243 BULLET for cow elk?

F

flyguyskt

New member
yes i know shoot a larger caliber...that is null and void as far as this is concerned so please if you dont have anything positive to add dont post.

my female friend and i both were awarded cow elk tags for this fall.woohoo

i plan to limit her shots to the 100 yard range so i know it will be placed properly. she has been shooting this 243 winny youth ranger for years and can put 3 in a group of an inch or so at 100. i figure a nice heart/lung shot will do the trick broadside. no fancy stuff.

what i am planning to do is buy some premium ammo with either a 100 grn nosler partition or sierra game king.

ANY thoughts or advice on bullet choice would be great. as i want to aero the rifle with that ammo obviously and need her to shoot a few boxes at the range to get confident with it.

THANKS in advance
 
As far as commercial ammo, I've had success with Remington Corelokt. Of the two you mention I'd go with the Sierra because I've heard some good first hand stories by folk that use Gamekings. I haven't heard anything bad about the Nosler though.

If your friend can reliably put shots into a 1" square, she won't have any problem. That's much better than I do off hand.
 
im talking from a seated knee rested position...she can out shoot me. reloads would be nice but i dont have much time to work up a load and get her shooting.
 
Been there done that. My father-in-law's girlfriend used a 243 for elk in Wyoming. After we got her over the buck fever thing, she and the rifle did just fine. We wouldn't let her take any iffy or bad shots.

I couldn't tell you what the load was. The FIL would just go to the Big R store and get what was on hand.


P.S.

Nosler Partitions are always a good choice in my book.
 
I hunted western oregon for years with my 6mm, and while I always switched to a heavier gun when elk hunting, I know it would do the job. I handload 95gr nosler partitions at over 3200fps, and seeing what they do to a deer makes me think you shouldn't have any problems. Especially considering most cow elk shot are between 300 and 400 pounds. Hornady lists their 243 light mag loads with a 100gr partition at 3100fps, you might check them out.
 
i was looking at the light mags actually...probly what i will go with unless someone convinces me otherwise.

thanks guys
 
Cabelas shows a Federal Premium with a 100 grain Nosler Partition. That bullet has a proven track record although there are a lot of good bullets available today. It would be a good choice.
 
Will the 243 work? Sure. But, personally, I'd be using a caliber I don't have questions about. I'd bump up to the 270, 7mm-08 or 30-06 if only because of larger projectile mass. The 270 can be commercially gotten in 130 gr and maybe 150 gr where the 243 commonly only comes in 100 gr. The 270 and mm-08 don't have much more noticeable recoil than the 243 if you ask me. But, yes, I get it. You already own the 243.
 
In my wife's rifle what we found was that the Game Kings shoot more consistant groups than do the Noslers and work just fine for our FL deer and hogs.

Having said that I'd sure give the Noslers a try first. That little bit of extra hold together might be nice to have should a rib get in the way.
 
Water Eng:

i own many rifles but this one fits her. she is only 5'2" and has a pull lenth of about 11 3/8th inches. so my standard 13 1/2" 270 is just too uncomfortable for her to shoot.

i will be backing her up should the need arise with either my 300 or my 375.
and as i stated only an optimal shot will be taken.
 
Congrats on the tags, sounds like a great hunt, enjoy!
Federal premium, nosler partition, thats what I like in my 243.

Not trying to talk you out of the 243, but here's something to think about. Remington sells a "reduced recoil" load in 30-06, ft-lbs of recoil is identical to a 243.

Thats what my young sons shoot. (The reduced recoil 30-06.) That way we have the option of practicing with the recoil of a 243, and hunting with full size loads - if we want to. Having observed over the years that rifles dont recoil when I shoot an animal, I like having that option for the boys.
 
I think you'll be fine with any premium ammo, which ever groups the best. I have complete trust in Noslers.

Sounds like you have covered all the bases on thinking this through

:rolleyes:but you got to go buy her a .338 Mag and drop it in a youth stock:rolleyes:
 
but you got to go buy her a .338 Mag and drop it in a youth stock
Click to expand...

Ain't that the truth Dave! I'm surprised ANYONE continues hunting after shooting some of these youth/ladies guns. I think the hardest kicking shotgun I've ever shot was a youth sized 870 20 gauge. The poor 11 year old who's dad told him to shoot it flatly refused to shoot it a second time. I have as much desire to shoot a 5 pound magnum rifle as I do to shoot the 2inch barreled snubbie 357 that gunshops try to foist on women.

Sorry for my offtopic rant, enjoy the hunt. And you didn't tell us what state you drew the tags in?
 
Dont know how many people who have answered this thread have actually seen an elk let alone shot one. I was a big game guide for nine years speciallizing in elk. I have shot 33 myself, not counting the ones I finished off for clients. I have seen at least 100 shot with about every caliber and bullet. I have came to some conclusions based on experence rather than theory. First off a 243 is too small for CONSISTANT elk hunting. I have seen sucess and failure with it. Go ahead and use it IF you can wait for the perfect broadside shot under 200 yards. Lastly I STRONGLY advise against Remington Core-lock and Sierra gameking bullets. I have seen horrible failures with them. These two completely come apart on the slightest hint of encounter with bone. I have never had a failure with a Nosler partition. It is the only bullet I ever load for any game from coyote to big game. There are other bullets that have a good reputation for deep penatration and good weight retention. Dont worry about them not being as accurate as other bullets, you are hunting a LARGE animal not prairie dogs, 1" bigger groups count for nothing on elk sized game.
 
thanks for the candid replies. we can afford to wait for the perfect shot. we have a month long split season. plenty of cows to go around and no NEED to harvest an animal if the shot is not there.

as i had expected NOSLER partition sounds like the only way to go.
 
My family has taken many elk here in Colorado. Both of my kids started with the .243 and have done well with it on deer. They are both very good shots but things do go wrong. We have had very bad results with the remington corlokt as mentioned before. If you have to use the .243 I would say for sure the Partition or the barnes TSX. The TSX has become my preferred bullet for all hunting calibers.

My daughter has been using a 30-06 since 17 years old and my 16 year old son uses a .270.
 
The favorite .243 load my sons used when growing up was Remington 100 grain PSP/CL (Core-Loc) over 37 grains of IMR4064, CCI-200 primer. Never used it for elk though. Normal caveats apply about reloading and using this data. Was surprised to read the negatives posted above about this bullet.

Today in addition to Nosler and Sierra 100gr pills, I'd take a look at the Hornaday 105gr A-Max if handloading.
 
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