243 WIN for elk?

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BENELLIMONTE

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Obviously this will get a few laughs but I am limited , due to recent neck surgery, to a caliber with modest recoil for my deer and elk hunting. Anybody use this round for cow or bull elk. I will be using the 243 Win with 100 grain Nosler Partition. Normally with a healthy neck my minimum for cow elk is a 270 Win (150gr Nosler partitions) and for bull elk here in Idaho I use a 300 Win mag with 200gr high energy Federal Nosler Partition loads or a 338 Win mag with 250gr high energy Federal loads.
 
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I would say no the smallest I have used on an elk was a .308 shootin 150's but you don't want the animal to suffer so I say no.
 
If you think you could stand just a few more pounds of recoil, then you might consider the 7mm-08.

Its a good performer...with relatively mild recoil.
 
Flint'
I have a 7mm-08 but I am not sure what the recoil in ft lbs is compared to the 243 @ 12ft lbs. When I shot the 7mm-08 last year it seemed closer; but not quite at my 270 Win. level of recoil.
 
You might try a 270wsm or any larger wsm's. I have a bad back and neck and I can hunt with a 300wsm alot less recoil, but it does cost more for ammo.
 
I think if you pick your shots, you should be fine. I killed a cow with my .243, if I was forced to use a low recoil round it wouldn't stop me from going elk hunting.
 
My brother hunts elk using his 6MM. Swears by it. I work with a fellow that uses a 243 for everthing including elk. I would recommend more power, however, if you are a good shot with a cool head the 243 will kill elk.
 
Personally, I'd go with the 7mm-08! Its a pretty gentle round. I find it to have only a very slight bit more recoil than my .243. According to Chuck Hawkes table (link given above): 7mm-08 140gr@2860fps, 8lb rifle = 12.6ft/lbs recoil energy while the .270 150gr@2900fps, 8lb rifle = 17ft/lbs recoil energy. So, 7mm-08 should be noticably gentler than .270 and closer to the .243 unless the rifle is significantly lighter, and in my own experience it definitely is! My 7mm-08 is a M700 just like yours, and I find it to be a pretty gentle rifle. I'd think it would be a much better choice for an elk, and your really not talking all that much more recoil over a .243. Heck, a 100gr .243 bullet and a 140gr 7mm-08 bullet have almost exactly the same trajectory, so you could practice with your M700ADL pre-season and take the M700 7mm-08 on the hunt!
 
BENELLIMONTE wrote:

I have a 7mm-08 but I am not sure what the recoil in ft lbs is compared to the 243 @ 12ft lbs.
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Depends on the weight of your rifle and the particular load, but a 100gr bullet in a .243 (7-8lb rifle) will yield about 8.8 lb. ft recoil.

The 7mm-08 ...140gr about 12.5 lb. ft.

When I shot the 7mm-08 last year it seemed closer; but not quite at my 270 Win. level of recoil.
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When I moved my daughter up from a .243 to the 7mm-08 I put a Pachmayr Decelerator Recoil Pad on her rifle.

http://www.cabelas.com/p-0012755221101a.shtml

http://www.outdoors4less.net/proddetail.asp?prod=62382&ovchn=FRO&ovcpn=Cat98&ovcrn=62382

I was absolutely amazed at the difference it made. Both of us agreed it felt basically like the shooting the .243, I just couldn't get over the difference it made.

Neither of us are recoil sensitive (I shot a .338 win mag for 20 yrs.)....but I really fell in love with the 7mm-08 and she wouldn't trade it for anything.

You could have someone check your rifle for zero before hunting with it. Then you would only need to take the one shot when the opportunity was right.

Anyway...just a suggestion.

Flint.
 
.243 is quite adequate. Just don't take ify shots. If you're into risky shots, there's really not a caliber that's going to help you out. Toolset is the last variable in the equation.

We hunt elk every year with .25-06, .270, and .30-30 rifles. I've taken elk with my .270 and a .30-30 without any problems.
 
Boy, I'm no expert, but I dunno. I personally wouldn't try a vital organs shot with a .243 on a full grown elk - they have a layer of fat and skin that tends to quickly seal and not leave you any blood trail, even if you do have an exit hole. I'd want a BIG exit hole for a trophy (to me) game animals that's in dense cover and can run a long ways very quickly in steep terrain. The .243 may not even give you any exit hole, let alone a big one. But I'd still try it in a pinch, but of course limit my shots ONLY to neck shots or brain shots, with a 95-107 gr bullet. If you're not gonna limit yourself to neck/brain shots, then I'd try to move up at least to a .260 rem or 6.5x55 with 140 gr or heavier loadings.

But CoRoMo sounds like the expert, so I'd listen to him.
 
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+1 on the 7mm08 you already own with the decelerator pad. I have that pad on my 300 WSM sporter and it recoils softer than my Savage heavy barrel 308 with basically no pad. I highly recommed TSX bullets in your 7mm08 loads and you'll do just fine with Elk.
 
IMO, small calibers can be effective on large game if very heavy bullets are used at moderate velocity. The old 6.5x53 was used in Africa early in the 20th century on some very large game -- but with 160 grain bullets at 2200 FPS. And of course the same can be said for the 7x57 with 175 grain bullets.

Small calibers with light bullets are good varmint guns, IMO, and not much more. Yes, they can be used to kill big game, but so can a .22.
 
A stout 140gr 7mm-08 will get the job done for sure. I've done it a few times.

A 243 will get it done but I'd limit to 100-150y shots so you can get surgical with shot placement. If Swift makes the A Frame in the .243, use that and ditch the Nosler. The A Frame will take out a tank. It's a pretty tough bullet that keeps on trucking.
 
id say inside of 150 yeah go for it

just pick the shot carefully and practice with it. elk were hunted to near extinction wiht the .30-30 so heck yeah the .243 can do it just prepare for the shot
 
I can't believe no one mentioned a muzzle break. I one on a light 700 Rem .300 WBY and can barely feel it go off wearing heavy hunting cloths.
 
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