Yes .. OP is better off with his 243W if he has lots of practice with it and shoots it well than a new .338W that he hasnt shot enough to feel proficient! Have seen .338W fail to anchor a moose on the first shot due to deflection etc. so there are no "absolutes" ... but in Ontario "IF" you got lucky enough to draw a bull tag you would want to find a 30/06 and do some serious practice with rather than risk "once in a decade" opportunity ... imho
243 for Moose/Elk
- Thread starter crash60
- Start date
Yes .. OP is better off with his 243W if he has lots of practice with it and shoots it well than a new .338W that he hasnt shot enough to feel proficient! Have seen .338W fail to anchor a moose on the first shot due to deflection etc. so there are no "absolutes" ... but in Ontario "IF" you got lucky enough to draw a bull tag you would want to find a 30/06 and do some serious practice with rather than risk "once in a decade" opportunity ... imho
- Location
- Somewhere on the Hudson Bay Coast
Its interesting to me that the .243 is touted as the answer for the novice big game hunter due to its low recoil, when the flip side of the problem is that the knowledge necessary to use the small round effectively on big game is greater than for larger moderate cartridges. From my point of view, the small bore is the expert's rifle, just as the big bore is, but for another reason. It takes time and effort to learn to use the big bore effectively, but over time the experienced rifleman becomes comfortable and competent with it. The light recoiling small bore requires no such acclimatization period, but its use on big game does require a knowledge of bullet construction, that too many novices and experienced hunters alike lack or disregard. There exists a broad range of suitable big game cartridges between these two extremes. Lets consider the following scenario . . .
Joe Moose Hunter goes into his local hardware store and pics up a box of .30/06 ammo for his long awaited moose hunt with his teenage son. His choices are either the 150 or 180 gr, loads, and the bullet construction of either weight is suitable for big game, and frankly his only concern is to ensure his box is marked .30/06; there seems to be so many different cartridges these days. Joe Jr. runs to the hardware store after school to pick up a box of ammo for his .243, making sure its marked .243 Winchester, not .243 WSSM. The lettering "70 grain bullets" holds no meaning for him. Dad doesn't notice the mistake, and perhaps doesn't know the difference between a varmint bullet and a big game bullet himself. If you asked him, he might say that they have to mark that on the box because the trajectories between the two loads differ.
The next morning finds the pair in their canoe, floating with the current, down a small meandering river. Some time later they round a bend in time to see a moose boil out of the water 75 yards ahead of them. Joe Jr. in the bow has been promised the first shot, which is now quartering away. He's on target quickly (Dad had made sure his scope was cranked down to a low magnification) his cross hair comes up centered in the space between the front legs, then rises half way through the body as he's been taught, and without hesitation he presses the trigger smartly. BANG! He cycles the action quickly, but has no follow-up shot. The moose showing no evidence of a hit, has disappeared into the willows and spruce. Dad didn't have a shot with Jr in front of him, besides he had his hands full lining the canoe up with the moose. Joe Jr. removes the live round from his chamber, reinserts it in the magazine, and closes the bolt, then helps paddle. They maneuver the canoe to where it can be pulled up on the river bank, and walk back to where the moose came out of the water. At first they find no blood or any other evidence of a hit, but then they spot drops on some willow leaves that are thick and dark red, consistent with a surface wound, there's more on some high grass, though smears not drops. They take up the trial, but an hour or so later they emerge from the spruce to a wide extent of muskeg with a flooded swamp beyond. The moose is gone, and they can go no further. Father and son head back to the river, with Jr's confidence badly shaken.
A .243 can be a giant killer, with the right bullet, with the right shot, and with the proper placement. But that's a lot of "what ifs", when proper placement is the only criteria for a game bullet fired from a 6.5X55 or 7X57 Mauser, or from a .260 or a 7-08 Remington. These rounds have the bullet construction, the bullet weight, and the impact velocity to ensure sufficient expansion and have the momentum necessary to penetrate through the foot and a half of game animal that is necessary with a quartering away shot, to produce a humane kill. If you're going to use a 6mm cartridge on a large species of big game, learn something about bullet construction, and doing some of your own testing to find out what your bullet won't do, is more important than assuming what it will.
Joe Moose Hunter goes into his local hardware store and pics up a box of .30/06 ammo for his long awaited moose hunt with his teenage son. His choices are either the 150 or 180 gr, loads, and the bullet construction of either weight is suitable for big game, and frankly his only concern is to ensure his box is marked .30/06; there seems to be so many different cartridges these days. Joe Jr. runs to the hardware store after school to pick up a box of ammo for his .243, making sure its marked .243 Winchester, not .243 WSSM. The lettering "70 grain bullets" holds no meaning for him. Dad doesn't notice the mistake, and perhaps doesn't know the difference between a varmint bullet and a big game bullet himself. If you asked him, he might say that they have to mark that on the box because the trajectories between the two loads differ.
