Use Enough Gun

[MinnesotaHunter]

Same old thing, a grumpy know it all answering questions that no one is asking.

What pointless firearm opinion do you think ole Mustang will bless/assault us with next.

 

[EYJONAS!]

How'd I miss this gem......

 

[OntarioHunter]

I've never seen an elk get away that was shot in the ass, big or small caliber. 1+ rear landing gear taken out = dead elk. Every. Time.

I'm on the hunt for another 243 deer killer. The last one I had was lights out amazing on deer/antelope, dozens upon dozens upon dozens of times, including a couple elk.

I cleaned up a ham shot mess a bunch of PA dudes made back in 1984. If there had been no snow and someone experienced had not shown up with a flashlight in his bag there's no way those idiots would have got that raghorn. I wound up shooting it in the dark as it charged after being pushed up twice. I had hit him in the pecker just as he hobbled to the tree line. Way too far for my gun (or theirs) but those clowns just hit him in the ass. Gotta try. The pecker shot was bleeding him out. He would not have survived till morning. And yes, I will risk my life to put an animal out of its misery. The dork with Mod 94 .32 Win had a good shot at the bull bedded in light of my flashlight but boffed it. I dropped it a half hour later with a neck shot ... a split second before he would have made me wear his horns. I thought those guys were going to shoot me for killing "their" elk. Told them to put their guns down or they could dress "their" elk by themselves in the dark. You'd think that raghorn was B&C. Pfft. I was decent enough to clean it and let them follow me as I walked out. Never saw them or any part of the elk again.

Three years ago while pheasant hunting my dogs pushed up a magnificent muley that definitely WAS B&C. His right rear leg was dangling from the hip like a noodle. Not a damn thing I could do about it and he wandered onto private property before a friend could get out there with tag and rifle. Found out the next day some idiots had wounded him two days before on a nearby BMA property. Shooting too far.

1983 I shot a raghorn bull opening day and noticed immediately he had one toe on right front leg almost worn off. When we skinned him we discovered that leg had been shattered near the shoulder the year before and healed completely albeit incorrectly. Couldn't do a full autopsy to see if he'd been shot or hit by a car because neighbor dog got in the garage and stole the bone while we were butchering. 2019 the kid in my brother's party shot a 5 pt bull that was missing a hind leg. Completely healed over. The point of all this is no, a shot off leg is not automatically a death sentence.

 

[rwc101]

And just like that, a big box of not enough arrived today.

 

[EYJONAS!]

And just like that, a big box of not enough arrived today.

View attachment 175536

 

[MinnesotaHunter]

....the legendary 7x57 or as it was known in India the .275 Rigby.

https://www.chuckhawks.com/bell_elephants.htm

800 elephants....What say ye???

 

[BuzzH]

.243 if a horrible deer cartridge IMHO. Personally seen a lot of deer go unrecovered from guys who were using that gun with an array of bullets. Poor blood trails, non-existent blood trails with perfect shots, I have seen more than enough to know that I would never use a .243 on deer nor would I recommend them to anyone.

Step up to a .308 , there are much heavier and better bullets to choose from without sacrificing much recoil.

Really...funny how I hear about this, then the reality of what I actually personally witness.

Poor/non-existent blood trails? Not in my experience, but have "only" been shooting a 6mm/.243 for 40+ years.

My nephews cow elk, one shot with a .243 and 100 grain solid base, 360ish yards. Only shot he's ever taken at an elk.

Non-existent blood trail? Not on this elk it wasn't...took the picture about 3-4 steps from where he hit it:

Shot this cow with my 6mm year before last, 110 yards with a 95 grain nosler ballistic tip...

IIRC, I've shot about a half dozen elk with a .243/6mm and never have had a bad deal...I'd have to review my notes, but I've shot a couple semi-trucks full of pronghorn and deer with them. Also shot one black bear and a bighorn sheep with it. Can't recall not having good blood trails. I did lose one deer with a 6mm, made a horrible choice shooting at a moving whitetail, offhand at about 120 yards. Hit it very low through the brisket on the near side, busted the off shoulder near the body. That's what happens when you shoot animals on the "edges"...and it would have been the same outcome no matter if I would have shot it there with my .338.

