.243 on Elk?
 

On the elk rifle thread, one of the posters stated that any rifle from 6 mm up would work on elk. I believe he was implying that a 6mm round was not the best choice, but that it would work.
I know that the general consensus is that a larger caliber is necessary for elk, but what is your opinion or experience on using a .243, 6 mm Rem., or a .240 Weatherby mag. for elk. If one were to use such a caliber, what load/bullet would you recommend?
cottontop

Honestly, I would not reccomend a .243 class of catridge for elk. CAN it? Sure. Elk have been taken with .22 LR. Should it? No. Too many wounded animals. I have a strong ethical sense about hunting. If I am gong to take the life of an animal, I will do it as quickly and painlessly as I can. IMHO, the .243 comes up short for doing that RELIABLY.

I agree with c3shooter. Why limit yourself only to shots that are ideal with that small caliber? I would never take the risk of wounding an animal with to small a caliber and/or risky shots. What a way to totally ruin a hunt.

I agree. I would not use a 6 mm on elk, and I doubt if I will ever go elk hunting anyway. I was just wondering if anyone had used it on elk and what the results were. I will have to assume that the largest game one should persue w/ the 6 mm/.243 would be deer.
cottontop

I use a 270 win to hunt elk, and although it works, it seems rather small. When I shot my elk this year, it was a through and through shot to the lungs, and the animal dropped about 60 yards from where she was shot. However, there was very little damage to the lungs. So even with perfect shot placement, I would not feel confident in the 243 for dropping an elk. IMHO, 270 is the minimum for elk, and bigger is better.

Might be a good time for a 308 class rifle. Still fine for southern hunting but enought energy and bullet weight for bigger game like elk.

Funny when you sak folks in places with plenty of elk (CO, etc.) many use calibers like .243 and find them perfectly suitable. I agree that if you have plenty of opportunities to go out hunting in your "backyard" AND you can afford to pass up less than ideal shots (and with a .243 I would only consider perfect broadside heart or low lung shots without shoulder bones in the way) AND if you are hunting an area where an elk traveling 50-100 yards after being shot will not be the difference between you finding him or having him hopelessly lost.... then .243 is perfectly suitable and so is a .223 with the right bullets for that matter.

BUT if you have just a few days to hunt and you have spent a lot of money getting there AND the bull of a lifetime is 350 yards away with no hope of you getting any closer... Do you REALLY want a just .243 in your hands?

Not me... I want at LEAST a .300 WinMag with a good 180+ gr. bullet to do the job.

A 243 Can't take out an Elk? HUH I guess we shouldn't tell this young lady that. SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT SHOT PLACEMENT

Wow!
 

Now that's what I'm talkin' about!
cottontop

That sir, is a $6,000 precision rifle, 10 lbs worth, shooting VLD Very Low Drag) bullets. A shot that would not be duplicated by the average hunting quality rifle and ammo.