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

[Aries-]

What is "magnumitis"? Is everyone too frail to fire a caliber with some recoil?
Seems everyone wants a featherweight rifle in a marginal caliber with a brake.

Why not use a heavier rifle in a harder hitting caliber?

why fire a gun that will cause to to develop a flinch. i dont see a reason to be shooting a .338 LM when a .308win will do the job just fine on a moose if you take your time and wait for a good shot.

and a muzzle brake is a very stupid idea to have on a firearm while hunting, unless of course you dont like your hearing.

 

[Boomer]

i fail to see how 1 step or the wind is going to have the bullet hit the animal in the @ss. if the animal is at a proper angle you will hit it in the shoulder, spine miss it under it, or go through the lungs. if the animal is that far facing away from you. dont take the shot. i dont enjoy cleaning out a deer when it is a heart shot. let alone if the insides are going to be filled with stomach matter or sh*t.

personally, il wait for a full on side shot where i can hit it to the best of my abilities. (as i hunt with essentially a .45-120 (muzzle loader) with a 535 grain bullet, it would more than easily go from front to back of a deer) i wouldn't want the mess to clean up, or the lost/spoiled meat i would have to deal with havering a back-end shot.

Lets consider the scenario of a 200 yard broadside shot on a deer. There's no wind, its a bright cloudless morning and you're shooting from a comfortable solid position. You hold a third of the way up the body just behind the shoulder. But as the trigger breaks the deer takes a single 18" step forward. Thats a gut shot! It doesn't matter what kind of rifle you're using, it doesn't matter what the quality of your scope is, if your markmanship is perfect but your target moves 18", you've got a wounded deer.

Now lets consider the same scenario with the deer shot on the length from behind. You're aiming for the spine, the deer takes an 18" step, guess what, the deer still has a severed spine, and can't run to the next area code. Will you need a follow up shot? Maybe, it depends on how much momentum your bullet has at 200 yards, but I've seen a spine shot deer hit with a 180 gr .308 drop like a rock. I still remember cutting my finger on the sharp bone when I went sticking it where it didn't belong.

So why is it that a broadside shot is considered by some to be ethically superior to one made on the length? Maybe its because if a hunter carries a mouse gun, broadside is the only option he's got.

 

[bearkilr]

why fire a gun that will cause to to develop a flinch. i dont see a reason to be shooting a .338 LM when a .308win will do the job just fine on a moose if you take your time and wait for a good shot.

and a muzzle brake is a very stupid idea to have on a firearm while hunting, unless of course you dont like your hearing.

My response wasn't directed at you, but many thanks for sharing your opinion.

 

[bearkilr]

Lets consider the scenario of a 200 yard broadside shot on a deer. There's no wind, its a bright cloudless morning and you're shooting from a comfortable solid position. You hold a third of the way up the body just behind the shoulder. But as the trigger breaks the deer takes a single 18" step forward. Thats a gut shot! It doesn't matter what kind of rifle you're using, it doesn't matter what the quality of your scope is, if your markmanship is perfect but your target moves 18", you've got a wounded deer.

Now lets consider the same scenario with the deer shot on the length from behind. You're aiming for the spine, the deer takes an 18" step, guess what, the deer still has a severed spine, and can't run to the next area code. Will you need a follow up shot? Maybe, it depends on how much momentum your bullet has at 200 yards, but I've seen a spine shot deer hit with a 180 gr .308 drop like a rock. I still remember cutting my finger on the sharp bone when I went sticking it where it didn't belong.

So why is it that a broadside shot is considered by some to be ethically superior to one made on the length? Maybe its because if a hunter carries a mouse gun, broadside is the only option he's got.

So we're to assume you would choose the "Texas heart shot" over a broadside double lung?
I would hope a shot in the ass would only be used to prevent the escape of a wounded animal, not as a primary.

 

[Gatehouse]

You don't need a magnum for a THS. A .308 with a good bullet will go end to end on a deer

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

Wait for the damn broadside shot, like I stated before nobody here is going to starve if they turn down a shot, OR does the so called game have to be downed no matter what?

What if this moving deer shakes it's fanny 6" or slips or turn slightly, then it's one ruined quarter and possible three legged running deer.

I cannot recommend the dead-on-ass shot in any situation,sry.

"Now lets consider the same scenario with the deer shot on the length from behind. You're aiming for the spine, the deer takes an 18" step, guess what, the deer still has a severed spine, and can't run to the next area code. Will you need a follow up shot? Maybe, it depends on how much momentum your bullet has at 200 yards, but I've seen a spine shot deer hit with a 180 gr .308 drop like a rock. I still remember cutting my finger on the sharp bone when I went sticking it where it didn't belong. "

And yes I do understand the larger cartridges for s**t happens scenario, BUT bullet choice(quality and type) is a higher priority than chambering.