The next morning finds the pair in their canoe, floating with the current, down a small meandering river. Some time later they round a bend in time to see a moose boil out of the water 75 yards ahead of them. Joe Jr. in the bow has been promised the first shot, which is now quartering away. He's on target quickly (Dad had made sure his scope was cranked down to a low magnification) his cross hair comes up centered in the space between the front legs, then rises half way through the body as he's been taught, and without hesitation he presses the trigger smartly. BANG! He cycles the action quickly, but has no follow-up shot. The moose showing no evidence of a hit, has disappeared into the willows and spruce. Dad didn't have a shot with Jr in front of him, besides he had his hands full lining the canoe up with the moose. Joe Jr. removes the live round from his chamber, reinserts it in the magazine, and closes the bolt, then helps paddle. They maneuver the canoe to where it can be pulled up on the river bank, and walk back to where the moose came out of the water. At first they find no blood or any other evidence of a hit, but then they spot drops on some willow leaves that are thick and dark red, consistent with a surface wound, there's more on some high grass, though smears not drops. They take up the trial, but an hour or so later they emerge from the spruce to a wide extent of muskeg with a flooded swamp beyond. The moose is gone, and they can go no further. Father and son head back to the river, with Jr's confidence badly shaken.
A .243 can be a giant killer, with the right bullet, with the right shot, and with the proper placement. But that's a lot of "what ifs", when proper placement is the only criteria for a game bullet fired from a 6.5X55 or 7X57 Mauser, or from a .260 or a 7-08 Remington. These rounds have the bullet construction, the bullet weight, and the impact velocity to ensure sufficient expansion and have the momentum necessary to penetrate through the foot and a half of game animal that is necessary with a quartering away shot, to produce a humane kill. If you're going to use a 6mm cartridge on a large species of big game, learn something about bullet construction, and doing some of your own testing to find out what your bullet won't do, is more important than assuming what it will.
tylerjwitty
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Northern Ontario
^ yup thats why 95 percent of hunters dont go on forums
If you have hunting experience with the 243, then it is obviously something valid. I'm just talking about people who read the number .243 and think its a weak caliber with no large game take-down power at all etc.. Again, its not shooting marshmallow bullets.
tylerjwitty
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Northern Ontario
^ your point ?
I think this is actually the key. Many new shooters are recoil sensitive and as you know shot placement is the key. They are very comfortable with the .243, are not flinching and therefore are able to make a better shot. This was actually part of the impetus for my .270 thread - with the good quality lighter bullets you can get .243 levels of recoil with a little better bullet diameter.
Of course an important part is to have a good mentor to help the new hunter along the way - which naturally includes teaching limitations. My boy needs to wait two more years before he can start hunting, but I am going to start him on centerfire in the next week or so. First I am going to make up some reduced loads in the .30-06 and try those out myself.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
The only thing they have in common is the case. You can use a bullet over twice the weight as in the 243.
I've tried to like the 243 but have always found it too small with erratic performance on big game and very pelt unfriendly as a varmint gun.
I haven't shot the 243 at all. I have shot all kinds of other stuff. I have only big game experience with the 30-06 and the 30-30. None of which I did myself, but I was there when my friends or my stepdad did. Whether its me or someone else that pulls the trigger, the gun lethality remains the same. I was just saying that if a 30-30 can take a moose, then the 243 is no slouch either. If that's what I had in hand, I would probably use it for moose. Otherwise I pick my 30-30 for now. Maybe a 270 down the road.
His story not mine.
A coupla "iffy" second/third/fourth ... hand stories and not a single first hand account of a hunter shooting an elk or a moose with a .243 Win. I guess pics would be too much to hope for.
As dad would say more bull shyt than bull shot.
bearkilr
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Nowhere, ......just past the middle
A coupla "iffy" second/third/fourth ... hand stories and not a single first hand account of a hunter shooting an elk or a moose with a .243 Win. I guess pics would be too much to hope for.
As dad would say more bull shyt than bull shot.
Why not get your cousin to send you some?
Bigfoot 870
CGN frequent flyer
- Location
- Nova Scotia
Short answer........NO!!!!!!!
Correct me please if I misunderstand you... are you saying you have no experience shooting a big game animal yourself? (even a deer, which really aren't all that big)
Actually aiming, pulling the trigger and harvesting (or not) what you shot?
I want to be clear on this. From your post it seems like you never have.
A late uncle used to use a BLR in .243 on moose and elk. He only had half his right hand, shot left handed and was incurably recoil shy and got by with head and neck shots. He didn't even recommend it for others.
