Max size game for 243 ?

[KnightHawk]

Keep in mind that my comments are based on where I live.
While my personal “Mileage Does Vary” as I’m a 30-06 as a base cartridge guy, I have a friend that I worked with in the pipeline days and have bumped into about every 5 years at local gun shows. He’s Alaska Native, smaller fellow who lives in a village about 60 miles from me. Good guy, always has hunted moose with a 243. Claim’s mostly one shot kills. He uses Speer 105 grain bullets when they were available.
Did bump into Henry at one show and he was complaining about having to shoot his last moose multiple times. He couldn’t find the Speer bullets anywhere so he used something different and I don’t know what, but he wasn’t happy.
I happened to have two boxes of the Speer 105’s and no longer had a 6mm rifle so I gifted them to Henry.
Worked for him, certainly wouldn’t be my choice. Caribou yes, moose no.
I don’t hunt with a lesser caliber than what would work for the critters with teeth and claws in the hunting area.
Yes I know that someone out there has taken Grizzly with a 243 but…
There’s also the Native Lady that killed a Grizzly with a 22LR, might have been a 22 short, don’t remember.
Doesn’t make them good choices for big stuff.
But bullet placement is everything. Being able to hit properly for a lot of people is a problem as recoil increases. So where the two lines of bullet placement and recoil tolerance cross is the trick.
I went Caribou hunting once with a neighbor who only wanted one gun so he bought a Ruger 338 mag. He shot ok here but when we got to the grounds, different story. I’m not a big guy, average but Gary was just a little smaller.
Ok we were hunting opening day at before first light and spotted two critters so we settled in till the light improved. Gary and I agreed that I’d take the one on the left and he’d take the one on the right. Simple enough. The shot was about 140 yards as I remember. I was shooting my 30-06 and he his 338. I dropped my critter and Gary missed. The shot had hit the ground just before the Caribou who was looking around at that point so Gary cranks in another shell. Bang, that one hit the dirt about 50 feet in front of the critter. Cranked in the last shell and let fly. The third slug dug a trench about halfway between the Caribou and us. Gary had a serious flinch.
He turns to me mad as hell and says “would you shoot that damn Caribou”. So I shot it. When we got back to town and had taken care of our meet, Gary handed me the Ruger and said sell it.
So lot of variables, just need to know your rifle and yourself.

 

[irishlad]

Keep in mind that my comments are based on where I live.
While my personal “Mileage Does Vary” as I’m a 30-06 as a base cartridge guy, I have a friend that I worked with in the pipeline days and have bumped into about every 5 years at local gun shows. He’s Alaska Native, smaller fellow who lives in a village about 60 miles from me. Good guy, always has hunted moose with a 243. Claim’s mostly one shot kills. He uses Speer 105 grain bullets when they were available.
Did bump into Henry at one show and he was complaining about having to shoot his last moose multiple times. He couldn’t find the Speer bullets anywhere so he used something different and I don’t know what, but he wasn’t happy.
I happened to have two boxes of the Speer 105’s and no longer had a 6mm rifle so I gifted them to Henry.
Worked for him, certainly wouldn’t be my choice. Caribou yes, moose no.
I don’t hunt with a lesser caliber than what would work for the critters with teeth and claws in the hunting area.
Yes I know that someone out there has taken Grizzly with a 243 but…
There’s also the Native Lady that killed a Grizzly with a 22LR, might have been a 22 short, don’t remember.
Doesn’t make them good choices for big stuff.
But bullet placement is everything. Being able to hit properly for a lot of people is a problem as recoil increases. So where the two lines of bullet placement and recoil tolerance cross is the trick.
I went Caribou hunting once with a neighbor who only wanted one gun so he bought a Ruger 338 mag. He shot ok here but when we got to the grounds, different story. I’m not a big guy, average but Gary was just a little smaller.
Ok we were hunting opening day at before first light and spotted two critters so we settled in till the light improved. Gary and I agreed that I’d take the one on the left and he’d take the one on the right. Simple enough. The shot was about 140 yards as I remember. I was shooting my 30-06 and he his 338. I dropped my critter and Gary missed. The shot had hit the ground just before the Caribou who was looking around at that point so Gary cranks in another shell. Bang, that one hit the dirt about 50 feet in front of the critter. Cranked in the last shell and let fly. The third slug dug a trench about halfway between the Caribou and us. Gary had a serious flinch.
He turns to me mad as hell and says “would you shoot that damn Caribou”. So I shot it. When we got back to town and had taken care of our meet, Gary handed me the Ruger and said sell it.
So lot of variables, just need to know your rifle and yourself.

That's why I don't shoot magnums.

 

[lightman]

I wouldn't be comfortable with Black Bear or Elk. But it should be very adequate for wild pigs.

 

[bearcreek]

I wouldn't be comfortable with Black Bear or Elk. But it should be very adequate for wild pigs.

What do wild pigs where you live weigh, generally? We don't have them here.

 

[Lennyjoe]

The .243 and the 30-06 will both be going with me to camp next week, and I do not feel under gunned.

