Reply With QuoteI doubt they will admit it. I am sure it would kill one, eventually, but I wouldn't recommend it. personally.
Has anyone here taken a moose with a .243 win
I doubt they will admit it. I am sure it would kill one, eventually, but I wouldn't recommend it. personally.
grew up in moose territory. perfect shot placement from a .22 will kill a moose, however if you wound one it will return the favour....really. An "honest" 30 cal. is what most "resident" moose hunters seem to use, 30-06, .308, .303 are the most common where I grew up, visiting hunters tend to use $5K exotics of every large caliber known to man... .338 from what I hear is the latest rage.
the short answer is yes.
newbie from gr, mi.
Within 150yds behind the shoulder with 100grain slug, get your tag out of your pocket cause you'll have a dead moose. Using a quality bullit would be wise, Nosler Partition, XP3, Bonded CoreLokt. I would not suggest hitting the shoulder with a light calibre. If you can wait enough for a brood side shot, moose is dead in short order.
If the 243 were all I had and I was hungry, well I would kill a moose with one, but having never hunted one, and reading all I have about how far one can travel when hit by much bigger calibers, my shot preference would be a head shot.
I figure if I have the time to wait it out for the perfect boneless shot, then I can wait till he holds his head still enough to shoot. I would do the same on a mule deer with a 22LR, but neither would be my preferred caliber for either animal.
Personally, I cannot see my self using a 243 as a survival gun, since it would save absolutely zero weight over something much more effective, like even the 308 and ammo weight will be virtually identical as well.
I would not be roaming the woods where moose live, just carrying a 243. my reasons are just personal feelings, but if moose live there, so do their predators, and I would feel under gunned against THEM with a 243.
That's just my opinion.
the people I do know that have hunted them go for a 7mm mag or any 30cal or higher. They may look dumb, but the males especially are tough.
FTR in 223, BA LE Tactical in 308, 110 Flatback in CBI 6mmBR Norma, Others
A quality bullet with proper shot placement will indeed drop one in it's tracks. It's not the ideal round and your range should be limited to within 200 yards, but I know folks who have harvested moose here in WY with a 243. A friend took a monster 6x6 bull elk this year with a 243, one shot at almost 400 yards. I prefer big heavy bullets myself, but I've seen enough clean harvests with the smaller suff that I won't knock their ability to kill.
Early posted mentioned 303..
One of those Africian hunters from the early 1900's shot hundreds of elephants w/ the 303..
Elephants are not afraid of people. Often quite the contrary. Have you seen how close the hunters are to the elephant when they take the shot ? A bad shot at that range will of course get you quite dead (as elephant have demonstrated countless times, goring and disemboweling their victims like the trainer in the US).
people are killing moose out here with bow and arrows
I'm sure your 243 is just as deadly,........maybe more
as with any caliber from arrow to .458
SHOT PLACEMENT is the key
I hear there's an outfitter in ID who uses .243 exclusively to hunt elk with
to each his own .. I like the big .30's myself -for large game
Last edited by Willoughby; 05-17-2013 at 05:55 PM.
I agree with this post. Perfect shot placement and any caliber is lethal. But there are so many more calibers that seem better suited (6.5x55, 7mm08, .270, .308, 30-06, and all the magnums etc).Originally Posted by handirifle
True, a 22 rimfire can do the job under perfect conditions - historically of necessity when the hunter is extremely hungry.
Having acknowledged that, one should think of using well-constructed bullets weighing more than 130 grains. This suggests that the .243 is on the low side of marginal.
Rifles of 6.5 caliber with heavy bullets are better choices if one has or can create the option.
Many moons ago I went north to Canada after them. Brought my trusty old Kodiak 308. Our guide had me use his old Winchester 70 in 300 mag. instead. Said that he didn't like anything smaller for moose. Worked like a champ. 135 paces and it didn't take but 2 steps and crashed. I good 06 with GOOD hand loads would do the same I'm sure. Plan on going back up so I now own a 111 in 300 mag. That's me. It's you're $$$ for the trip so if you feel it'll work go for it.
Moose have huge lungs. A double lunger will do it
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+1........you need this 358 Win barrel I have..........
S/shot Savage & heavy Pac Nor's rock !! 'JM' Marlin lever gun nut !
If you can kill them with a bow generating less than 100 ft lbs, a .243 will work, but like the others, I would use more gun.
Vic
if there was a 25% chance the moose would kill you if you shot him with a 243 would the question ever have been asked?
is there a 25% chance of not getting the moose due to a less than ideal shot?
Wouldnt it make sense to put a quick .308 barrel on it ? One of a dozen different 180 gr bullets would do a fine job.
Agreed that a 243 would work on a moose but can't compare guns to bows using kinetic energy. My bow will cut a hole in a deer big enough to put your hand in. Not going to get that kind of damage with a 22 shortIf you can kill them with a bow generating less than 100 ft lbs, a .243 will work
+1 !
Our moose hunt has 3 guys with 300 WBY, 2 have .375 HH, one .338, my .30-06, and one guy I think has a 300 WM.
X2!!! I like this guy.
Everyone stating that a bow only produces less than a 100 pounds of energy and that a 243 produces more. Well you are comparing apples to oranges. A bow uses its energy for penetration and cutting causing massive blood loss. Where a bullet uses its energy to cause massive damage by the energy it releases and the shock it produces. My wife this year had a cow elk tag and she usually uses a 6.5x284 as her go to rifle. Well we moved this year and have had no room to reload in our tiny apartment, and ammo is way to expensive for that rifle and I wasn't about to buy any ammo for it. So we decided to use our 243 with 100 grain Nosler Partition. My wife shot a cow elk at 30 yards right behind the shoulder an absolute perfect shot and the bullet blew right through the cow. We watched the cow run off up the hill and then about 30 sec later she came running down the hill all wobbly legged and crashed 50 yards from us. Well we waited about 10 minutes gathering up our stuff and giving each other high fives. We started walking up to the elk and we were about 15 yards away and the cow jumped up and ran off. Well I immediately thought this isn't good. I decided it was a lethal hit and we would give the elk more time. We hiked 2 miles back to the truck and got my pack frame and hiked back in all it took us about 2 hours to get back with the pack frame to where my wife shot the elk. We started tracking the elk and had gone about 100 yards and we were seeing a decent amount of blood, when I heard an animal take of running. I got my wife in front of me and we were able to get to an opening and were lucky enough to see the cow standing in a opening about 50 yards away quartering away slightly and my wife fired and the elk ran off stumbled and went down for good. Upon further inspection of the elk when gutting it it had a perfect dime size hole through the lungs and about a quarter size exit hole so that tells me the bullet opened up. I came to the conclusion that there just wasn't enough energy and damage caused by the 100 grain Nosler Partition, and this elk suffered because we used a 243 on a elk, which I will never do again. Now a Moose is twice as large as a cow elk and I think your doing yourself an injustice to the animal by using a 243. Now a bow that is using a good broad head that has at least 55 pounds of kinetic energy would of killed my wife's elk with the same shot a whole lot faster than that 243 did. Just my opinion and experience.
thanks for posting that. your an honest man. those type experiences being shared with others are what its all about
in my opinion. really good news tends to travel quickly. bad new has a way of not traveling at all.
now might i ask about the car? im guessing 46 or 47 maybe even 48 cadilac?
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