The .243/6mm is a great deer and pronghorn round...and I'm not one bit scared to shoot elk with them either, BTDT.

 

[BuzzH]

And just like that, a big box of not enough arrived today.

View attachment 175536

Nice!!!!

 

[MTLabrador]

And just like that, a big box of not enough arrived today.

View attachment 175536

My sister has the same rifle in 6.5, I like it a lot.

 

[ThunderNocked]

You are definitely entitled to your own thoughts, opinions and experiences. But this seems to be like guys who say you can't kill moose with 243s and 270s. If you look in Alaskan Villages one of the most, if not the most, common rounds is 243. They kill ALOT of moose and Caribou.
Personally I wouldn't choose those as my main gun if that was what I was targeting. I opted to go with a 280AI over the 30-06 because I wanted something less common and more unique. I am excited to see what she does this year.

There are many people all over the place who judge calibers - many of them don't harvest a lot of animals. Not saying that you haven't or don't shoot your fair share of animals but the body count of successful hunts with calibers speaks more then any ballistic chart, range time, etc. I'm still a little leery of my choice and hope it drops animals in its tracks ... the guy who suggested it and is helping me with the rifle has seen everything from Sitka Blacktail to Moose and Grizzly go down with Dall Sheep all the way out to 500+ yards. That field experience was enough to set me at ease.
This is one of those issues where to often we cross the line from Civil Discussion and Agreeing to Disagree to Attacking each other as hunters and not supporting. Offering advice and Suggestions is alright - but judging hundreds of hunters as 'unethical' because of Caliber is silly.

 

[EYJONAS!]

Offering advice and Suggestions is alright - but judging hundreds of hunters as 'unethical' because of Caliber is silly.

You must have not have had the pleasure of conversation with OH and MR my friend.

You'll learn a absolute s%#t load of nothing.....

 

[Gr8bawana]

As it was my bullet ended up hitting her right in her hip and going right through and destroying both joints.

Use enough gun? You could have used a .458 magnum and you still would have had the same results of bad shot.

 

[HuntTalk Freak]

Thanks for the sermon Padre, I’ll say ten Hail Mary’s tonight for my use of 223/243 that has killed literally hundreds of animals.
Will the next sermon preach on the sins of led bullets? The sinners must repent!

 

[ThunderNocked]

You must have not have had the pleasure of conversation with OH and MR my friend.

You'll learn a absolute s%#t load of nothing.....

I'm not sure who OH and MR is..... should I be concerned? HAHA.

I was talking with several guys about caliber before I chose my 280AI - and then it hit me the three guys I was talking two in the last 4 years haven't killed as many animals as I had combined. I have been fairly fortunate and in 4 hunting seasons in the Alaska Interior I have harvested 4 animals. Archery Moose (local population urban hunt), Rifle Moose, 2 rifle Caribou.

So I started talking to people who have killed animals for years. I go to church with a guy who has harvested, with Proxy Hunts, 42 Moose in the last 35 years. The guy who is helping me with the rifle recomended it and he shoots multiple animals in Alaska and other locations every year. I started talking to people who use their guns outside of the range and armchair shooting. It was a little eye opening.

 

[elkhnter]

Shoot, Roy Weatherby killed a rhino with a 257 Weatherby just because he could.
Top that boys!

 

[rustednuts]

I couldn't help myself

 

[Dunning Kruger]

Just dialed in the new red dot on my rabbit gun. The snowshoe hares in these parts are real sturdy and sometimes id have to track them 500 yards or so after a hit with the .243, (theyre groundhog guns afterall) so i stepped it up a couple notches. Hoping for some DRT bunnies in the future.

 

[Walkathon]

I think this is the first thread covering this topic that has ever been created on this forum. I wish we could get back to some of the "where should I hunt?" threads.

 

[JT88]

The .243 has more energy than a .44 mag and we carry those for griz protection. So I guess the joke's on us?

I absolutely wouldn't hesitate to shoot an elk with my .243. It's one of my all time favorite rounds. I can't think of another caliber I've personally seen kill more deer cleanly. The reason why people talk about velocity and flat shooting is because there is something to it - it works, and you dont have a friggin rainbow trajectory at 400 yards

 

[Carl 9.3x62]

And just like that, a big box of not enough arrived today.

View attachment 175536

What make?