whats the largest animal youd take with a 6mm or 243 ?

The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep

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In WA the minimum caliber for large game is 243

I'm curious as to what the largest animal I could comfortabley shoot with one without being irresponsible

Also what's the smallest I could shoot without any consideration to fur damage. With a lighter bullet could I hunt rabbit without tearing it up too much?
 
Definitely not rabbit unless you shoot em center of the head or handload and make some slower rounds, the velocity of the .243 causes a lot of hydrolic shock basically making red jello out of an inch or two of flesh around the wound channel not to mention bullet expansion.
 
i have taken 35 elk hundreds of deer and speed goats and 3 moose all with my 243, a good bullet and shot placement are important and distances .not a 500 yard cartridge
 


I've killed lots of deer, both whitetail and mules, with the .243 Winchester. And, of course, I've bonked a fair number of antelope with it and the .243 WCF works wonderfully.

I've had occasion to kill two elk with the .243 Winchester and they simply tipped over quite dead at the shot. On both hunts, there was an excellent probability of deer, not a chance of an elk showing up, and I had both tags in my pocket.

So what's a guy to do when Mr. Elk shows up? I've always thought that the very finest rifle for the job is the one you have in your hand.

Anyway, I cannot say that I'd recommend the .243 Winchester for elk, but on the occasion that an elk shows up and I have a .243 in my hands, I'm gonna kill the bugger.

Soooo, my score on elk with the .243 is two shots and two kills. Similarly, my score on mule deer with the .223 Remington is three shots and three very dead very large mulie bucks.

I've also killed a number of elk with the .25-'06 and it simply kills elk BANG-FLOP dead. The 100-grain Hornady Interlocked is my favorite on elk, closely followed by the 100-grain Ballistic Tip. Place either of those wonderful little bullets tight behind the shoulder and an elk simply crashes to the ground.

Years ago, when I used to guide elk hunters in He11's Canyon, our cook used a .250 Savage on elk. She'd never actually go hunting, but sooner or later a cow would show up and drink from our horse's watering hole. I cannot tell yu how many elk Cookie killed with her Model 99, I can only relate that it was LOTS (over 15) and that she NEVER shot twice.

A couple of times, I came into camp and Cookie would tell me, "Steve, I've got a cow drug out of the pond and hog dressed. If you want a SPECIAL DINNER, please finish the dressing, skin the big bugger and hang the quarters."

"Yes, Ma'am. Peach Pie and all the trimmings are about to happen. Washed down with a couple of beers and I'm a happy, happy guy."

Steve Timm
 
The tendency is to go bigger bigger bigger. Fact is the .243 will drop any game in the lower 48 just get alittle closer. Don't shoot from 500 yards. If .243 is what you have use it. better to spend the money on gas and food etc and get out there and kill something. If you really get into big game consider something bigger but most of the time it isn't going to make it any more dead.
 




Yup, bigger cartridges usually simply make the hunter shoot worse.

If a fella is having a hard time killing big game animals dead, he should default to a smaller cartridge, not a larger one.

Regrettably common horse-sense isn't all that common.

At least, that has been my observation in a lifetime of active hunting.

Steve Timm






 
Barnes tipped tsx's and nosler partition both in 80 gr would be my choice, I havent stopped a tipped tsx in any animal ive shot with it in 270 win out to 200 youll get two holes for sure.
 
Originally Posted By: 19grizz69i have taken 35 elk hundreds of deer and speed goats and 3 moose all with my 243, a good bullet and shot placement are important and distances .not a 500 yard cartridge

How many deer are you killing a year to take hundreds?
 
ive been hunting over 60 years.you could shoot 6 a year in my state and 4 in the state next to us.with 6 kids it takes a lot of venison to feed them
 
I guess you would need to clarify if i was the hunter or hunted. If that is what I had and something very large was trying to do me harm size would not matter.
 
Mule deer.

I've talked crap about the .243 for most of my life, based on this.

My first ever deer was also my biggest, niiiiice buck. Taken with a .243 at
 
Originally Posted By: Steve Timm



Yup, bigger cartridges usually simply make the hunter shoot worse.

If a fella is having a hard time killing big game animals dead, he should default to a smaller cartridge, not a larger one.

Regrettably common horse-sense isn't all that common.

At least, that has been my observation in a lifetime of active hunting.

Steve Timm








Sorry Steve, but I don't agree with that statement. Switching guns to a different caliber, either bigger or smaller, doesn't improve your skill level, and going smaller only makes things worse. Skill level gains only comes from experience and practice, and switching guns is not a cure. Here is my advice; start with enough gun to sensibly do the job, then work to improve your skill level from there.

That being said, I have killed bull elk with a 6mm, but it is not what I would consider a good choice for an elk cartridge. There are more sensible calibers out there for elk sized animals, an ethical hunter is better off using one of those.
 
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