If you would shoot it with a bow why not a .243?

I think the original question was for people who think a 243 is too light for big game, how come people shoot big game with a bow and arrow?
In that light, I say the 243 is superior, hands down.
Oh I can just see the rage rising from the archery groups!
But, I have seen too many wounded game animals, in particular moose and goats that got away, for anyone to convince me that an average bow and arrow hunter/shooter can even remotely compare with an average hunter/shooter with a 243.
 
H4831 said:
I think the original question was for people who think a 243 is too light for big game, how come people shoot big game with a bow and arrow?
In that light, I say the 243 is superior, hands down.
Oh I can just see the rage rising from the archery groups!
But, I have seen too many wounded game animals, in particular moose and goats that got away, for anyone to convince me that an average bow and arrow hunter/shooter can even remotely compare with an average hunter/shooter with a 243.
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:agree:
 
lets put it this way, with a field point and a 60lb bow, set up a plastic bucket filled with sand, the arrow will likely go all the way through, a 243 will hit and vaporize probably wont make it an inch into the sand. that's the diff. bows can kill things a light fast bullet will only seriously wound. a 243 does not have the penetration a arrow does.
 
Aries- said:
lets put it this way, with a field point and a 60lb bow, set up a plastic bucket filled with sand, the arrow will likely go all the way through, a 243 will hit and vaporize probably wont make it an inch into the sand. that's the diff. bows can kill things a light fast bullet will only seriously wound. a 243 does not have the penetration a arrow does.
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I've never personally seen an elk with sand in it's chest cavity.
 
H4831 said:
I think the original question was for people who think a 243 is too light for big game, how come people shoot big game with a bow and arrow?
In that light, I say the 243 is superior, hands down.
Oh I can just see the rage rising from the archery groups!
But, I have seen too many wounded game animals, in particular moose and goats that got away, for anyone to convince me that an average bow and arrow hunter/shooter can even remotely compare with an average hunter/shooter with a 243.
Click to expand...

All things being equal a rifle and arrow will both do the job if the shot is placed correctly.

If the shot however some how makes contact with the shoulder on it's way to the vitals the arrow has a much better chance of making it through, steel does not usually lose weight retention when it contacts bone.
 
Aries- said:
lets put it this way, with a field point and a 60lb bow, set up a plastic bucket filled with sand, the arrow will likely go all the way through, a 243 will hit and vaporize probably wont make it an inch into the sand. that's the diff. bows can kill things a light fast bullet will only seriously wound. a 243 does not have the penetration a arrow does.
Click to expand...
Not even close ........
 
crazydave said:
If the shot however some how makes contact with the shoulder on it's way to the vitals the arrow has a much better chance of making it through, steel does not usually lose weight retention when it contacts bone.
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If an arrow hits a moose's shoulder, I say it has no chance, whatsoever, of getting through, or breaking the bone.
A 243 on the other hand, with a high quality 100 grain bullet, will likely break the shoulder, stopping up the moose, and/or get through to some vitals.
A hit in the bony hump would be the same. Run away moose with an arrow sticking out of him, while a good bullet in the hump would be bang-flop with a good 100 grain bullet in the 243.
 
Aries- said:
lets put it this way, with a field point and a 60lb bow, set up a plastic bucket filled with sand, the arrow will likely go all the way through, a 243 will hit and vaporize probably wont make it an inch into the sand. that's the diff. bows can kill things a light fast bullet will only seriously wound. a 243 does not have the penetration a arrow does.
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Not a fair comparison at all...A field point will also penatrate a whole lot further into a beach sand bank than a 30-06 will. I have tried this!
 
captonion said:
Not a fair comparison at all...A field point will also penatrate a whole lot further into a beach sand bank than a 30-06 will. I have tried this!
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Do arrows usually pass through deer?

Almost 100% of my .243 shot deer had huge exit wounds.

Only 1 I shot head on in the chest I recovered the bullet in the skin on it's ass.

I'd like to see an arrow do that, field point or not.
Not saying it won't as I don't know, I'd just like to see it.
 
H4831 said:
If an arrow hits a moose's shoulder, I say it has no chance, whatsoever, of getting through, or breaking the bone.
A 243 on the other hand, with a high quality 100 grain bullet, will likely break the shoulder, stopping up the moose, and/or get through to some vitals.
A hit in the bony hump would be the same. Run away moose with an arrow sticking out of him, while a good bullet in the hump would be bang-flop with a good 100 grain bullet in the 243.
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I have personally seen 2 shoulder shots on moose with newer compound bows, one was a complete pass through the animal, the other only had about three inchs of the arrow sticking out the entry wound.

The older bows may not have been able to penetrate as well, but the new hi speed bows with a good broadhead will get the job done usually.
Can't say i would have the same confidence in a .243 exiting or making it through though.
 
How many archery hunters follow potentially dangerous game, after it's been stuck with an arrow, without any sort of a back-up rifle? An honest answer to that question should dispel any myths about a bow's "stopping power". Even Fred Bear had to stick several Polar bear before he could honestly claim to have killed one with a bow. The others all charged and had to be dispatched by rifle.
A lot of the previous posts are just too preposterous to comment on.
 
bearkilr said:
You'd be shocked if you knew how many Polar bear have been shot with a 243. It's probably one of the most common "bigger" calibers used by Inuk hunters.
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Talked with an Inuk trapper/hunter in Inuvik. We were discussing the recent (last two years) appearance of nearly starved barren ground grizzly, in terrain he normally associated with polar bears during his extensive wanderings on or near the shores of the Beaufort Sea. Both bears, each a year apart, were very dangerous to anything appearing yummy to them.
Both were displaced pronto using a single shot from his trusty bolt action 243.
 
Comparing a shot directly to the shoulder blades with a bow should be compared with hoping to make a texas heart shot on a moose with the .243, neither should be done or even considerred. I can't see a moose going terribly far if struck through the heart or lungs with with either. Use what ever is legal and know and respect both your and your equipments limits.
 
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