What would have happened if I had had been using a .243 or even .270? I honestly don’t know. I might have pulled it off. But, at the time especially, I am glad I didn’t have to find out.
Just my own experience and opinion.
My bet is the 270 would have worked well. Mule_Deer has mentioned several times that the quickest kill he has ever witnessed on a moose was made by his wife using a 270 and 150 Partition. Renowned magnum lover, Craig Boddington, has stated one of his quickest bull elk kills was made with a 270 and 150 Nosler Partition.
I have heard countless stories from several guides and outfitters over the years about the rodeos they have seen by hunters coming to camp with magnums they can't shoot. Sometimes the stories end with the hunters going home with their tags. Others where they were able to fill their tag after putting down their rifles and shooting a few practice rounds with the guides rifle, something like 257 Roberts or 7-08.
On the contrary, I have never once heard of a guide or outfitter complain about a hunter that showed up to deer or elk camp under gunned.
Am I saying you should trade in your magnums for 223's, of course not. Use what gives you confidence. But whatever you bring to the field should be a rig that you have become proficient with through practice. The average Joe Hunter will not be able to do that with one of the various Smoke'em Mags.
+1
Great post.
Several weeks ago I watched a good-sized bull moose collapse at the shot to a frontal, non-CNS impact from a 127 LRX/6.5 CM that penetrated several feet. There’s nothing magical about the terminal performance of bullets launched by the 6.5 CM; it does about as well as several other mid-sized cartridges like the 7-08, .270, .308, etc, and with the right bullet they are perfectly sufficient on even very large game. There are a lot of factors influencing how quickly game falls to the shot or gives an indication of a hit, and caliber/impact velocity is one of them somewhere down the list.
