243 for Bear????

[amateurhourhunter]

Has anyone taken a black bear w/ .243?? Berger makes 115g. JW if this is a poor decision???

 

[amateurhourhunter]

Or would 105g Hornady A tips be a decent choice?

 

[id_jon]

Shot one at 200yards with a 95gr Berger classic hunter out of a 6 Creedmoor a couple years ago. Made quick work of a small sow.

 

[Jbehredt]

Either one will kill a bear with a quickness but you’ll need a properly twisted barrel to get it there.

 

[dieselchessy]

I kill them with 120ttsx out of a 7mm-08. A 243 would be very similar in my estimation.

 

[Ryan Avery]

Shot a few with a 6CM with 108eld-m's

 

[amateurhourhunter]

Shot one at 200yards with a 95gr Berger classic hunter out of a 6 Creedmoor a couple years ago. Made quick work of a small sow.

I was reading 95g will do fine. Thank you

 

[amateurhourhunter]

Shot a few with a 6CM with 108eld-m's

Hell of a bear

 

[Big_wals]

Shot mine last fall with a 95 berger vld. Around 200 yards on a decent sized sow. She made it about 30 yards and piled up. Very quick kill

 

[Jstumbaugh]

Shot this B&C bear with Fed 100gr Powershok ammo.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

We have shot several with 243s and 6mm creedmoors. Most with the hornady superlite and 87gr ssts. They are super easy to kill. Think big coyote and not small grizz.

 

[DosAmigos]

Stay away from a shoulder shot. Aim behind the shoulder. 243 is plenty of gun

 

[Ryan Avery]

Stay away from a shoulder shot. Aim behind the shoulder. 243 is plenty of gun

Why? You don't think a 243 would make it through a black bear's shoulder? My wife shot a bear a few years back with a 108 ELD-M the bullet went through the bear and then went all the way through a steel bait barrel.

 

[craveman85]

I occasionally get the opportunity to do ballistics tests on dead cows. I put a .243 partition through a 300# dead Holstein at about 100 yards. I have other rifles I'd rather do it with but the right bullets in a 243 wouldn't stop me.

 

[roosiebull]

I wouldn’t have even a tiny bit of hesitation shooting a bear with a 243. I wouldn’t personally shoot a really hard bullet or mono, (but that goes with any cartridge for bear) but besides that, I think it would be a great bear cartridge.

I’m plotting on a 6mm of some sort, and when that happens I will kill a bear with it that year, I like shooting stuff with new guns

 

[PredatorSlayer]

My 6mm CM is my favorite rifle. I wish it was lighter, but it drives tacks with factory ammo.

 

[CMF]

Haven't shot bear yet, but not a big fan of 243. The last two whitetails my wife shot(95grain) they didn't get a pass-thru and had little blood. I can get a 120-grain lite recoil hornady or even a 130grn for a 270 and barely have any more recoil. I only have the gun cause my fil got it for the kids, but I bring the 270 first and only use it if two of them are hunting at the same time. I think it's obvious by the other post that it will do the job most times, but what about when the shot ain't so great?

And like Jbehredt said, make sure the twist will shoot the heavier bullet. The very first gun I bought my daughter at 5 was a 243 Rossi and it would not shoot heavy bullets.

 

[SwiftShot]

It will work, just get a good bullet. Most people that have trouble with a caliber it usually comes down to bullet.

 

[DosAmigos]

Why? You don't think a 243 would make it through a black bear's shoulder? My wife shot a bear a few years back with a 108 ELD-M the bullet went through the bear and then went all the way through a steel bait barrel.

I’m not saying it won’t penetrate. Bear vitals are little further back than normal.

 

[roosiebull]

My 6mm CM is my favorite rifle. I wish it was lighter, but it drives tacks with factory ammo. View attachment 524282

How available is factory ammo? I am toying with the idea of turning my .308 into a 6mm of some sort in the future, and plan on mostly reloading, but I do want the factory ammo option