Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Bullet diameter for big game?

Does the size of the bullet matter anymore with the quality that they are available today? Will a 243 with a good bullet not take an elk?

I would rather be a well practiced shooter with a 243 than the man with a 300 win mag that shoots 10 times every year before hunting season.


Trystan

Not a gun writer, but here is my opinion. Short answer, no. At least not since we changed from round balls to conical bullets. With round balls the only way to get a heaver bullet was with a larger caliber rifle. With conical bullets you can make them heavier by making them longer. At least up to a point. There is a practical limit, but if a 150 gr bullet is adequate to hunt a particular game animal then the smallest caliber that will shoot a 150 is going to be the better choice. I'd rather shoot an animal with a 26 or 27 caliber 150 than a 30 caliber 150. But if a 180 gr bullet is needed, and it isn't practical to shoot 180's in a 26 or 27 caliber rifle, then move up to the smallest caliber that will work with that bullet weight.

I agree completely. Have 243 but wouldn't use on elk. Just looking for thoughts. I think an 85 grain gmx in the vitals is plenty good. Some think a 338 Winnie is required?

With modern mono metal type bullets penetration is very good regardless of caliber right? So an old cup and core 130 grain 270 would work..why wouldn't a 243 retaining the same weight at the end? Not being a smart ass. I'm really wanting to know?

A man that knows his gun and places his bullets with precision can use a lot smaller gun and still kill cleanly. And that's always been true wonder bullets or not.

Maybe why .223 is so popular in Alaska?

I hear that said frequently, but in 17 years of living and hunting in Alaska, I've never run into anyone using a 223 for big game. I'm sure there are guys who do, but I've never met any of them.

Never used one for anything but paper but I've seen whitetail dragged back from one shot. Granted that's not an Alaskan moose or brown bear but I'm sure that the 223 is quite popular and has taken everything up there many times over. Even though I've never been to Alaska.

Look around on forums. Sure people lie but there are many thousands of "tales" of big things being killed with such and smaller even. Not that I'd recommend or hunt with one...but they will work. 243 or 6.5 jap is my minimum for medium game let alone the big stuff. But most will work put in the right spot.

156 grain from the little 6.5 jap case will penetrate deep and kill anything in NA. It's ballistic chart is laughable but it works.

I never said I doubted that the 223 is used in Alaska. In all my time afield, in gun shops, or at the range, all activities I spend a fair amount of time at, I've never run into anyone who uses a 223 in Alaska for big game. Not saying it doesn't happen. Maybe I need to get out more.

I definitely wouldn't recommend it but I'm quite sure it's used on everything. I honestly would feel iffy with my whelen in big bear town. But the first rule will never change. Put a good bullet in a good spot..whether that will stop a charge..somebody else can figure out.

Look around on many forums..this one included. The 223 is taking any and everything in North America all the time.

55 grain tsx and 60 grain partitions have made very short work of whitetail that I've seen. As good and sometimes better than 270 or -06. Then again that's just whitetail deer.

Excellent bullets that can be had today will preform far better then what was available to my dad or grand dad.

Diameter and length have to be considered in the use of standard industry rifling twists however. You can't just keep adding weight without a bullet getting so long you can't stabilize it. That's why we see no 150 grain 224" bullets.So I have to say yes, from witnessing a few elk and one moose killed with 243s, (and I am mostly a "big-rifle-man myself",) but honesty dictates that the truth is spoken, and the truth is that a good bullet from a smaller rifle is a lot better than what most men might expect.

Is it unlimited?
No!

You see, adding integrity to a bullet doesn't make it any more powerful. It simply uses the power it has in better ways. But I am doubtful we will seen a swing to 224s and 243s for Cape Buffalo any time soon. So when you speak of "big game" I am assuming you mean game that is not "small game. Elk is the largest of the commonly shot game in the USA but moose and Bison are also killed by some hunters.

When I was guiding, I would far rather see a hunter show up for elk with a 25-06 with Barnes X bullets or Nosler Partitions then a hunter show up with a 300 mag loaded with many of the Sierra Game Kings or Burgers. Perfectly placed bullets that come apart still fail to go in straight line through game far more then I like to see. I am the guy that had to track them down. Most long tracking jobs were the result of bad marksmanship, but the 2nd most common cause was bullets the came apart and did erratic things. If I were to guess, the odds of such poor terminal ballistics are about 1 in 8 or 1 in10 with bad bullets. So Mr Average Hunter usually has to kill a few dozen elk with them before he starts to see any pattern. That takes the average dedicated elk hunter 15 to 20 years. But as a guide I often saw more elk killed in 1-2 years then a lot of dedicated elk hunter see killed in their whole life, so I got to see the good, the bad and the ugly ......and I know some bullets that have a pattern of failures far worse then I would accept myself.

Today I feel 100% confident with and good marksmen shooting deer and antelope with 223s as long as they use bullets that will exit at every angel. I would say 243s and 25 cals are fine for elk too, as long as you have an expanding bullet that you can depend on to exit. So I say diameter can be helpful, but it's not vital. Bullet holes kill and if you get expansion and an exit wound, and if that wound is where it should be, you will kill about any game you shoot with any gun and bullet that will give you those 2 things. Full penetration with an exit, and a reasonable large diameter bullet channel.

The other side of the coin is to point out that such bullets are also available in larger bore sizes too, so although a 243 with a Barnes is good for elk, I still think the 308 is better over all.
But the gun is less important then the person firing it and if that person is an excellent shot with the light kicking 243 and a so-so shot (or a poor shot) with a 308 or 30-06 he is actually better off bringing the 243 to camp.

The hunter is the key. Skill as a hunter and a marksman will trump equipment 99% of the time.

I believe PO Ackley killed some serious big game animals with .17 caliber back in the day. And that caliber has never had any big game bullets.

Perfect

I would want at least a 25-06 for deer, but that’s just me. My grandkids make short work of deer and pigs with 243’s.

17 Remington and a 204 Ruger will and has killed deer ,antelope and varmints quickly ,shoot placement is the key,so will a 22 mag.,but i still prefer my 257 Weatherby Mag.