-Jeff

For me, 6.5 Creedmore and my trusty ole 30-06. Daughter is taking her .243.

 

[DM~]

Ed Hailstone's son, has said he uses his .243 on Grizzly's and Musk Ox, he don't like to waste the meat he said.

That doesn't mean much of anything, as I've seen many natives using .223's on those animals.

I also saw some natives shooting into a herd of caribou, and not go look for ANY they wounded, they just went for the ones that dropped close to where they shot them.

DM

 

[LoonWulf]

That doesn't mean much of anything, as I've seen many natives using .223's on those animals.

I also saw some natives shooting into a herd of caribou, and not go look for ANY they wounded, they just went for the ones that dropped close to where they shot them.

DM

Wellll..... Since they got some, it means the bullets were getting into the vitals and causing the animals to die......
Ethics aside, That's what the rounds are supposed to do.

Some of the guys that do cow hunts shoot feral cattle with the 223s, and haven't had any issues. Primarily they're braining them. Again, not my choice in rounds or placement for the job, I bounced 150 grain bullet from a 30-06 straight up one's head.

 

[DM~]

Wellll..... Since they got some, it means the bullets were getting into the vitals and causing the animals to die......
Ethics aside, That's what the rounds are supposed to do.

SO, when I'm shooting at animals, I don't find it acceptable to get "some" of them!

The object is to recover everyone I shoot at.

DM

 

[LoonWulf]

SO, when I'm shooting at animals, I don't find it acceptable to get "some" of them!

The object is to recover everyone I shoot at.

DM

Agreed, but again were talking about ethics as opposed to functionality.

For me it would be unethical to shoot an animal I've never tried to kill before with a .223, or in some cases the .243, at any time. Theres plenty of times ive passed on shots on animals im familiar with simply because I wasnt positive i could anchor the animals or get reliable follow up shots.

For someone else, with different skill and experience, it might be well within my and their ethical limits.

Im absolutely positive you could kill any animal that walks with a .223 tho....might just take more than one mag. Again, functional but not IMO ethical.

My point is that pure functionality is what it is. How we apply it is on us and were really only beholden to ourselves when we are applying ethics.

 

[KnightHawk]

That doesn't mean much of anything, as I've seen many natives using .223's on those animals.

I also saw some natives shooting into a herd of caribou, and not go look for ANY they wounded, they just went for the ones that dropped close to where they shot them.

DM

North of Bristol Bay?

 

[DM~]

North of Bristol Bay?

That time it was near Artic Village.

DM

 

[KnightHawk]

Deleted

 

[KnightHawk]

Hunted Caribou by Brown Grass Lake south of Arctic Village

 

[huntersdog]

That doesn't mean much of anything, as I've seen many natives using .223's on those animals.

I also saw some natives shooting into a herd of caribou, and not go look for ANY they wounded, they just went for the ones that dropped close to where they shot them.

DM

I have seen the pictures of a ton of big game that he's killed with his .243. It's not the caliber of the gun, it's the person shooting a gun. Shot placement is everything.

You just have to be a confident Hunter like Ed's son or Tim Wells.

I've killed my share of black bear with a .223 single shot H&R with a 52gr TSX bullet.

Bear killed with Blowgun

I crept in to ten yards and heart shot a bear. Less than fifty yards later he tipped over. No one can believe the deadly effects of my Slock Master blow gu...

youtu.be

 

[huntersdog]

Here's a 256 page thread of killing nothing but big game with a .223.

.223 for bear, deer, elk and moose.

DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ 176 PAGES? HERE'S THE CHEAT SHEET. “Bullets matter more than headstamps.” “Spent primers offer the supreme tutorial”. I’ve read it here and elsewhere online. It got my attention. I started digging and asking questions and listened. The 77gr TMK delivered by a .223...

rokslide.com

 

[JFrank]

I think when a particular game is plentiful as in Alaska moose or local white tails , guys tend to use about any caliber and get the job done but when you have to plan out a tag hunt or travel longer distance, more thought is given to caliber choice. We have about everything from .243 to .338 sitting here or at the shop but I tend to grab a trusty 30 cal ( 30-30 or 308) while the Daughter or Son in Law like their magnums.
Everything Dies when shot in the heart or lungs, question is ..when ?

 

[someguy2800]

What do wild pigs where you live weigh, generally? We don't have them here.

Don’t have them here either. I’ve seen pictures of 400-500 lb wild bore online, but when I watch hog hunting videos from the south I rarely see one that looks like it’s more than 100 lbs so seams like that is more typical. They get hunted so heavily in a lot of areas that it seams like it’s rare that they get huge. Same kinda goes for black bear in a lot of places. I saw a study from the Minnesota DNR once that the average life expectancy of a black bear in Minnesota is only like 4 or 5 years because they get shot if they get big. The average black bear I see is only like 150 lbs but I did take one that was over 500 and I was glad I had my 444 and not a 223 that day.

 

[Oldelkhunter]

The one cartridge I have never used on any animal other then a Groundhog. Of course that means nothing but I know of one person that used it exclusively on So Colorado Elk for many years until it was stolen at an airport of all things.

