Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Cow elk and the 243 Winchester

You know what can be learned from those scenarios?

To blame yourself.

It's a dead elk for sure, but it's pretty clear it was hit quite far back in the butt or spine. Not exactly great shooting, but it got the job done that day (we all have off days and sometimes get a gift). Of course none of that is to say the 243 won't work on elk - it obviously will. I'd just not use that video as some sort of 6mm/elk testimonial. Quite the opposite, I'd say it's a bit of an indictment of shooting at 688 yards in wind by what appears to be a relatively inexperienced shooter.

If I was going to use my 243, I would use an 80 grain Barns or 100 grain partition

I talked to a guy who could not pull back his bow much so he went to 43 lbs. The arrow went right through it. Not sure if it was a cow or bull though.

Me thinks all this .243 Win bulls hit is trolling for a good old fashioned Campfire pizzin contest! 😂

No just trying to see if the ones who’ve done it prefer lower weight monos at higher velocity or older school design like the 100gr partition

Why not just use monos in a 223 or 5.56 if your bent on using light tackle on elk? After all with good placement it should take out an cow elk at 9000 yds.

BTDT, either/or will work well.

I haven’t looked, but can a person buy OTC non resident elk tags in Montana?

This conversation has taken place MANY times on this forum, and the answer is the same every time: actual experience says yes, the .243 is enough for elk with the right bullets, but you may be more comfortable using a larger diameter/heavier bullet on your hunt.

Here is the comment I posted in 2007 about the same subject:

I've talked/emailed with 2 long-time elk guides who recommend the .243. I have a friend who has downed 14 of the critters with his Sako .243, and Grits Gresham once wrote an article (I have a copy of it) about the many times he hunted with Whiskey Chamberland, an Idaho elk guide who claimed 15 one-shot kills with the .243.

They all say pretty much the same thing: stay within 300 yards, know exactly where your bullet is going (easy with the mild recoil of the .243), be patient so you can put the bullet into the lungs and you've got a dead elk.

Bullets recommended range from 70 gr spitzer at 3400 fps+ to 85 grain Barnes TSX to 85 gr Sierra hollowpoint boattail to 100 gr Core-Lokt (today, I would add the 95gr Nosler Ballistic Tip and the 100gr Nosler Partition).

If all I had was a 243, I wouldn't hesitate to go elk hunting. But I think Ty Herring from Barnes Bullets put it best when he emailed me, "A 243 will do the trick, but a larger caliber would be better for elk."

I found a .22 slug embedded under the skin and above the eyes on a good sized bull. I doubt it even pissed him off. Also, the elk brain is halfway between the earbutts and the antler bases, considerably behind the eyes.

Based on the trace, it looks to me like the bullet impacted high, just behind the front leg (shoulder blade/spine shot).

If that was the case, typically it would have dropped at the front end first. It didn't, it dropped butt first, then at the front indicating a rear shot, probably high in the rear spine.

And the wind was blowing right to left.

The whole thing is pretty irresponsible.

I'm not sure I'd agree. The trace is quite clear in that video. I've seen lots of animals shot in the scapula/spine drop their rear end first. Neurologically, this is a reasonable reaction if the CNS is disrupted behind the front shoulders.

The wind was fairly calm and constant, judging by the slow drift of the elk's breath. I would guess about 2-3 mph FV at the elk's location, which would only drift the bullet about 7" or less if they are above 3000 feet ASL. Of course it's nearly impossible for me to accurately judge the wind from shooter to target based on the video alone, but the sort of wind seen in the video is usually fairly easy to judge and shoot in.

Nonsense, if you place the bullet properly. Cow elk are no bigger than many caribou, and they all fell down.

So did the 1300lb moose my wife shot.

A badly placed .338WM bullet may be - may be - marginally more effective than a 100 gr. .243 bullet, but I wouldn't put money on it.

Either will get the job done if well placed at reasonable range. At "unreasonable range - :)" I'd go with the larger.

I've had and used a 243 for decades. It's worked well.

Never much cared for it tho. But that's personal, not objective.

Keep those .243 stories coming! ROTFLMAO 🤣 🤣🤣🤣

Please explain. That sounds interesting.

I know this is an elk forum and I'm not trying to highjack. I mostly hunt deer in coastal Carolina. They are small. I've killed deer with my 243 but don't like that it doesn't give me a blood trail. Before everyone chimes in on my "abilities", shot placement was never the issue. Center punch the lungs above the heart and the deer generally go 20-40yds (my experience with factory ammo). Coastal Carolina has some badass bush and without blood on the ground sometimes you almost have to trip over the animal to find it. I believe in complete pass through, 2 holes let in more air and let out more blood. I'm just getting going with reloading, what bullet will give me the blood trail I want? (I currently have 100gr boat tail Interlocks and 100gr partitions)

Again, not trying to highjack, this seems like the right "cast of characters" to answer the question.

In a persons hand the .243 looks so innocent & harmless until one shoots something and then a person wakes up to the reality that we might be shooting more gun than we need most of the time. Those little 80-85gr TTSX/TSX or 95/100 NP are pretty wicked little killers.

I’ve only shot a few deer & several hogs with the .243/6mm but I really can’t see why they wouldn’t work. The wounds on those animals has always been more than enough and sometimes far more violent than one would think.

As always, making a good shot is the most important consideration.

I’ve shot the 243 a lot, but I was pretty conservative on my reloading and I know I haven’t used it to it’s full potential. It’s got it’s faults and I would like to transition to the 6 creedmoor as I have plenty of components. I wouldn’t be afraid to hunt elk with either one.