100 years..................

[Fatal_Bert]

You know people kill elk with sharp sticks? I would be willing to bet you any amount of money you want that I could elk all day with a .243 and my 95gr. NBT loads. If you can’t kill an elk with a .243 quit hunting and take up knitting.

I've never had the pleasure of elk hunting but those with a lot more experience than me say as a general rule of thumb a bullet needs to hit them with 1500ft/lb of energy to cleanly and ethically kill them.

243 is under that threshold before 200yards

270 is above that threshold well beyond 400yards.

If you plan on hunting them at the same distance the sharp sticks guys hunt I guess 243 is a viable option.

But it'll never be a 270win. It's like 270 for children.

 

[basstracker89]

On elk, I'd say a 243 would be like hunting with a 22. Been done many a time. Shot placement is everything

 

[GeauxLSU]

It would be interesting to plan a guided elk hunt and tell the guide "I'm bringing my .243.".
I suspect that would be a short conversation.

 

[Gimmebackmybullets]

My primary hunting rifle that gets carried out with me 99% of the time is an M77 MKii in .270. After putting a Timney trigger in it driving tacks is no problem. If I do my job it does it's job.

Hard to beat a Ruger 77 mk 2.
And I have Remington 700s that shoot well.
But that skeleton stock fits me like a glove.

 

[Asbestos]

Every deer I’ve ever shot with a rifle (I prefer bow hunting) was with a .270. All inside of 200 yds but never had a runner.
👍🏼

 

[basstracker89]

It would be interesting to olan a guided elk hunt and tell the guide "I'm bringing my .243.".
I suspect that would be a short conversation.

The problem is the shooter. My Grandfather always used a 22mag for everything. He was a sharp shooter in WWII

 

[Dan Muk]

Another argument for the .270 shooter that reloads. I made up some 110 grain sierra pro hunters a couple years back and this proved to be an excellent way to get my then 13 year old on the rifle successfully. It had less recoil than the 6.5’s, 30-30’s. .308’s and less percussion than the .243’s he had played with before. It allowed him less flinch and to hone his fundamentals and be a better marksman. He now shoots big boy 140 loads and he even knows that the critters drop harder with this combo than others he’s tried…

 

[GeauxLSU]

The problem is the shooter. My Grandfather always used a 22mag for everything. He was a sharp shooter in WWII

I think the problem is the bullet construction and velocity. I've shot six deer in Texas when I was a kid. Three with a 270 and three with a 243. The three with the 270 all ran a ways and the three with the 243 all literally crumbled where they stood. I'm sure the 243 dispelled most all of its energy into what are relatively small deer. I'm likewise sure the 270 bullets exited with far less than 100% energy dispersion and bullet deformation. If I'm shooting something the size of an elk, I want an appropriate amount of energy for the body weight.
Could you shoot one in the ear with a 22 mag and drop it? Sure. But why would you go a field after something like that with such limitations?
I intend to take an Axis this year. I enjoy my .243 but I won't be shooting something that small at an animal that heavy. I guess because I don't need to.

 

[Bypass]

I think the problem is the bullet construction and velocity. I've shot six deer in Texas when I was a kid. Three with a 270 and three with a 243. The three with the 270 all ran a ways and the three with the 243 all literally crumbled where they stood. I'm sure the 243 dispelled most all of its energy into what are relatively small deer. I'm likewise sure the 270 bullets exited with far less than 100% energy dispersion and bullet deformation. If I'm shooting something the size of an elk, I want an appropriate amount of energy for the body weight.
Could you shoot one in the ear with a 22 mag and drop it? Sure. But why would you go a field after something like that with such limitations?
I intend to take an Axis this year. I enjoy my .243 but I won't be shooting something that small at an animal that heavy. I guess because I don't need to.

I use to hunt with a .223 in a rifle that'd cloverleaf every time at 100 yards. I used Cor Bons HP ammo that fragmented like you wouldn't believe. I was up in a tree stand about 150 yards from 3 does. Took aim at the first one fired and thought I'd missed. Took aim at the second one and same result. Then I finally shot the 3rd one and it was DRT dead right there. So I went to get my 1 deer and got to the spot and found all three deer dead within 15 yards of the only one I thought I'd hit. I gutted them and there was nothing left of their hearts.

 

[basstracker89]

I think the problem is the bullet construction and velocity. I've shot six deer in Texas when I was a kid. Three with a 270 and three with a 243. The three with the 270 all ran a ways and the three with the 243 all literally crumbled where they stood. I'm sure the 243 dispelled most all of its energy into what are relatively small deer. I'm likewise sure the 270 bullets exited with far less than 100% energy dispersion and bullet deformation. If I'm shooting something the size of an elk, I want an appropriate amount of energy for the body weight.
Could you shoot one in the ear with a 22 mag and drop it? Sure. But why would you go a field after something like that with such limitations?
I intend to take an Axis this year. I enjoy my .243 but I won't be shooting something that small at an animal that heavy. I guess because I don't need to.

I agree. Too many things can go wrong. I'd probably take my 375 H&H for elk myself. I have a 257WBY that would do the job