Is 243 something you guys see young elk hunters with alot? Living in TN I was always under the impression that it would work for elk but is not recommended. I think a 7-08 is perfect for this situation since they have reduced loads for deer and then can easily handle elk with regular loads. I think a 260 or 6.5 Creedmoor would do just as well.
The wounds that a 243, 260/6.5, 7/08, 308, etc., make with good bullets are WAY more alike, than different. There is no margin of error that a 7/08 gives you that a 243/260 doesn't.
To all,
Do you buy your 16 year old a Dodge Dually, then rip the muffler off (muzzle brake), yank out some spark plugs (reduced loads), and add some weight to help with "control"? If not, why would you do the same with a rifle? A gut shot elk, is a guy shot elk and that 7/08 or 308, or whatever, really isn't buying you anything. Besides that, I'm still waiting to hear of someone that let a new/young hunter shoot an elk facing away, with ANY cartridge. Every one I have every seen or talked to waited until the animal was broadside or nearly so, and standing still. In that case- well any case- I would rather have someone using a rifle that they shot 400 times before the hunt, than one that recoils more, is louder, has more muzzle blast, is longer and heavier.
I took someone elk hunting this year that had never hunted nor shot. Using a Tikka 223 we went over and practiced marksmanship fundamentals from prone with a bipod. Once she could shoot good 10 round groups that told me she understood how the gun worked and the fundamentals, we then moved to prone off of a pack, sitting and kneeling with sticks and the pack and a bit of standing. She shot around 250 rounds from field positions with ever decreasing time standards until she could smack a 10in plate out to 450 yards or so on demand from the prone, and out to 300 or so from sitting/kneeling. All we did was treat it like a game. I then had her start shooting a 243win. After about 20 rounds it was obvious that she did not shoot it nearly as well, having to cut her ranges almost in half. From the beginning she asked what she should hunt with, and I told her just learn to shoot first, do some research and you'll know. Before the hunt she asked if they 223 was enough? I said yes, with bonded bullets as long as you put it into the lungs... same as the rest.
She researched, asked people and decided to use the 223 with 64gr Speer Goldots because she KNEW exactly where the bullet would go. We ended up not see a single elk, but she killed her first two deer with that gun- lacing both perfectly on quick shots. There was zero doubt that she would have smoked an elk with that gun if she took the shot.
Now I'm not saying that 223's are great elk guns, I'm saying that "placement, bullet,........... headstamp" in order are what matters. If we would have had more time with the 243 she would have gotten used to it, as she is now shooting a 6.5 Creedmoor, but we you'll always be better with practice and a bit of education and then let THEM decide what they want to use.
