Your experiences on medium/big game with .243 cal rifles?
- Thread starter Joel
- Start date
I have killed a bunch of deer with 243, 243ai and 6br. Pretty well only ever used 105 amax, 105 horn bthp or 105eld. Even the lowly slow 6br is very efficient in killing mulies and white tails out to 500M. I found scenars in 243 worked better than the 6.5 version, the 6.5 bullets seemed a bit tougher and didnt seem to cause near the carnage even at similar velocities. I love the margin of error conversation, ive had/seen critters run off with poor shot placement with 300wm ect . Unless the texas heart shot is your prefered method i dont see the advantage in most situations personally dead is dead.
I have seen large mule deer buck take chest shots and never get recovered… so yes. Works most of the time not all the time.
prairie lover
CGN Regular
- Location
- southern MB
I tracked a doe for a bad shooting family member about a mile last year that was shot with a 300 wsm. At 120 yards. Fresh snow on the ground made it easy to follow. The blood trail got weaker and weaker till it stopped. I lost her tracks in an area just littered with tracks. A bad shot is a bad shot.
We have never lost one to a 243 and taken plenty. Some did run farther as I've mentioned then I've seen with larger cals. Like 100 yards with double lung shots. Good blood all the way. Most don't make it 50.
So the 3 deer I've been involved with tracking that were lost were from a 300 wsm and 2 from a 50 cal muzzleloader. All from the same shooter. Funny thing. Never had those problems when I shoot.
We have never lost one to a 243 and taken plenty. Some did run farther as I've mentioned then I've seen with larger cals. Like 100 yards with double lung shots. Good blood all the way. Most don't make it 50.
So the 3 deer I've been involved with tracking that were lost were from a 300 wsm and 2 from a 50 cal muzzleloader. All from the same shooter. Funny thing. Never had those problems when I shoot.
Just had to disagree with this last paragraph, been using a lightweight .338 for my deer gun for 25 years. It disrupts the #### out of everything from every angle and leaves holes on both sides. Maybe overkill but they don’t go anywhere. Not bashing the 243. Use what you like.
Speed kill for sure…. That said all I shoot is slow and heavy for caliber and moose never walk far if at all! But my bil shoots a 300rum 180 bullets and I think he alway put an other shot in them, why I don’t know but he does, and the waste of meat is amazing!
I like heavy for caliber and “slow” myself!
Anyway, I think if the caliber is legal to use and that you are confident and smart about your shot, use it! I think lots of games are badly shot because people are over confident of the caliber they use, I know a few my self that can’t shoot worth a damn and lost an animal and the following season they “upgrade” to a bigger caliber/magnum thinking it will remedy there poor shot placement!
I have no doubt that a 243 can take a moose cleanly, but the margin of error is also smaller, you need to place that bullet where it belong, and on a broadside animal at a reasonable distance! Shoot at the shoulder bone at 200m and i’m not so sure it will reach the vitals!
I like heavy for caliber and “slow” myself!
Anyway, I think if the caliber is legal to use and that you are confident and smart about your shot, use it! I think lots of games are badly shot because people are over confident of the caliber they use, I know a few my self that can’t shoot worth a damn and lost an animal and the following season they “upgrade” to a bigger caliber/magnum thinking it will remedy there poor shot placement!
I have no doubt that a 243 can take a moose cleanly, but the margin of error is also smaller, you need to place that bullet where it belong, and on a broadside animal at a reasonable distance! Shoot at the shoulder bone at 200m and i’m not so sure it will reach the vitals!
Penetrating a rib on a broadside shot at a deer is one thing; penetrating a pelvis on a going-away shot on a moose is completely another.
Those who snicker at the idea of a margin for error...must never make any errors. We mere mortals will inevitably make the odd bad shot, or will be with someone who does, or end up in some other scenario that is as far from ideal as it can get. Quite often in such cases, there is no such thing as "overkill", but there may definitely be instances where the little gun just doesn't cut it.
One of my dad's last deer, taken when he was well into his 80's, was hit too far back and took off looking like it would be the start of a long, bad day. I held off shooting as he tried another shot but that was a miss; I doubt there is another person on this planet I would have done that for. After that second shot, my father hissed "Time to start shooting, Shorty!" (My dad was almost 8 inches shorter than I am and always called me "Shorty")
I was already resting the gun and watching the deer through the scope. I was hoping it would stop before reaching the tree-line, and thankfully it did, just as I was beginning my squeeze. I think my first shot was a miss, and that it was the second that entered the back end and came to rest under the skin of the chest after traversing the length of the body. Range was somewhere around 375 or 400 yards...had no time to range it before, and we were both just a little too pumped up to think of it afterwards. Would a .243 have done that? I doubt it; I know for sure that if I were shooting one at that distance with that shot presentation, I would never have fired at an unwounded animal with it.
I've made a similar hind-end shot at a moose that I had wounded and which was about to enter a swamp; it was at much closer distance, but there was a lot more meat and bone for the bullet to go through to get to the chest cavity. Was that .243 territory? I don't think so, and I'm happy not to have been forced to find out.
The perfect shots among us don't need to worry about this stuff. They always "do their part" and things go smoothly for them. In the harsh world of reality that most us inhabit, stuff will go wrong the odd time...so, yeah, I for one want a gun suited to making the worst shot imaginable because I might have to try that shot.
Those who snicker at the idea of a margin for error...must never make any errors. We mere mortals will inevitably make the odd bad shot, or will be with someone who does, or end up in some other scenario that is as far from ideal as it can get. Quite often in such cases, there is no such thing as "overkill", but there may definitely be instances where the little gun just doesn't cut it.
