Anyone use a 243/6mm caliber for blackies?

[HARPERC]

.......Since you have hunted between Granite and Timber, I know where you will be if you draw a moose tag.......

Not really a bad draw in the bunch. I fill in all the choices. Some good bulls around Springdale also. If you should draw let me know, not much for packing out-but be glad to help you locate the right one.

My 6mm is the Remington as well, other than brass availability it's still the top of the heap in my opinion. I have enough brass to wear a couple out if need be.

I just checked Berger, and Hammer-and to take advantage of the heavier weights, Berger indicates 1-7" for the 115, Hammer a 1-7.25" for a 101 all copper.

It can all be made to work, but that point of diminishing returns effects all aspects of it. Making it work is different than ideal. Ideal in my mind starts at .30 caliber, and 200 grains. With the steep angles the berry patches often present, its easy to make a slight mistake. Extra points for big exit holes in recovering bears.

Now you're back, you're in a good spot to take advantage of the early bear season. Bears may wake up wondering where every one else went while they slept.

 

[HARPERC]

.....I don't personally have a 6mm picked out for this, just curious what y'all's thoughts on it might be.......

Cabin fever! We're all getting it, definitely a longish winter here.

 

[wilkup]

walkup
... I'm running RL-50 in my 6.5 WSM. It is the slowest powder you can buy so you have no where to go for a slower powder in the 6mm WSM.

Completely separate from this thread, how do you like the 6.5 WSM? What are the specs? Barrel length, bullet, COAL, etc... I've always been a bit curious about that little speed demon.

 

[wilkup]

Cabin fever! We're all getting it, definitely a longish winter here.

No cabin fever here brother. I just came from a never-ending-summer! I'm just excited for this year's hunting season to begin... I guess sort of like cabin fever...? lol

 

[Engineering101]

wilkup

The rifle is a Savage short action with a heavy sporter weight Krieger 1:8 twist barrel at 25.25" bedded into a salt and pepper Boyd's Prairie Hunter. It is wearing a Vortex Viper HS and I'm running the 143 gr ELD-X at ~ 3,025 fps. I have run that bullet over 3,200 fps with good results but it was more accurate around 3K fps. And more importantly with this semi soft bullet I like 3K and less. However, if I decide to run some Barnes in it they will be screaming. I don't back down on velocity with Barnes. Another thing I've noticed having taken many dirty/cold bore shots over many months, this rifle is never more than 1.5" from dead nuts at 200 yards and 6 out of 10 were inside the 1 inch square I'm aiming at. I suspect on those that missed the 1" square it was me and not the rifle. Eyes are getting pretty old at this point. I've got it throated for a coal of 3.115" to be just off the lands. Running 69.5 grains of RL-50 and Fed 215 primers. Last but not least, I really like this chambering. It is fun to shoot. I full length resize with my 270 WSM die and then neck size with a Redding bushing die. Piece of cake to form brass. It is almost not a wildcat. But as I said, shrinking this to 6mm would be a bridge too far.

 

[Catahoula]

I would not be scared of a 243 for bear. Killed my 2nd biggest bear with an 85 grain Sierra BTHP. It was early in May (May 2) & I just went hiking to scout for sign. Still a lot of snow. Well, as luck would have it I spotted a 6 foot blackie quartering towards me in some quakies. I put the bullet in his ribs & he ran about a 60 yards & piled up in a snow drift. My hunting buddy killed a 6 footer last spring with his 223 AR shooting the Winchester 64 grain spitzer. It is more about where you place the shot than what you are shooting.
Thanks, Kirk

 

[wilkup]

I would not be scared of a 243 for bear. Killed my 2nd biggest bear with an 85 grain Sierra BTHP. It was early in May (May 2) & I just went hiking to scout for sign. Still a lot of snow. Well, as luck would have it I spotted a 6 foot blackie quartering towards me in some quakies. I put the bullet in his ribs & he ran about a 60 yards & piled up in a snow drift. My hunting buddy killed a 6 footer last spring with his 223 AR shooting the Winchester 64 grain spitzer. It is more about where you place the shot than what you are shooting.
Thanks, Kirk

Just one question...
Was your buddy actually hunting bears with the AR or just happened on one with his AR?

Ok maybe two questions...
How far away was your bear when hit with the 243? That's impressive shooting brother!

 

[Capt RB]

+1 on the 85gn serria's. We ran a pack of hounds for a bunch of years. In over 100 dead bears the most messed up insides we saw were 4 bears shot with the 85gn serria's. These are close range out of a tree shots. 10tw barrels and 3250-3350fps loads. Absolutely devastating for that task. If I were hunting them at distance the 105 Amax would be my bullet not a 115 in any flavor. It's not a big bullet so if it doesn't open you will not have much blood to trail.
Bigger is much better for bears.

 

[Monttrap04]

Interesting thread. I just got a custom 6-06 that loves the 105 VLD. I am confident it would be plenty adequate for any black bear in the state of Montana but with so many other good choices I am on the fence about ever taking it. I plan to shoot it a fair amount the next month or two and if my confidence is good I may give it go.

I have a lot of confidence in my .300 win mag and my .30-06 so those have been my go-to big game rifles. However, I failed to recover a small bear I shot with a 180 TTSX out of my 300 win mag. The shot was right at 300 yards and the bear was in some deadfall and boulders. My buddy and I had some miscommunication on how the bear was positioned (he was right) and I put the bullet too high. It dropped hard with the shot but within seconds it got back on its feet and was gone. We trailed it with a hound till we found its bed where it spent the night. We most likely jumped it with the ruckus from the hound and the trail was going away from us uphill. Even good bullets and lots of power can't fix poor shot placement. An extra two seconds with my binos would have eliminated the issue.

The next bear was 466 yards and just slightly quartering away. I put a 180 TTSX through the boiler room and it exited the offside shoulder. The bear ran 20-30 yards and piled up. With that placement just about anything would most likely have got the job done.

 

[usastripes]

I have tried them and found them very efficient but well all know bullet placement is the key to bear hunting.

 

[snox801]

.243 will do just fine. It's funny when these come up because my fathers hunting buddy hunts everything and I mean everything with a .243 because of shoulder issues. He has killed several bears with his very easily. He has also taken elk and moose. 95 GR partitions do the job nicely. He gets a lot of flack almost everywhere they go from guides and other camo members but he always does just fine and because he uses a good bullet and is confident with his shot placement he usually puts them down quick compared to other hunters that shoot large rounds.

 

[matt_3479]

Are they capable? Hell yah! Would they be my first choice? Hell no! I owned a 243. Win that shot the 87gr Vmax into .3's, 105vlds's into .5-.6 and the 95 gr partitions into about an inch. I would load the 95gr partitions for large game. The 105's I'd maybe give a shot if there was some decently open terrain but in close quarters the partitions will hammer the bear!

I would take a larger caliber rifle for sure though if it was me!

 

[brentc]

This forum member detailed in the post below killed a black bear with a 105 HVLD from a 243 Win. It appeared to perform adequately, although I prefer a bigger cartridge for bears.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/for...ger-precision-rifle-243-a-166145/index15.html

 

[Zerk]

This debate comes up a lot in hunting and self defense. I say a perfect shot under perfect conditions, and you can kill about anything. But why?

If you can't afford more guns ok. But a little gun, would not be my only gun. I look at the fps of 6mm and you are only at 3000 for many. I think why bother. 150 grain 30-06 will do that. Maybe long ranges less recoil is more accurate. But hunting in heavy bush where tracking a 100 yards seems like a 1000, I think of Elmer, "I want my hunting done when I pull the trigger ".

Hoping to get tag for UP this fall.