300 Win Mag with incorrect bullets broadside moose, long painful death, .243 with correct bullet, dead moose.

 

[rhino519]

well, lets add another angle;

who here thinks its not idiotic to go large game hunting with a .243???

your uncle,s sister's neighbour, who happen to be first nations and been hunting since 2, nonwithstanding

 

[TacticalDan]

well, lets add another angle;

who here thinks its not idiotic to go large game hunting with a .243???

your uncle,s sister's neighbour, who happen to be first nations and been hunting since 2, nonwithstanding

well said.

 

[Gatehouse]

well, lets add another angle;

who here thinks its not idiotic to go large game hunting with a .243???

your uncle,s sister's neighbour, who happen to be first nations and been hunting since 2, nonwithstanding

Hunting big game with a .243 just means your options get cut down.

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

I would use it, not idiotic at all, but I went a more foolish route,I bought a bow a few years ago and prefer that style of hunting now.

p.s. - It does allow me a longer season.

"Hunting big game with a .243 just means your options get cut down. " OR you gotta improve your hunting skills.

well, lets add another angle;

who here thinks its not idiotic to go large game hunting with a .243???

your uncle,s sister's neighbour, who happen to be first nations and been hunting since 2, nonwithstanding

 

[Gatehouse]

"Hunting big game with a .243 just means your options get cut down. " OR you gotta improve your hunting skills.

Essentially the same thing. You have fewer options, so you will need to do what it takes to get the shot option you require.

 

[Boomer]

Apparently there are a few here with a literacy problem, when did a spine shot on the length become a Texas heart shot?

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

Shouldn't we be doing what it takes to get the shot regardless of what is in our hands?

As you become a better hunter you will require less compensation from your tools, eventually you can use a knife like Leon The Professional.

Essentially the same thing. You have fewer options, so you will need to do what it takes to get the shot option you require.

 

[Kelly Timoffee]

When you miss-judge your distance of course.

Apparently there are a few here with a literacy problem, when did a spine shot on the length become a Texas heart shot?

 

[Gatehouse]

Shouldn't we be doing what it takes to get the shot regardless of what is in our hands?

There are a number of different shot placements that kill fast. What shot is possible depends on your skill level, the circumstances and what you have in your hands. Tough bullets and decent horsepower will give you more options in shot placement to make fast kills than weaker combinations.

As you become a better hunter you will require less compensation from your tools, eventually you can use a knife like Leon The Professional.

As I have become a more experienced hunter, I have learned that there are many ways to get from A to B. During the same time I have learned that there are many hunters that believe that only their method is the correct way.

 

[Gatehouse]

dbl post

 

[RoscoeT]

Wow... this got off the rails in under 100 posts. Not a record but doing good CGN.


As the original poster (OP) of this thread I want to say that it was not a ".243 'nough fer elk?" thread.

It was specifically to talk about a counter point speaking of bow vs. .243 for killing power.

If you could feel good about using a bow then why not a .243?

We're not talking follow ups. or Tex Heart Shots. We're not talking 300 yd elk kills either.


We talking about why people will call the .243 marginal but a bow is A-OK

For me, I'm feeling that the .243, given the identical shot as a bow, has more than enough killing power.

I'm convinced after this discussion that if you take a bow for any game as OK then a .243 is fine within its limits.

Oh, and btw, a .243 will go end to end on a deer. I've done it front to back not T.H.S but a 100gr Winchester PP will go end to end on a mule deer no prob.

Fire away.

 

[rhino519]

the issue has already been explained, time and time again, by many posters, that it does not register with you only proves that it just doesnt work for your agenda

im out

 

[RoscoeT]

the issue has already been explained, time and time again, by many posters, that it does not register with you only proves that it just doesnt work for your agenda

im out

that could be. I've seen lots of " 'nough gun fox X" threads but I don't remember any that speak specifically to the bow vs. .243

I have no "agenda" what do you think I am? a Liberal or something?

 

[captonion]

OK, one more time for those who stayed up too late last night;
hunt enough and you'll find out that errors happen even on a perfect broadside angle.
What he means is that when you'll need the follow up, you're SOL with an "any angle" shot from a marginal caliber.

Sorry that is not what Boomer said.

This is what he said!!

To me a general purpose big game rifle should have a reasonable expectation of killing a big game animal with a single shot from any direction or angle within the range limitations of the hunter and/or his rifle. .

This is the post that got me so worked up.This is a totaly absurd post.Observe that there is no mention of a follow up shot.JUST (a single shot from any direction or angle ) Then he goes on to contradict himself post after post.

For the record.
I never said I would recomend a 243 for elk or moose.Never mentioned any caliber for that matter. Just got fired up over the '' killing a big game animal with a single shot from any direction or angle '' Thats it!