Cow Elk taken with Tikka 243 - picture

I have great respect for the .243 as a hunting cartridge. Several pronghorn antelope and 2 mulies have been felled using my Remington .243 rifle loaded with 95 grain Nosler bullets. None got away!

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Jack
 
A guy who can keep his shots on a pie plate at a hundred yards with his 243, will kill elks deader than a guy with a 338 who can't. :) jd
 
Tallest said:
I'm in the same boat with you! It's a bit of let-down to shoot a trophy rack, then have nowhere to put the trophy. But I'm pondering a dedicated hunting wagon - maybe an old Blazer or 4Runner with a 6x6 Elk rack as the brush guard. :D Keep it the barn to keep her happy.
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Yes. Yes. Yes. That would be awesome. Haha!
 
bamaranger said:
That should pretty much settle the argument one often hears that the .243 is not enough rifle for............... whitetails. I heard it often as a kid, and since it was coming from my elders, repeated it myself on more than one occasion, for much longer than I should have. Personal experience with and watching the .243 in action on deer changed that.

Congrats to you on the cow and a memory. Would you care to advise how much you suspect the cow weighed on the hoof?
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I do not know. We cleaned her in the field, and I'm not experienced enough to say with any confidence.
 
hub1home said:
Im very glad that you posted this. The picture is a good one. And, the written part is well written. Thank you!
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You're welcome! In this area the fall cow elk YOUTH hunt is very common, and many if not most are taken with 243. I have seen lots of anti-243-for-elk posts over the years. But I live in a community where it happens in large numbers every fall. Just thought I'd share my own experience. I'm certainly not pushing any agenda that the 243 is the ideal elk round. But I do not subscribe to the often-seen position that "243 is a coyote gun at best".
 
reinert said:
Congrats! I killed my first elk, a spike, at around 70 yds. with my 6MM Rem (on par with your .243) and used a 100 grn. Rem core lokt factory round to get the job done. He was facing me, and my shot just below his chin dropped him on the spot. This was back in the very early 80's, using my Ruger M77 tang safety. Pretty new rifle back then. Still have it, still use it, but not for elk anymore.

Seems you know your rifle and skill set very well! Well done!
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Thanks! My favorite part is that you still have your rifle, and it evokes those memories.
 
Jack O'Conner said:
I have great respect for the .243 as a hunting cartridge. Several pronghorn antelope and 2 mulies have been felled using my Remington .243 rifle loaded with 95 grain Nosler bullets. None got away!

Thank you for sharing your experience!

Jack
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A man with lots of first-hand experience! Well done. We have a lot of antelope around here - you got my wheels turning.
 
jdscholer said:
A guy who can keep his shots on a pie plate at a hundred yards with his 243, will kill elks deader than a guy with a 338 who can't. :) jd
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Here's more detail to my hunt story - when I first rounded the bush and spotted the herd, my adrenaline took off. I sat down slowly and took aim off my knee, but my heart was beating so HARD that I could not keep the crosshairs on the cow! So I sat back, and watched the herd for a minute while I talked myself down, "Chris, calm down. Why are you nervous? You see elk all the time, why is this any different?" Etc. Then got back on the gun and placed the shot. I will also add that I am a regular target shooter, and my very first sight-in outing with this rifle I shot the best group of my life, using Federal 100gr power-shok ammunition. My Tikka loves this blue box stuff, like 1/4 MOA loves this ammo. I couldn't be happier, because it's $17/box, it's hunting ammunition and this is my hunting rifle.
 
My old departed BIL shot several pickup loads of deer with an old Win 88 in .243. Bullet technology in 1970 wasn't that good on the new Winchester Power Point and Remington Core Lokt and many failures occurred. He had a friend that used one and loaded a 95gr Speer Hot Core. They never had a deer run off.
 
Agreed bullet construction is important.

I know a Woman who uses a 243 and another who uses a 257 Roberts. Both take elk .

I found when I replaced my primary hunting rifle (7mm Rem Mag) with a 257 Roberts AI,two things happened. Shooting became far more comfortable. That translated to havng both my eyes open and watching the crosshairs rest on a spot on the ribs. I tended to shoot better. You don't need all that much horsepower to punch through ribs and make soup of the heart/lungs.

The other is a sense of limitation. With a lighter cartridge,I have it in my mind that I do not have to pull the trigger. If I have a marginal shot,I can wait.If that means the critter walks,at least I have no regrets.

That said, I also have a 30-06 or even a .375 Taylor available.

I believe in using "enough gun" and I don't support stunts with underpowered rifles at the animal's expense.
That said,I do not consider the 243,responsibly used,as "A stunt with an underpowered rifle"
 
HiBC said:
Agreed bullet construction is important.

I know a Woman who uses a 243 and another who uses a 257 Roberts. Both take elk .

I found when I replaced my primary hunting rifle (7mm Rem Mag) with a 257 Roberts AI,two things happened. Shooting became far more comfortable. That translated to havng both my eyes open and watching the crosshairs rest on a spot on the ribs. I tended to shoot better. You don't need all that much horsepower to punch through ribs and make soup of the heart/lungs.

The other is a sense of limitation. With a lighter cartridge,I have it in my mind that I do not have to pull the trigger. If I have a marginal shot,I can wait.If that means the critter walks,at least I have no regrets.

That said, I also have a 30-06 or even a .375 Taylor available.

I believe in using "enough gun" and I don't support stunts with underpowered rifles at the animal's expense.
That said,I do not consider the 243,responsibly used,as "A stunt with an underpowered rifle"
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Well put.
 
Now one needs a cannon cause too many think 500 yards is a close shot... RC 20 (post #4)
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Well, it seems a 243 is good for nearly 700 yards.

https://www.nzhuntingandshooting.co.nz/f12/cow-elk-688-yards-243-a-572/

Still yet, I'd prefer something with a bit more bullet than a 243. IMO a 243 on elk is analogous to using a 223 on deer. It'll work, but given the option I'd prefer something starting at 26 caliber with bullet weights of at least 130 gr.

But no, a cannon isn't required.
 
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