Wife wants a cow elk - need input

I'd just stick an 85gr TSX or 80TTSX in that .243 and go for it. If you two aren't comfortable with that idea, then I'd load up some 130gr TTSX in your .30-06 over a min load, and let her go with that.
 
Take her to the Trade Ex website and see what she likes in a 6.5Swede. They usually have some good old classics at keen prices.
 
She can't really shoot my bigger rifles as the LOP is way to much for her. I am 6'3 230lbs and not very recoil sensitive. I noticed online the marlin xs7 youth comes in 7mm-08 so maybe I should let her give that a try. Thanks for all the input.
 
Savage has a youth gun & scope package in the Axis model, Remington has a compact 700 SPS. The Savage has a 20 inch barrel and the Rem is 24in. My niece shoots the Rem, it's super accurate. The Rem is a bit more money.
 
How is her skill level? If she can hit the heart/lung area broadside at 200 yards with the .243 it will work fine with a good 95 or 100 grain bullet.

A larger caliber outside of the heart/lung area at any distance is not as good.

45 years ago I shot a moose broadside at 300 yards and the bullet was recovered under the skin on the far side after the lungs.
 
She is a pretty good shot. She is very patient and calm which is a plus but I still worry about how she will take it if its a slow kill. She has pretty much just had bang flops so far.
 
I've seen big bull elk soak up a premium 180 gr bullet @ 3000 fps from a 300 Mag x 3 rounds before going down. Also stroked one with a 8mm Rem Mag & 200gr Barnes TSX @ 3000 fps through the shoulder bone/lungs and run 30 yards before going down. Both of these shots were taken at about 25-30 yards. Lots of impact energy! My point is elk are tough and won't always drop to the shot even with a large cartridge with excellent ammo

The elk pic I posted above was taken with a Ruger m77 in 6mm Rem. The 100gr Partition went right through the heart @ 15 yards broadside. He ran about 75 yards and tipped over stone dead, you could follow the blood trail at a walking pace. I would expect similar results with most other cartridges between 243 & 375 H&H mag.

thousands of elk are killed every year with a 100gr broadhead in the lungs. A 243 with a good bullet will not bounce off elk hide or rib bones.
 
perhaps she could just get in some practice with a bigger caliber or maybe a limbsaver recoil pad could help a bit, of course you can kill a elk with a .243 but i think most would agree that it is not ideal. the last thing you want is for it to run far enough that you can't find it and then die.
 
My wife clobbered this bull Elk at a Looooong ways with a 270 Win and a 130 TSX. She hit it in the heart and the results were dramatic. A cow Elk is not near the beast a mature bull Elk is and I would not hesitate to use a 243 win on one.

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todbartell said:
I've seen big bull elk soak up a premium 180 gr bullet @ 3000 fps from a 300 Mag x 3 rounds before going down. Also stroked one with a 8mm Rem Mag & 200gr Barnes TSX @ 3000 fps through the shoulder bone/lungs and run 30 yards before going down. Both of these shots were taken at about 25-30 yards. Lots of impact energy! My point is elk are tough and won't always drop to the shot even with a large cartridge with excellent ammo

The elk pic I posted above was taken with a Ruger m77 in 6mm Rem. The 100gr Partition went right through the heart @ 15 yards broadside. He ran about 75 yards and tipped over stone dead, you could follow the blood trail at a walking pace. I would expect similar results with most other cartridges between 243 & 375 H&H mag.

thousands of elk are killed every year with a 100gr broadhead in the lungs. A 243 with a good bullet will not bounce off elk hide or rib bones.
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No elk drops to the shot with a broadside heart/lung hit regardless of caliber. 15 yards broadside is certainly not a common distance for elk with a rifle. At a more average distance of say 150 yards, I think you would see some difference in performance from a 243 to a 375.

What's the attraction to using just barely enough gun? I don't get it. :confused:
 
Cow elk

I don't know much about hunting big game with a rifle but I have a 270 remington semi auto I might be willing to sell
 
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bearkilr said:
No elk drops to the shot with a broadside heart/lung hit regardless of caliber. 15 yards broadside is certainly not a common distance for elk with a rifle. At a more average distance of say 150 yards, I think you would see some difference in performance from a 243 to a 375.

What's the attraction to using just barely enough gun? I don't get it. :confused:
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I dunno, maybe it's because they can afford to practice more then once a year? :D

Caliber's only 1/4 the battle. I'd bet money a shooter that practices a 100 rounds a month with 223 outside, learning to read the wind and distances, will probably do better then a guy that shoots his 308 once a year.
 
I'm with todbartell and Chuck Nelson on this one. The attraction to the .243 is the low recoil and high shootability. Over the last 15 years or so the bullet has become the big equalizer when it comes to the whole question of "killing power". The cartridge is much less important. Like I said before, stick an 85gr TSX or something similar in that .243 and it'll do the trick.

How quickly the elk falls will have MUCH more to do with shot placement and bullet constuction/velocity, than the caliber of the cartridge. At least that has been my experience.

EDIT: If your wife is a very good, patient shot, then you might also consider the polar opposite of the TSX, and load a heavy VLD in that .243 and have her aim for the ribs. If she likes to hit shoulder and break bone, then I would stick with the TSX.
 
chuck nelson said:
You are unequivocally wrong.
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Your opinion. I've shot many elk in the head, which is the only placement that drops them right there, other than a miss to the spine. I've also shot many elk dead center broadside behind the shoulder with everything from a 243 to a 458 and not one dropped at the shot. Unlike many on here, I'm speaking from experience. Whether you'd like to believe me or not is something I care little about. :)
 
bearkilr said:
Your opinion. I've shot many elk in the head, which is the only placement that drops them right there, other than a miss to the spine. I've also shot many elk dead center broadside behind the shoulder with everything from a 243 to a 458 and not one dropped at the shot. Unlike many on here, I'm speaking from experience. Whether you'd like to believe me or not is something I care little about. :)
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Speaking of experience, my wife shot the Elk pictured above through the top of the heart broadside striking no bone at an awful long ways and his face hit the ground so fast he broke teeth. So it is not just "my opinion" and no a head shot is not "the only shot placement that drops them right there".

I can believe that YOU have never dropped an Elk struck broadside but that evidence does not make it a hard and fast rule for the rest of us.
 
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