.243 Winchester: It's upper and lower limits?

[Tomcat088]

Well, I'm going to put myself out there and there will be lots of people that disagree, but I firmly believe the .243 CAN kill elk. Even if you subscribe to the 1,500 ft-lbs rule to kill an elk, with a 100+ grain bullet, the .243 can take elk at 200 yards and a touch over. With a 105 grain projectile, you're not too far under that mark at 300 yards. The K.E. is a bit over 1,300 ft-lbs. With a bullet that will hold together and penetrate, like a Barnes TSX, TTSX, Swift scirocco, Nosler Accubond or Interbond, etc., I KNOW the bullet will penetrate enough.

I won't say that you could take any shot, anywhere, and at any distance. Still, I don't believe that you have to be a professional marksman and put one in an elk's ear to kill it. I believe that limiting your shots to 300 yards or less, and only in the vitals, it'll get the job done. I still would not recommend this to most people, but that's not the question that was asked. Most people don't practice enough in field conditions, and don't have sound enough fundamentals to do it in field conditions. As a caliber and cartridge though, I believe the rifle and correct bullet will get it done. The bullet must pass through the vitals, but that is a requirement for any caliber for a clean kill. I almost always shoot a .300 WSM or .300 win mag, and a gut shot with one of those wouldn't kill one any cleaner than a gut shot with a .243. That's my personal opinion, although I will say it's on the outer limits.

I am not advocating sloppiness, or unethical hunting. I still firmly believe that the caliber is capable IF the shooter isn't the limiting factor. Others will disagree and say its too much, I definitely expect that. I would say that most people overestimate what it takes to kill most animals cleanly; it's definitely good to err on the side of caution for the animal's sake, but that doesn't mean that the cartridge isn't capable, or that we have to keep bumping what it takes to kill these animals every year. I was in a thread years ago on this forum, and people were telling me that a .300 Winchester magnum and .300 Weatherby Magnum wasn't enough to kill brown bear. Seriously? That's part of the reason those cartridges were developed. Either way, I will say that the top end of the .243 is elk inside of 300 yards; it's duly noted that others will call me crazy and be aggravated.

[bman1187]

A 22 will kill a griizzly bear if you shoot in the brain but would anyone use it in their right mind no. In my oppinion again my oppinion the 243 is a GREAT varmint gun and will kill deer but for me I am not sitting on deer stand after waiting a year and see the biggest buck of my life and shoot it with a 243 and not find it. I would wonder if I had a bigger gun would it be on my wall. In a perfect world the 243 will take down any deer but as you know in hunting sometimes things are not perfect especially shot placement been there done that and I have probably harvested close to 100 deer with a gun and bow.