Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 243 on Elk

I have a fair amount of experience with the 6mmand 243 on bigger animals in my hunting camp in Africa. What I have seen amazes me and dissapoints me every other animal with these small bore guns. Elk are as tough to kill as most African Plains species so I think it's a fitting comparision.

I have never seen an elk shot with a 243 or a 6mm and would never shoot one with either. There is a big difference between killing an animal and finding one. I have seen Elk shot well with big to very big cartridges travel a heck of a long way. One thing people just have to accept is the responsibility of the hunt. It may not be a practical species for every single person alive to hunt for. If the cartridge needed is too much for the hunter to use then the limit of the hunters potential has been exceeded.

I have seen well hit Kudu, much less difficult to crumple or stop then an elk run hundreds of yards with a couple drops of blood when hit with a .243, I have seen Impala run at least a hundred yards when hit with a .243 and leave no blood, same with blesbok and balck wildebeast. These animals are much smaller then elk and less difficult to kill. On the other hand I have seen Kudu shot and fall where they were standing the same with warthogs.

The .243 and 6mm are just not the kind of consistant killers of big game that the cartridges over 30 caliber are. My daughter was 9 years old when she began shooting my down loaded 30/06. It was shooting 125 grain bullets at 2500 fps. This is an easy to shoot load with very little recoil. I would not have even considered her shooting elk with it. However I could have swapped out the ammo for a premium 165 grain bullet with a full load when she shot an elk and she would never have known it under the excitement of the hunt. I have done this with my wife for many years now. She shoots that 30/06 with loaded down ammo and hunts with full power loads. She has never felt the recoil a single time when shooting game.

Consider that the 243 may be easy to shoot, but also consider that the loss of a big animal will disturb her for life. In my opinion the 243 is marginal for an experienced shooter.