JJHACK stated:
�
There is no doubt that a 243 can, and has killed many elk. Nobody will ever know how many have run off to die a miserable death after taking a tiny little .243 bullet though. �
I�ve been hunting Colorado�s elk for 20+ years, and during that time have talked to a fair number of hunters who were looking for one that ran off after being shot. More of these involved a young hunters and a .243 (Colorado�s minimum elk caliber) than any other caliber. One involved the most magnificent bull I have ever seen, another involved an illegal shot (taken form a roadway while the hunter�s dad cheered him on) into a herd of cows. When nothing fell, the father and son got in their truck and drove off. Another case involved a bull we never saw, but we saw fresh blood in the snow for three days running � I don�t know how an elk could lose that much blood and keep going. In this case the shooters gave up on the third day.
If the shooter is recoil sensitive, I would suggest a 7mm-08 or 7x57, a lightly loaded .308 or even a .30-30 before I would suggest a .243.
