 100 grain core lokts and it was a mess. A couple shots blew up on the shoulder, and I'm sure a stronger bullet would've busted through. She was deer hunting and wasn't expecting elk to be on the menu.

 

[Topgun 30-06]

BuzzH and I got into it, along with a bunch of others on the MM site about this. I just can't see the .243 for elk unless there is no other alternative and then it should be with perfect shot selection at a fairly moderate distance with the best bonded 100 grain bullet the gun will shoot. The .243 really was designed as a varmint caliber on up through small skinned game like antelope and deer. It will do the trick on elk most of the time if you stay within certain parameters mentioned, but I don't use it or my 25-06 on elk and move on up to the 30-06 with Interbonds.

 

[belly-deep]

I'd probably lean towards the 100gr Partition, although I've never killed an elk with a .243. I have killed a number of critters with a .25-06, however, and this year I loaded up 80gr TTSXs in it. I think in the smaller guns, I like the lead core bullets better because they send fragments all over the place. A couple of whitetails shot with the 80gr TTSXs this year ran 80-100 yards before croaking. In previous years with 100gr Hornadys and 115gr Partitions, critters have never made it more than 30 yards or so.

The TTSXs also left a smaller exit hole. What i'm trying to get at is, you could end up with an elk running for a ways and no blood trail to follow. That might not be the case, but I do notice critters falling over faster with lead core bullets. Just a thought.

As a side note, one of, if not the best elk hunter I personally know used a .243 for years. At one point, he had a run of 18 one-shot kills on elk. It will do the job.

 

[Missoulaz28]

Nosler has a 90gr Accubond on the way also, should be a great bullet, the release date keeps getting pushed back though, not sure when they will ht the shelf.

 

[emrah1028]

Yeah, that bullet is listed as a part number at my local reloading shop (it even has it's own empty spot on the shelf!), but I've yet to see it! I load 100gr. Partitions. Haven't shot anything with it yet other than paper though.

Emrah

 

[Horn Seeker]

Good chit, thanks. I had no doubt its a fine elk gun, just wanted to hear the details of what bullets people had success with. I have no idea when I'll get her a shot at an elk, but it will be a priority next year over mine own elk! I'll get hold of some partitions and maybe the AB's if they get out.

Thanks all!

 

[dan.kirkpatrick]

to me the .243 is a bit small for elk but could be used on a reasonable range shot,,,for elk i would recomend the 100gr nozler partition or heavyer if you can find it,,,im thinkin of using my .243 on antelope this year,,,in thinkin of the hornady 95 gr sst{i think} in federal,,,has anybody else out there tried these out?or the 87 grain,,,anybody out there with antelope recomondations?im a little concerned about longer ranges with the.243 but last year i used my 7mm rem mag and really tore up my antelope bad at 320 yards,lost more meat than i thought when i hit its shoulder.