Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting 6mm Remington 100 grain bullet for elk hunting.

A friend, now deceased, killed a couple dozen moose with his .243- as did my wife with the one she has taken.

My cow elk taken with a 140 gr factory Corelokt out of a .260 at 150 yards was a bang/flop.

No reason a good 100 grain .243 bullet won't work on elk, with the right placement/range. Although I seldom use premiums bullets anymore, for this combination, I'd use one that shoots well in your rifle. Any will work, as would a C&C, but a little extra insurance doesn't hurt when using a game-light caliber. And be a picky shooter.


Location, location, location..... or in this case, placement.

i havent read all the posts on this subject...ive killed a bunch of deer with a .243 100 gr ...elk are different...when you are in the field you sometimes have to take quartering away shots...long shots or worse when the horns are large...elk are beautiful animals...they deserve a quick death...ive been hunting 40 yrs...my bottom bullet would be 150 grns...wounding and losing game is a sin

Then I'll just cut and paste.....again.......

If you are going to disparage one of the greatest legends of the hunting-shooting- gun writing world, like the late Elmer Keith (while claiming to be a "writer" yourself), you ought to at least try to get one part of your comment correct

That "Short Barreled" .44 mag revolver was a 6.5" Model 29, and you are off by 200 yards, it was 600 yards, not 400.

"If you can afford the elk hunt, then you can afford a .30-06"

I don't see the logic here.

Maybe it should say "if you can afford an out of state hunt for elk, including non-resident tags, new truck, guide fees and if you still have money left, you can afford a 30-06."

I and many others live in elk country. Elk only cost me about $18 more then deer. (for the license) I am not a wealthy man. My elk hunting doesn't mean I have money to buy a new gun. I know it's the same for thousands of other elk hunters too.

Now with all that said, I am a gunsmith and have been a guide for most of my adult life. So I can tell you a LOT about elk, hunting elk, shooting elk, what works and what doesn't. I have elk rifles, quite a few, and all are larger then a 243, but I know several people that have killed elk with 243s and if you use a bullet that holds together it's fine Me personally I have never killed an elk with a rifle smaller than a 270, but I don't have to try either. I wanted to change that this year.

This year I was hoping to use an iron sighted 6.5X56 Mann/Scho, but broken down verticals have cut my time so short that I am probably going to take out a scoped rifle. 270, 300 or 9.3X57 or 9.3X74R. If I am to get an elk this year I need to do it soon because the time is running out and I get my 4Runner back tomorrow that's been broken down since Oct 3rd.

If I am to give advice to a new elk hunter as to what to buy, and assuming he has the inclination to buy a new rifle and has the money to buy a new rifle I'd recommend several rounds before I'd recommend a 243 or 6MM Rem. But I have no problem with a man showing up with a 6MM is he can shoot it and f he has a bullet that won't blow up.

I like larger rounds. I don't NEED bigger rounds.

If there is a choice between shooting ability with light recoil or lesser abilities with heavier recoil, I ALWAYS recommend the gun that the hunter can shoot best.
If a man or woman can shoot something more powerful and shoot it well, bigger is the way to go.
But I said IF.

There is no virtue in trying to prove a small rifle can kill elk, but there is no virtue in trying to be macho with a big gun either.
It's the hunter, not the tool that's important.

Bullet placement, bullet performance and bullet penetration do matter.

All the rest is far less important.

You don't HAVE to take any shot. But you are responsible for what shot you choose. Choose wisely.

Yes it will, with a quality bullet and good shot placement.

I haven't done it, but have a buddy that uses .243 on everything, several moose and elk.

It wouldn't be my first choice.

We have a sizeable elk herd here on the ranch, and every few years we cull a few cows, to help manage the numbers,last year over a 6 month period I killed 21 cows with a .243, all but one were 1 shot kills one I shot twice because it didn't fall over fast enough, I bought my first .243 in 1962, at the hardware store on east main st. in Vernal, Utah , haven't been with out one since.

I killed my first elk in 1950 with my grandfathers 30-30, scrub bull but I was proud as hell of it as I crawled about 1/4 of a mile on my knees to get close enough to shoot him. over the years I since 1950 I don't know how many elk I have killed and scene killed but it's more than a few. with almost every caliber and bullet mentioned in this thread, no caliber or bullet will make up for a lousy shot, I have used .243. other than tearing up a bunch of meat there hasn't been much difference, with today's modern bullets and fast twist barrels it's amazing to me what a Good 105 gr. bullet will do out of a .243 A.I. when it comes to internal damage and penetration.

That said, there's no reason to use a light caliber rifle if you have and can use a rifle with more poop and bullet weight, what ever you shoot well should work., put a good bullet in the plumbing, and you should have good results. it might suprise some of you to know elk aren't bullet proof. Rio7