243 for Moose/Elk

I got number two son a 243 when he was about eleven, for competing in a popular shooting competition.
When he was fourteen I sat by him, high on a mountain while he killed a nice billy goat, with one shot from his 243.
About a year later, when he was going to middle high school, we were away one Friday when he and a buddy, who could drive a pick up truck and also had a 243, decided to take the day from school and go moose hunting!
When we got home he didn't lose any time in telling us the tale. They were walking through light bush and meadows when they came onto a moose. Buddy was ahead and our son said before he could get beside his friend for a shot, buddy fired and killed the moose with one shot!
I asked our son what weight of bullets buddy had used and he said, "Actually, he was out of shells at home, so I gave him some of your reloads!"
They were hundred grain and loaded right up.
 
I can use a 16oz hammer on framing nails, but a 22oz hammer does the job much better and more efficiently.

I wouldn't use a .243 on a moose, but that's just my choice. If you need to, do so. But at a bear minimum know the limitations on your gun/ammo and know your limitations as well before you pull the trigger.
 
I'd gladly poke a moose through the ticker with a 100 gr. Sierra within 100 yds. using a load that didn't push the MV past 2500 fps. The thing with most factory loads is that they are on the hot side of things up close.:)

Me sister bagged her first whitetail at 400 yds. with her Browning 81 from the hood of her then hubby's truck.
I reckon the arrival speed of that factory Winchester load was in the speed range I prefer for a 6mm. jacketed bullet.(21-2300 fps.) Zilch meat damage.
 
Sivy97 said:
I can use a 16oz hammer on framing nails, but a 22oz hammer does the job much better and more efficiently.

I wouldn't use a .243 on a moose, but that's just my choice. If you need to, do so. But at a bear minimum know the limitations on your gun/ammo and know your limitations as well before you pull the trigger.
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You must not frame much. 16oz titanium stiletto is way better than some 22oz club....wait a tick! Could this be another argument for using good quality tools (bullets) and knowing how to use (shoot) them?
 
Squamch said:
You must not frame much. 16oz titanium stiletto is way better than some 22oz club....wait a tick! Could this be another argument for using good quality tools (bullets) and knowing how to use (shoot) them?
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Nope. Been years since I have done any framing. Not surprised there are advancements in the hammer industry as well. I won't be replacing my estwing though. Use what you got, just be good at it.
 
Like has already been said choose your shots and place the bullet precisely, and pray to the hunting Gods that there is nothing but pure clean air between the end of the barrel and the moose because if that .243 bullet touch's a gad, twig, mosquito, black fly, noseeum, natt's a$$, or a heavy mist on the way to the target it will either not reach the intended target or will be directed off the mark. Personal experience with the cartridge has taught me this. I have shot nothing bigger that deer with mine using 95gr Nosler partitions which were very effective as long as they had a clear path to the target.
 
Sivy97 said:
Nope. Been years since I have done any framing. Not surprised there are advancements in the hammer industry as well. I won't be replacing my estwing though. Use what you got, just be good at it.
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Don't replace it... stiletto's are for spaghetti wrists and school girls...
 
Moose are huge animals - don't kid yourself. You want it to die within feet of where it stands.

I would not hunt moose with a .243 it is way to light. I would pick something that packs more punch for penetration and a better wound channel profile.
 
Squamch said:
You must not frame much. 16oz titanium stiletto is way better than some 22oz club....wait a tick! Could this be another argument for using good quality tools (bullets) and knowing how to use (shoot) them?
Click to expand...

Actually a 22oz Estwing does do the job better. Less hits and Much easier to use than banging away at a nail with a hammer that's too light! Back on topic.... Kno k a moose with a bigger caliber. Less room for error and more killing power.
 