 

[Oldelkhunter]

I own 2 different bolt action rifles chambered in 243 Win. While it's a great cartridge for deer, antelope and varmits, I would probably stop there. There are better choices for elk and bear.

As for pigs, just depends on the size. The 243 Win may work great for some but I would probably go with something in the 7mm to 30 cal range for pigs.

Hunted a property in So Alabama the last few years, most of the pigs were maybe 80-100 lbs and were killed easily. There were however some 200 lb hogs on that property not sure what a 243 would do in that occasion. I was told and someone can confirm this , as a hog gets older it builds a gristle plate across the ribs that protect it .

Owner of the property used a 300Blk and headshot them with thermal optics. They died very very fast.

 

[bearcreek]

Don’t have them here either. I’ve seen pictures of 400-500 lb wild bore online, but when I watch hog hunting videos from the south I rarely see one that looks like it’s more than 100 lbs so seams like that is more typical. They get hunted so heavily in a lot of areas that it seams like it’s rare that they get huge. Same kinda goes for black bear in a lot of places. I saw a study from the Minnesota DNR once that the average life expectancy of a black bear in Minnesota is only like 4 or 5 years because they get shot if they get big. The average black bear I see is only like 150 lbs but I did take one that was over 500 and I was glad I had my 444 and not a 223 that day.

Right. I'm not sure why some folks think they need a bigger caliber for black bears than they do for hogs. Generally speaking, they're about the same size, with bears being somewhat thinner skinned.

 

[lightman]

What do wild pigs where you live weigh, generally? We don't have them here.

We have shot a few that went close to 400#. When those are laying on the tailgate they span the width of the truck. But generally they run 30-60#. They are a tough animal. If we are actually hunting them most of us use a 223 of some sort. But a few have been killed with 22 Magnums and if we're Deer Hunting and get a shot they get whatever we happen to be carrying. Head shots are preferred.

 

[someguy2800]

Thinking on this while I sit in my deer stand reading the 223 elk hunting thread on Rokslide.

I am probably not giving 243 a fare shake. First of all I hold a bias against it because where I am from a 243 is a kids a girls cartridge that the manly men get rid of when they get their grown up rifle (270 or 30/06). It’s hard to get over that. Like a muscle car guy admitting he likes driving his wife’s pink Miata.

It occurs to me that all my firsthand experience with a 243 is from a single lot of ammo and that is not fair. The rifle I have the most experience comparing different bullets in is my 25/06. It was my only hunting rifle for many years and I tried lots of different bullets and shot a lot of deer with it. With certain bullets it was a death ray, and other bullets would leave me crawling on the ground looking for blood specs in the dark. My experience with 243 is completely limited to federal power shock blue box soft points and color me unimpressed. My father in law has a 700 in 243 that he uses as a loner gun to anyone that needs it. I used it one year to take 2 deer after a scope failure on my rifle, and my brother in law has used it a couple times. My wife’s uncle that used to hunt with us also had a 243 and used the same ammo. I found consistently lacking to the 25-06, 270, and 30/06 that the rest of us use. But given my experience with bullet selection in 25-06 and what people have found with 223 I should probably reserve my judgement without having more experience with other bullet offering’s.

It makes no sense that I dismiss 243 out of hand while at the same time I’m not entirely opposed to the idea of using 223 on deer with careful bullet selection.

 

[someguy2800]

After watching multiple 800lb+ feral cattle (yes its real hunting and they are damn tough) dumped with a .243 thats what my opinion would be as well.

Was gonna ask you, does wild cattle taste the same as farm raised beef or is it different like wild birds and hogs taste different than farmed ones?

 

[LoonWulf]

Was gonna ask you, does wild cattle taste the same as farm raised beef or is it different like wild birds and hogs taste different than farmed ones?

It kinda depends, a lot of them are 1st and 2nd gen and taste alot like like store bought (there used to be a contract to remove them from the area right above where we hunt and sell them in them in the stores). The fewer generations out the closer to regular grass feed unfinished beef.

Some were old old, mean as all get out, and tastes like crap .....

 

[.308 Norma]

First of all I hold a bias against it because where I am from a 243 is a kids a girls cartridge that the manly men get rid of when they get their grown up rifle (270 or 30/06).

Yeppers, and that never did make a lot of sense to me. I mean, I don't know how many times I've heard that 243s are great for a young hunter's (a "kid's") first big game rifle because 243s can be had in small, lightweight rifles (like "youth rifles") and 243s "don't kick very hard."
As a matter of fact, I haven't read every post in this thread, but I'd almost bet there are a few posts claiming that the 243's lack of recoil aid in precise shot placement. That, or the old, "It's the Indian, not the arrow." cliche.
Well, I suspect that even a young, Indian "kid" gets excited when they're on their first big game hunt and a large, mule deer buck, or bull elk steps out in front of them. "Shot placement" goes out the window when "buck fever" sets in. And IMHO, "buck fever" is more likely in a young, inexperienced "kid" than it is in an older, more experienced hunter that traded his or her 243 for a "grown up rifle" years ago.