How far to kill an elk with a .243?

[WildRose]

The girl in the video segment isn't the problem. She didn't have a clue what she was doing.

It was the producers of the piece that should have known better.

You can kill a grizzly bear with a .22lr if you stick it in his mouth and pull the trigger but it'd be damned irresponsible to encourage people to use them.

The .243 simply isn't "enough gun" at that range for an elk since it requires absolute precision shot placement in order to get the job done and the responsible thing to do on that show would have been to say so.

Our sport is under attack from many angles constantly and encouraging people to go after large or dangerous game ill equipped is just stupid and irresponsible and bad for the sport.

 

[toddc]

The girl in the video segment isn't the problem. She didn't have a clue what she was doing.

It was the producers of the piece that should have known better.

You can kill a grizzly bear with a .22lr if you stick it in his mouth and pull the trigger but it'd be damned irresponsible to encourage people to use them.

The .243 simply isn't "enough gun" at that range for an elk since it requires absolute precision shot placement in order to get the job done and the responsible thing to do on that show would have been to say so.

Our sport is under attack from many angles constantly and encouraging people to go after large or dangerous game ill equipped is just stupid and irresponsible and bad for the sport.

thanks for typing that reply. Said most of what I wanted to say without me peckin a darn computer.
REMEMBER.....SHI@ HAPPENS. Which is why my edge is my go to gun for everything. Turtle shootin on a pond.....hmmmm...338. Prairie dogs? yep 338. Shoot enuf stuff with less than the biggest out there and sooner or later you will pay the price. My 6-284 with 115 vlds is astonishingly deadly but why would I shoot an elk with it when I have a 338? If ya aint got enuf gun buy another one.

 

[Joe King]

Shame Shame Shame....... on the peanut gallery. To each their own, someone on here said it best "magnumitis" There is no substitute for a well placed bullet....not even the baddest .338 plus magnums. Leave this gentleman and girl alone.

I'm so sick of these theological "piling-ons" which I'm sure every member here on "Long Range Hunting" knows all too well. The very similar comments posted about those of us who hunt from 300, 500, 1000 + yards by others who can barely hit a pie plate at 100 yards and believe themselves more ethical. You can argue either side of the "long range" debate the same as this silly business of cartridge size debate. It's stupid, counter productive, and makes us all look like we are dummies.

Sure a 100 yard shot is more sure than a 500 yrd, of course a .308 is more sure than a .243, of course you have to get closer with a bow than you do with a gun... To each their own........ Shame on the pompous arrogant jerks on here.. especially on the comment about beating the guy and girl over the head...

And you doing that^ is what exactly? yes every body has an opinion. and guess what thats a lot of why things like the forums exist, for opinions to be aired debated , and learned from.

I agree whole heartedly with WithRose on this, my first rifle was a 243 I still have it 30years later, and I know what that caliber can do, it has very much earned it's reputation of "Kills better than it should". That being said the game those guys where playing leaves NO room for error, and as we all very well know $&!* happens, if you need to play long range on Elk it's foolish to do what those guys did, hedge your bets a bit in your favor. there plenty of calibers and guns out there that are just a shootable as a 243, but are far more appropriate. What do you suposed would have happened had she muffed the shot, even a little?

My opinion? yup, but it's born of killing plenty of game with a 243, and plenty of game with other calibers. Mind you my 1st deer was the only one that ever asked for a 2nd from that little 243.

 

[RMulhern]

This may surprise you.

Interesting Vid - Girl pole axes elk at 688y with a 105g VLD in a .243 Win - Georgia Outdoor News Forum

joseph

That may be so....however I've seen a couple of big bulls take broadside hits in the shoulder area from .300 RUM with 180 gr. bullets and stand on their feet for 5 minutes! Pizz poor excuse for an elk rifle the .243 Win IMO!!