H4831 said:
I got number two son a 243 when he was about eleven, for competing in a popular shooting competition.
When he was fourteen I sat by him, high on a mountain while he killed a nice billy goat, with one shot from his 243.
About a year later, when he was going to middle high school, we were away one Friday when he and a buddy, who could drive a pick up truck and also had a 243, decided to take the day from school and go moose hunting!
When we got home he didn't lose any time in telling us the tale. They were walking through light bush and meadows when they came onto a moose. Buddy was ahead and our son said before he could get beside his friend for a shot, buddy fired and killed the moose with one shot!
I asked our son what weight of bullets buddy had used and he said, "Actually, he was out of shells at home, so I gave him some of your reloads!"
They were hundred grain and loaded right up.
Click to expand...

Bruce brings things back on track quite nicely. A .243 can be a very capable and versatile cartridge. If you where armed with one while engaged in an activity like wolf hunting, should you come across a legal moose, who would blame you for using it? If a .243 is the only rifle you own, as a pal of mine used to say, "Well, it won't do em any good." But if you have a stable full of more capable rifles, I don't understand the attraction of choosing a marginal cartridge to shoot a large animal. The thing is that people don't care what I think, and are going to use whatever they want, like the guy up here who dumps his moose with a .22-250, and another went out recently with his .223. If a bullet fails to perform just once, its condemned, regardless of circumstances, but the flip side is that if a small bore drops some huge beast just once, it's wielder is forever empowered. In reality, such things should be considered in context.
 
mrgoat said:
Like has already been said choose your shots and place the bullet precisely, and pray to the hunting Gods that there is nothing but pure clean air between the end of the barrel and the moose because if that .243 bullet touch's a gad, twig, mosquito, black fly, noseeum, natt's a$$, or a heavy mist on the way to the target it will either not reach the intended target or will be directed off the mark. Personal experience with the cartridge has taught me this. I have shot nothing bigger that deer with mine using 95gr Nosler partitions which were very effective as long as they had a clear path to the target.
Click to expand...

Good to know... Thinking about a spring bear hunt, but with all the mosqitoes and blackflies, I guess I'd be wasting my timef:P:
 
Squamch said:
You must not frame much. 16oz titanium stiletto is way better than some 22oz club....wait a tick! Could this be another argument for using good quality tools (bullets) and knowing how to use (shoot) them?
Click to expand...

This strikes me as a good analogy. I'd hunt elk or moose with a well loaded, TSX or Partitions, 243 in a heartbeat. I'd prefer my 30-06 with 150/168 TSX, but if it was 243 or nothing...
 
Ok, well, if anyone remembers what reloading manual the author wrote about hunting moose with a 300WM? It was either a Nosler or Hornady edition of believe.

He spoke of this moose that kept absorbing projectiles and not dropping , I believe it was 4 or 5 or 6 shots that it took to the boiler room before it dropped.

Not sure of the bullet but do remember that it was a reasonably close shot, the bullets, upon impact had totally fragmented and not penetrated well at all.

What I am imposing is that bullet technology along with modern powders as well as shooter/hunter/re-loader knowledge has improved drastically.

So who is right? A once a year hunter that uses a 300WM with light for chambering fragile bullets but still a "suitable" tool for the job OR the enthusiast who loads a bonded or partition style projectile with a heavier for chambering bullet in his .243 and practices regularly and does diligent load development?

So, the old question "is a .243 enough for __________?" has now a more modern answer.

I think the question has to be answered by ourselves who will do the shooting.

Me, would I use a .243 for said game, yes.I am not going to hide my answer be saying there are better tools for the job.
 
Squamch said:
You must not frame much. 16oz titanium stiletto is way better than some 22oz club....wait a tick! Could this be another argument for using good quality tools (bullets) and knowing how to use (shoot) them?
Click to expand...
I frame with a 30oz Estwing Framing hammer. It's already dark and I'm comfy by the wood stove, or I'd go out and take a picture of it. 16 oz hammers are for finish work. Anybody who'd use them for framing would probably drive a chev truck, too! :D
As I said, I am sure the .243 is adequate for the task, in the right hands, under the right circumstances. But when my wife wanted to start on moose, I built up that P-14 .303Epps for her.
 
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