.243 Win. and big game

I'm going to break away from the Internet love fest with small caliber for game cartridges... flak away...

.243 for deer? Why?... If you are a small framed child or dainty adult... maybe... if you have no other options, ok. But if you do have options, why not go larger... 6.5's and larger with 130 gr+ bullets... or better yet, on medium game 150-180 bullets from a reasonable case contain the energy and momentum to fill in the margins of "stuff that can happen" when shooting in field conditions...

Yes, a .243 can be used successfully on medium game, but if there are other options, why choose it? Regardless of the experiences where it was done, I don't feel that a .243 is an appropriate choice for moose.

The above is only my opinion... ultimately, as long as it is legal, everyone makes their own decision on the matter, but I don't think anyone would regret going "bigger" after they squeeze the trigger... but it is possible the reverse might not be true.

I should add....I am a fan of the .243 Win cartridge, I have three at the moment... so this opinion is not .243 derision.
 
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I broke the scope on my .308 one time while I was loading up for moose camp, so rather than scrap the hunt, I grabbed my .243 and my .3030. The distance required the .243 (170yds), and I got my moose, but it would not have been my first choice.

The knockdown power of a 100gr .243 just doesn't compare to a 180gr .308.

I do however regularly use it for white tails, and have no qualms about it's takedown power against them.
 
When I was younger and the .243 was all I had, that's what I used...Remington BDL with a Leupold 3-9 compact...From rabbit on up to bear, caribou and moose...Dropped most of those caribou and some of them moose and bear in their tracks too...85gr Speer boat tails over 47gr of IMR 4831...Still have that rifle but it morphed and now sports a heavy Douglas barrel that sits in a McMillan M40A-1 and spits 95gr VLD's.
 
I dont condemn anyone who uses a 243W for hunting any game up to moose in North America - including black bear. I havent seen enough evidence of it being insufficient and a lot of evidence that it works fine. Wrt moose - I have witnessed 4 rounds of 180gr 308w (the entire magazine) plus a 150gr 270W at about 55yds fail to drop a moose immediately. They were all hits - but the moose didnt even stumble until hit by the .270W even though later it was determined they were all good hits - sometimes moose just dont know when they are dead.
 
Lastgun said:
When I was younger and the .243 was all I had, that's what I used...Remington BDL with a Leupold 3-9 compact...From rabbit on up to bear, caribou and moose...Dropped most of those caribou and some of them moose and bear in their tracks too...85gr Speer boat tails over 47gr of IMR 4831...Still have that rifle but it morphed and now sports a heavy Douglas barrel that sits in a McMillan M40A-1 and spits 95gr VLD's.
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85gr speer drop a moose in their track ??
I never see a moose drop death whit a 30-30 170gr / .308 165sgk/ 130gr .270
Mayne i need a 243 for my hunting in the future ...
 
AP said:
I dont condemn anyone who uses a 243W for hunting any game up to moose in North America - including black bear. I havent seen enough evidence of it being insufficient and a lot of evidence that it works fine.
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That's because the only ones talking are the ones who were successful... there are plenty of the others... nobody is condemning, but if we can't have a conversation with differing opinions, then we might as well watch TV.
 
243 with 100gr pills is about 2000ft/lbs at the muzzle.
A 6.5x55 with 140gr pills is about 2230ft/lbs.
6.5 has been used on big game and nobody really questions it. 243 is not far behind it.....use a partition, bonded, solid and keep it under 200m and you have a dead moose.
 
hoytcanon said:
That's because the only ones talking are the ones who were successful... there are plenty of the others... nobody is condemning, but if we can't have a conversation with differing opinions, then we might as well watch TV.
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Absolutely agree.

If a guy came up to the gun counter and said he was looking for a "Moose rifle", 223, 243, 30-30, 25.06 or even the 270, all of which are "legal" for Moose hunting in Ontario, would not be my suggestion.

But if a guy came to counter and said he had a 243, couldn't afford another rifle and couldn't borrow one but wanted to hunt Moose, I would pull a box of Federal's loaded with 100 grain Nosler Partitions and give him my opinion of the limitations of that cartridge on such a large animal.
 
I like hunting whit all the fun and challenge it give but when it go to shoot a deer or a moose i hate to track a wonded animal just because you think 243 is enough 270 is good but .30 cal is far more good for medium game
here broadside shot we dont see this each time so why take a chance when you can take a good caliber and bullet combo for game ?
 
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Moose are not hard to kill..... Put the bullet where it belongs. Larger caliber does not make up for poor shots.

243 is not my first choice, but I know it can kill a moose. A bit of common sense is required.
 
Game animals aren't as hard to kill as most people seem to believe, at least that has been my observation over the years.

Experience has taught me that my 7-08 will kill a moose just as good as my 8 mm Remington Magnum will at 400 yards.....dead is dead and I've shot a pile of moose over the years!

Only shot 1 moose with a 243, can't say anything negative about its performance on that animal, but I do feel more comfortable moose hunting with at least the 7-08 and 139 gr and heavier bullets.

Best choice for moose....30-06 and 180's (IMHO).
 
I love these threads, OP comes in and posts a thread with a vague question about caliber x, then we go down the rabbit hole..... And op is nowhere to be seen....

This thread is missing the following:

-nobody has directly said "shot placement is everything"
-nobody has brought up the axis
-nobody has made a lame ballistics comparison between a .243 and a big bore
-Johnn hasn't chimed in with a random pic of a rifle in a cal or cartridge we aren't discussing (just picking, love Johnn's pics)
-what, no bear defence?.....
 
hawk-i said:
- Game animals aren't as hard to kill as most people seem to believe...

- I've shot a pile of moose over the years!

- I do feel more comfortable moose hunting with at least the 7-08 and 139 gr and heavier bullets.

- my 7-08 will kill a moose just as good as my 8 mm Remington Magnum will at 400 yards.....dead is dead...
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Why do you feel more comfortable with 7-08 and 139+ bullets? Afterall, "dead is dead"?
 
^^^ LOL 243 will only work with 100 partitions shot from an Axis with superb shot placement. :)
 
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