 

[Inpursuit]

I know the thread is getting long in the tooth, but, I find it amazing how much credit some give to a 264 of some type or the cats meow a 284 diameter something or other. A 264 is just a half mm larger and the 284 is a whopping full mm larger. The bullet design and velocity combined with weight when placed in the right place is the secret of success in taking animals. Would I use the 243 probably not but I wouldn't use the 7mikemike either. My preference would be probably a 308 or '06 with a Berger 178 vld. Just my opinion. Regardless, it was a good shot!

 

[JST]

Some guys just have no idea what there guns are capable of unless you practice shooting the distance. I have shot repeatably at 100 to 500 yards an I feel very confident on hitting anything out to 500 yds with a vital killing shot. As I am sure they too have practiced shooting at all distances an tuning there guns with there ammo to acheive that goal . So really can you find fault in the shot ? Seems to me they did what they set out to do by laying all the ground work first and making the shot . Takes alot of practice to get to that level.lightbulb

I don't care how much you practice or how good or lucky you are. There is a live animal at the end of that shot. So Ethics should be your number one thought. Can I eithically kill the animal at this range with this round??? Yup she did. Sure was stupid though. Anything could have gone wrong. And had it gone wrong. Then it would have been a black eye on the entire long range hunting community.

 

[JST]

Just saw the original date on the first post. Don't know why I wasted my time posting. I'll pay more attention in the future. Sorry.

 

[WildRose]

I know the thread is getting long in the tooth, but, I find it amazing how much credit some give to a 264 of some type or the cats meow a 284 diameter something or other. A 264 is just a half mm larger and the 284 is a whopping full mm larger. The bullet design and velocity combined with weight when placed in the right place is the secret of success in taking animals. Would I use the 243 probably not but I wouldn't use the 7mikemike either. My preference would be probably a 308 or '06 with a Berger 178 vld. Just my opinion. Regardless, it was a good shot!

Try comparing energy between those calibers using the top weight ranges of high SD/BC bullets and you'll probably pretty quickly understand why they perform so much better.

 

[WildRose]

I don't care how much you practice or how good or lucky you are. There is a live animal at the end of that shot. So Ethics should be your number one thought. Can I eithically kill the animal at this range with this round??? Yup she did. Sure was stupid though. Anything could have gone wrong. And had it gone wrong. Then it would have been a black eye on the entire long range hunting community.

If you wish to discuss the ethics of long range hunting you need to find another site to do it on.

Len's house, Len's Rules, that's not a subject we discuss here.

 

[Greg Duerr]

Many a Moose and Bear were taken with the 30-30 At the right distance and with a person that is confident with the Rifle that they are shooting ...................Good bullet good placement. I tend to lean towards the guy that is a savy hunter rather than the guy that can shoot at long distance. They usually dont run together so with that in mind ......................Id bet on the guy with the .243

 

[MudRunner2005]

I would be willing to bet you that the calibers that have probably killed the most animals in history would be a very close guess between the .30-30Win, and the .45-70 Gov't.

I like to be both the saavy hunter and the LR freak. You can be both, it just takes alot of years of hunting, practice, and skill-honing.

 

[Joe King]

I like to be both the saavy hunter and the LR freak. You can be both, it just takes alot of years of hunting, practice, and skill-honing.

+1
thing most folks have no idea about is LRH takes way more effort, than spot and stalk. Hell even after you get your shooting system lined out.

 

[highridge1]

Can you kill a elk with a .243?? Of course. Is it a good idea?? No , A .243 isn't even a good 200 yard elk rifle.. The energy at long range is pathetic.

 

[deerhunter61]

There have been quite a few responses questioning whether using a .243 was a good choice some even questioning it ethically. I do not question whether the rifle can do the job assuming everything goes well but what I do struggle with is having the ability to effectively track this animal if a shot with a .243 was high in the shoulder which most likely would mean there would not be much of a blood trail. First they have to hike almost 700 yards over a lot of elevation change just to get to where the animal was hit and then you have to hope you can track it....this is where my questions begin....