Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Ok, .243 on moose

Which means we aren't in awe of game bigger than deer, knowing that they'll still fall over quickly if we shoot them in the right place.

Until its time to start cutting the bastids up and packing them out!

Especially after we turn into Old Farts....

Dat's when Dinks start lookin' better and better.....

Lots of moose in Upsate New York?
As most others with experience have stated, load the .243 with a good, heavy bullet, and go kill with it. I have seen plenty of moose and elk dumped on their sides with .243's, no problems. Put bullets where they are supposed to go, and stuff dies, end of story.

R.

No comment.....


R.

I would would say that a 30-30, 35rem, or 44 mag would all be better with the right bullet and have similar recoil to the 243 plus come in compact rifles. 308, 708, and 260 are also better choices that can be loaded to the same recoil level as the 243.

Not your listed choices...

If he practices, a rifle that fits him will probably be more important than recoil, but an animal the size of a moose will require a sufficient level of power.

I say buy another rifle that fits him in a larger caliber having a recoil level he can handle and also enough range: 308 or 708 bolt, 35 or 44mag lever... A moose hunt would be a big deal to me and not a regular hunt; wouldn't want to mess it up.

Skatchewan;
First off sir, thank you for making the opportunities available for your son to hunt. That takes time and effort on your part to be sure, but I'm certain the rewards will be lifelong for both of you.

If I was going to guess by your handle here, you might know the areas of which I'm about to speak? I grew up eating moose that came from east of Erwood and Hudson Bay area that my late father would bring home to our farm near Churchbridge from his annual hunt there.

For a hunting rifle he started off with a borrowed surplus SMLE and then bought a Savage 99 off of a trapper friend from the Erwood area. It was a .250-3000 and if foggy memory serves we ate at least 3 moose that died in front of it before he traded it off for a Winchester Model 100.

On the subject of recoil tolerance, while I could write a small book on my mistakes trying to find what our two daughters could shoot well, the short version is that one now shoots a .250AI and the other a 6.5x55.

While they've only been killing deer with them thus far, I'd say that based upon what we've seen doing the postmortems there that the 6.5 might be a wee bit more forgiving of less than perfect shot placement.

That said, the little .250AI has resulted in some very abrupt endings that impressed me - a sometime .300/.338 Mag shooter - to no end.

While I realize the .250AI isn't a .243, I'd be quite surprised if it wasn't capable of very similar results.

Lastly, as of late we've been running 130gr TSX in the 6.5 and 80gr TTSX in the .250AI and have been extremely pleased with the results.

Hopefully that was some use to you Skatchewan. All the best luck to you and your son on the moose hunt whichever way you decide.

Regards,
Dwayne

I knew a guy who went hunting in British Columbia. He worked at the gun shop. He came back and told me he shot 2 bears 250 yds away and nice bears. He shot a dall sheep and a moose. I asked, what caliber? Thinking a 300 weatherby since he worked at a guns shop. He said .243 Win. I was very surprised. He said mostly depends where the bullet goes. I know this is hearsay but the truth none the less. Take it for what it's worth. Not that I care.

Especially.

The OP implies that the choice of which rifle to use will be up to his son. When I was a kid, I wanted to hunt stuff with my own guns, not someone else's. Come to think about it, I still feel that way.

If the young man decides he will enjoy the hunt more by using his trusty .243, then get him a few rounds loaded with Barnes or Nosler premium bullets that are fairly heavy for the caliber (my vote would be the 100 gr. Partition), let him enjoy hunting with his own rifle, and help him cut up his moose.

The boy will probably feel more comfortable and confident, and he won't be fumbling with an unfamiliar rifle when the adrenalin is flowing.

The moose will never know the difference.

Wouldnt a 100 grain TSX/TTSX for the 243 be just dandy???

I suspect a 100 gr. monometal bullet might be too long to stabilize in a .243...just a guess.

To what possible advantage would a 100gr 6mm monolithic work? If you get consistent pass-throughs with the 85gr and it shoots plenty flat enough and stablizes smartly the extra weight is wasted and in a detrimental way.

Lead cores get shed with other bullets and the balance of the bullet needs to retain sufficient weight to make it through the critter... Not so with the TSX.

"To what possible advantage would a 100gr 6mm monolithic work? If you get consistent pass-throughs with the 85gr and it shoots plenty flat enough and stablizes smartly the extra weight is wasted and in a detrimental way."


Okay Art, I'll bite...

In what way is adding 15% more to the bullet's weight while also increasing it's B.C found to be "..wasted..in a detrimental way.?"

Guess I'm wondering what possible "disadvantage" a 100 grain 6mm monolithic would be, given one twisted it correspondingly.?

One of the resposibilities of an adult is to help their children along with good judgement. When a 6.5 sits in the arsenal, the use of the 243 simply doesn't show the best judgement, or respect for the animal.
Never said you could not kill a moose with a 243. But....you will never convince me that the 243 will wound and lose more moose than more appropriate stuff.
I absolutley admit to a bias towards more caliber. I used a 270 for many years before trialing a 35 Whelen. The effectiveness of the Whelen, on game, impressed me, even tho the 270 has never disappointed me.
Most of the boys growing up on the (Pennsy) farm began deer hunting with a 35 Remington. I believe that experience taught some important lessons. Not sure some of you fellows would understand just what they might be.
Realize this got completely off track from the original question. For that, I apologize.

fishdog52,

This thread has partially descended into a yes/no debate over the .243's suitability for moose. As is typical of similar threads (.22 centerfires on deer, .270 Winchester for elk, etc.) the people who've actually seen the .243 used on moose or other large game are on the yes side. The other side is pretty much made up of theorists, most of whom have never shot a moose, or even seen one killed.

You could help matters considerably by detailing the experiences you've had with moose that resulted in your anti-.243 feelings.

A long time ago I had many of the same goofy-ass thoughts about the importance of caliber that you are espousing... Then I started shooting stuff with smaller calibers and better bullets. Nothing like actually doing stuff to realize how doable it is.
art

I sooooo love this place.

Question was answered, and confirmed in two posts - and here we are eight pages later. >grin<

The best part? It'll happen again.

6.5x55 Swede and the 160 Woodleighs @2500, wont kick and will penetrate for days, plus its a natural for moose.

Gunner

edit: spelling