6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

[BjornF16]

With the success of .223 and 6.5 threads on big game, thought I’d throw this one into the mix.

Show and detail your results harvesting big game (deer, bear, elk, moose, African game) using 6mm/.243 cartridges. Please detail bullet, MV, impact velocity, and whether hand load or factory ammo.

 

[BjornF16]

I’ll kick it off

6mm Creedmoor shooting factory Hornady PH 108 ELD-M, 18” barrel, 105 yards on Texas Whitetail deer (120 lbs). 2780 FPS MV; ~ 2610 FPS impact.

Impact knocked her to ground, then she jumped up and ran about 20 yards and collapsed. Offside shoulder ruined.

 

[83cj-7]

Well, I don’t have any pictures but I can’t even tell you how many deer I have taken with a .243 and the 105 A-Max. I have owned a fast twist .243 for 20 years and am on the 4th barrel. I have always shot the 105 at 2950 to 3000 and use it for filling damage permits. Deer don’t go far and I’ve made hits past 900 yards.

 

[justin davis]

Well, I don’t have any pictures but I can’t even tell you how many deer I have taken with a .243 and the 105 A-Max. I have owned a fast twist .243 for 20 years and am on the 4th barrel. I have always shot the 105 at 2950 to 3000 and use it for filling damage permits. Deer don’t go far and I’ve made hits past 900 yards.

That’s awesome

 

[justin davis]

I shot my first Big game animal (mule deer) with a .243 when I was a kid. Dropped it at 160 yards

I have a .243 that I use for coyotes. Plan to have my wife use it for antelope and deer this year

 

[mxgsfmdpx]

.243 and the 95 Grain SST is just too much fun on deer...

.My wifes buck from 2017 (6 months pregnant and still killing!) The 95 gratin SST sliced through both lungs, broke two ribs, and exited out the other side.





.The same bullet but different rifle (Tikka) used on a 200 lb horse of a doe that she shot at just over 200 yards. Destroyed the heart, sliced the front side of the lung, hit/broke a rib, and then lodged into the spine.





Both of these deer were bang flop.

 

[PantherCity]

Deleted post. I think my 4 year old got ahold of my phone lol.

No autopsy pics but my wife has taken 5-6 deer with the ELDX in a 243 and it is very effective.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[BjornF16]

I’ve got a 6XC now with a pile of 108 ELD-Ms and some 105 Bergers on the way.

Hoping @chamois has some pics of tough African Plains game to share as well as his load recipe

 

[TripleJ]

Between my 3 boys, they killed a pile of deer with a .243 when they were younger. 100 grain partitions always did the trick for us. Works on antelope too. Here’s a few of the pics.

 

[DRP]

My kids have killed quite a few deer and one cow elk with the .243, 85 grain sierra game king BTHP 37 grains of IMR 4064. Shots out to 275 yards at the furthest, cow elk was 230 yards.

 

[SaltySailor]

.243 got it done for years on multiple moose, a few dozen caribou and a bear once. 100 grain Remington core lokts. All ranges sub 200 yards, most sub 100. I think the farthest any animal ever traveled after hit was 50 yards tops.

 

[PredatorSlayer]

6mm creedmoor shooting 108gr eldms.

 

[Unckebob]

Texas Axis Doe, Federal Powershok, 100grain, 2960fps at 87 yards. The rancher who invited me said to buy the heaviest bullet I could find for the relatively large Axis deer and the the Powershok was the heaviest round I could find.

Slightly quartering front to back hit right 3" behind the front leg. Never found the bullet and it clearly broke apart and took out most of her chest cavity. She ran about 20 yards. The entry wound did not bleed a drop and we had a difficult time finding it. No exit wound. We joked that I scared her to death.

The only reason I was hunting with the 243 was the Bergara I bought simply would not group. An accurate 243>inaccurate 308.

 

[SaltySailor]

Alaska grizz, it did take 5 shots to get it done tho, not recommended. 100 grain core lokts. Skeleton stock Ruger M77 MKII

 

[49ereric]

Shot 1 small buck with my 742 in 6mm 100 grain Sierra spitzer. Also missed a rack buck with it trying to shoot thru heavy brush which it won’t do and that was how I acquired the rifle from a disgruntled individual.
to much bullet for the twist though. Always was going to go smaller but never did. Safe Queen.

 

[Cant hit em]

Tikka 243 20” barrel , Barnes 85grn tsx , 3150fps

 

[MarlinsDad]

95gr Hornady sst kill several deer here in Ky every year for us. 243win was my only deer rifle for years filled nuisance tags for several farms and have killed an absolute pile of them from 20 to 400yd. Most of my buddy’s kids,nieces,nephews have used that little Ruger to take their first few deer as well.
Few years back I got a 15” encore pistol and it absolutely loves 80gr Speer hotcores, it’s killed deer from 40-240yd and mostly bang flop aiming for the offside shoulder.

 

[chamois]

I’ve got a 6XC now with a pile of 108 ELD-Ms and some 105 Bergers on the way.

Hoping @chamois has some pics of tough African Plains game to share as well as his load recipe

These are from my trip to RSA where I shot springbucks and warthogs mostly. The warthogs were one shot kills taken at 380 and 570 yards. 6XC load was 105gr VLDs pushed at 3,000 fps-even by IMR7828SC with BR2 primers. This particular lot of powder was much faster than expected, and proved very accurate in my gun, a Blaser break open single shot.
The other photo is the result of a morning dedicated to springbucks taken with the mentioned VLDs and 105gr AMAXes as well.
I have to rush now, BjornF16, but will load up some pictures of bigger stuff I shot with the same gun in another trip to Namibia.

 

[redneckbmxer24]

I’ve killed a couple dozen deer with 243’s and a few with 6 creed. 243’s I used mostly Berger 105 Hybrids and 100gr core lokt. Never lost a deer and most were DRT from head shots or high shoulders because that’s the only way I could shoot with with the hybrids and not waste a lot of meat, it’s a devastating little bullet. All but one were within 400 yards, shot one at 690 with the 105 Hybrids behind the shoulder and she stumbled around the field for 20 yards or so before collapsing.

My uncles buddy that I’ve known for at least 20 years goes out west every year for elk and sometimes draws two tags and always fills his tags. He takes a 243 and a 6-284 and uses one or the other or both, both shooting Berger hunting VLD’s. He swears by them and with the damage I’ve seen on the deer shot by 105 Hybrids I wouldn’t hesitate to use one for an elk either.

 

[justin davis]

I’ve killed a couple dozen deer with 243’s and a few with 6 creed. 243’s I used mostly Berger 105 Hybrids and 100gr core lokt. Never lost a deer and most were DRT from head shots or high shoulders because that’s the only way I could shoot with with the hybrids and not waste a lot of meat, it’s a devastating little bullet. All but one were within 400 yards, shot one at 690 with the 105 Hybrids behind the shoulder and she stumbled around the field for 20 yards or so before collapsing.

My uncles buddy that I’ve known for at least 20 years goes out west every year for elk and sometimes draws two tags and always fills his tags. He takes a 243 and a 6-284 and uses one or the other or both, both shooting Berger hunting VLD’s. He swears by them and with the damage I’ve seen on the deer shot by 105 Hybrids I wouldn’t hesitate to use one for an elk either.

That’s cool to hear. I recently got some 105 hybrids for my .243