One of my dad's last deer, taken when he was well into his 80's, was hit too far back and took off looking like it would be the start of a long, bad day. I held off shooting as he tried another shot but that was a miss; I doubt there is another person on this planet I would have done that for. After that second shot, my father hissed "Time to start shooting, Shorty!" (My dad was almost 8 inches shorter than I am and always called me "Shorty")
I was already resting the gun and watching the deer through the scope. I was hoping it would stop before reaching the tree-line, and thankfully it did, just as I was beginning my squeeze. I think my first shot was a miss, and that it was the second that entered the back end and came to rest under the skin of the chest after traversing the length of the body. Range was somewhere around 375 or 400 yards...had no time to range it before, and we were both just a little too pumped up to think of it afterwards. Would a .243 have done that? I doubt it; I know for sure that if I were shooting one at that distance with that shot presentation, I would never have fired at an unwounded animal with it.
I've made a similar hind-end shot at a moose that I had wounded and which was about to enter a swamp; it was at much closer distance, but there was a lot more meat and bone for the bullet to go through to get to the chest cavity. Was that .243 territory? I don't think so, and I'm happy not to have been forced to find out.
The perfect shots among us don't need to worry about this stuff. They always "do their part" and things go smoothly for them. In the harsh world of reality that most us inhabit, stuff will go wrong the odd time...so, yeah, I for one want a gun suited to making the worst shot imaginable because I might have to try that shot.
Two different .300WM rifles. The moose was taken with Barnes X-bullets (the originals, not TSX or TTSX...this was almost 30 years ago) in handloads lifted pretty much right out the manuals. The deer was about 20 years ago and was taken with 165-gr (I think...) Fusion factory loads, the original bonded bullet.
There are a couple more examples I can think of over the years where I was happy to be shooting bigger, heavier bullets out of longer cartridges than might be considered necessary. I know it's not a huge sampling, and never claimed that it was. But those potential disasters remained that: potential. I will happily "overkill" every animal I shoot for the rest of my life, if doing so means that there will be even one more instance where something unplanned happens and doesn't go from bad to worse for lack of "enough gun".
bull#### on your FPS
Since when was bullet changed from energy to horsepower
Yikes only on gun stupid
- Location
- Southern Vancouver Island
I think preferred bullet placement plays a major role. Sure the 6mms will kill on soft shots but I prefer the high shoulder shot. For white tail a 243 and such will surely punch thru the shoulder with the right bullet but I wouldn't trust it on a good sized bear or moose. That's where bigger heavier bullets prevail. You also don't need magnum speed to smash thru a big shoulder with a heavier bullet. I'll continue to use bigger heavier bullets as long as I can for big game but I won't look down on someone who takes ethical shots with smaller calibers.
The smallest I use for big game is the 2506. It's what I have and what I like as I don't have a 6mm currently.
I've yet to have to track an animal taken with a high shoulder shot while I've tracked many that where broadside shot thru the chest from 223 up to 300wm.
I agree with what's been said about softer bullets for lung shots. I care about what the bullet does inside the animal not what it looks like. Violent expansion in soft tissue brings death quick. Many ppl chose premium bonded or mono bullets than shoot a deer broadside only to have it run a few hundred yards. The further it runs the higher chance it's lost. Even a big white tail deer is a soft narrow animal. A cup and core bullet upsets and expands rapidly within a deer chest cavity which would be my choice if using a 6mm and taking lung shots.
The smallest I use for big game is the 2506. It's what I have and what I like as I don't have a 6mm currently.
I've yet to have to track an animal taken with a high shoulder shot while I've tracked many that where broadside shot thru the chest from 223 up to 300wm.
I agree with what's been said about softer bullets for lung shots. I care about what the bullet does inside the animal not what it looks like. Violent expansion in soft tissue brings death quick. Many ppl chose premium bonded or mono bullets than shoot a deer broadside only to have it run a few hundred yards. The further it runs the higher chance it's lost. Even a big white tail deer is a soft narrow animal. A cup and core bullet upsets and expands rapidly within a deer chest cavity which would be my choice if using a 6mm and taking lung shots.
Thanks. You having experience in the mountains and with large bears where is your preference for placement? Double lung or shoulder?
I've only the chance for Ontario black bear so far and I prefer the drop right there shoulder shot or at least aim for the offside shoulder if quartered away. I use a 458wm or 4570 mostly. When I used my 2506 I took shots behind the shoulder but high just under the spine. They worked extremely well doin major damage to the lungs and to the spine. Vertibrae dislocated and liquid filled chest cavity. 120gr positive expanding at 2950fps muzzle velocity sure drops them quick. Gave me a real appreciation for high impact speed but I still prefer the breaking down of forward motion
I started with a 6mmRem as a kid and still love it. I definitely prefer the 6mmRem to the 243Win. Although my main rifles are 270s, 7mms, 300s, and a beauty 35, I still grab the 6mm when chasing whitetails. I lost track of the game taken with it but it has dropped animals every season for 40 years, with somewhere over 300 animals in the freezer thanks to the 6mm. Thankfully, it loads very easily as the inexpensive Powershock 100 grain loads will group a tight, ragged hole at 100 metres and they drop game quickly. I use it mostly for deer but I have used it effectively for elk and moose. Only every lost two whitetails after the shot, everything else dropped on the spot as that little bullet creates a huge wound channel.
