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Post by magnumwheelman on Aug 29, 2022 8:53:57 GMT -5
Mountain Goats & Big Horn sheep???
I personally think it marginal on bigger white tail unless the 80+ grain bullets are used...
a Goat or Big Horn Sheep I don't think are usually much if any bigger than the larger White Tail Bucks.. but higher altitude & possibly longer shots, may take them out of the .243's range???
What do you guys think???
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Post by starmetal47 on Aug 29, 2022 9:16:25 GMT -5
Well of course you would use the heavier bullets for whitetails, say like 100 grains. Hornady use to have a very good 100 grain roundnose one, but they may have discontinued it. That what I took my deer with.
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Post by bushog on Aug 29, 2022 9:20:04 GMT -5
How far do you want them to run in the wrong direction?
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Post by pacecars on Aug 29, 2022 9:31:16 GMT -5
I would think a Barnes TTSX bullet if available would work with shoulder shots. I think with those two species you want to anchor them quickly so they aren’t running and falling where you can’t get to them or bust up the horns on the way down
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Post by squigz on Aug 29, 2022 9:34:04 GMT -5
Can't speak for shooting a goat/sheep with one, but I started hunting with a 243 on Northern Whitetails in PA and never had any issues with a 95gr ballistic tip. Also, never had a "distance" shot beyond maybe say 150 yards either, but I don't see why it wouldn't kill them just the same at a little further than that.
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Post by contender on Aug 29, 2022 9:35:12 GMT -5
It's been a few decades since I used a .243 for hunting. Yet,, I always used a 100 grn bullet,, even for whitetail. For a sheep hunt,, considering all the stuff required to get a tag & such,, I'd prefer a larger caliber that has a longer EFFECTIVE range. But if I had to use a .243,, I'd opt for a Barnes bullet as well.
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Post by magnumwheelman on Aug 29, 2022 9:35:45 GMT -5
been several years since I used a .243 on White Tails, but yes, I loaded 100 grainers... thinking a spire pointed shape may add a 100 yards or more to effective ranges??? I think my longest kill ( dead right there ) was around 200 yards on deer...
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Post by bradshaw on Aug 29, 2022 9:43:36 GMT -5
Mountain Goats & Big Horn sheep??? I personally think it marginal on bigger white tail unless the 80+ grain bullets are used... a Goat or Big Horn Sheep I don't think are usually much if any bigger than the larger White Tail Bucks.. but higher altitude & possibly longer shots, may take them out of the .243's range??? What do you guys think??? ***** The father of my late shooting partner Ed Verge, Napoleon Verge dropped the heaviest buck certified in Vermont, deep in the woods in Ryegate, Vermont 1958. The 8-point whitetail dressed 300 pounds, as certified by Fairbanks scale by F&W. Minus guts, including heart & liver, which ,although legally weighable, the family had consumed. The deer had dried somewhat, as it took days to drag out. That puts live weight 380 to 400 lbs. Vermont deer must be dressed to weigh. Other deer are said to dress heavier, but none certified. Woods hunter and crack shot Napoleon Verge dropped this monster buck with handload .243 Winchester. Believe he said the rifle was built on a 98 Mauser action. Bullet may have been a Curry 100 grain spitzer (Curry long since out of business. Ed Verge gave me a box of Curry .243 100 SP, but I took no game with them, concentrating in 6mm Remington on the old Hornady 100 Spire Point and a few Nosler 100 Partition.) The .243/6mm is bore size for deer, although I have passed on shots I would have taken with a .30-06 or .338 Win Mag. Sheep and goats are another animal. Were I to stalk these beasts on a mountain, such as hunts Perry----a.k.a. Snyd----treks in Alaska, I’d need more power to take on the animal, its musculature & hide, angles-of-fire, the distance. Many years ago I asked chronograph maestro Ken Oehler what he wants in a deer cartridge. “Forgiveness,” says Ken Oehler. Don’t be half-stepping’ in the mountains. David Bradshaw |
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Post by magnumwheelman on Aug 29, 2022 9:43:55 GMT -5
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Post by magnumwheelman on Aug 29, 2022 9:47:29 GMT -5
at this point it's only a theoritical discussion... but I would think "some of the bullets might be better than alot of us used 25 years ago???
... & I get the bigger gun thing... I went from .243 to 45-70 for Minnesota White Tails... thinking the weight of the rifle & ammo must add up on a hunt for the animals I listed in the original post...
my .243 Ruger Model 77 seems much lighter Than my Browning Stainless Stalker in 338 Win Mag
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Post by pacecars on Aug 29, 2022 10:08:00 GMT -5
I believe Chadwick shot the world record Stone Sheep with a .404 Jeffery so there is that
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Post by magnumwheelman on Aug 29, 2022 10:09:50 GMT -5
looking at a couple balistics charts it actually looks like the .243 out performs the .270 Winchester both using 100 grain spire point bullets... of course not many would hunt any kind of big game only using a 100 grain .270 bullet... but more than exceptable energies are there for at least 400 yards in the .243... sounding like if one limits themselves to 400 or less yard shots... it should in theory work quite well... now weather I could get my clumsy, flat lander, big figure, within 400 yards of a warry sheep or goat... that is yet to be seen  |
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Post by bigbrowndog on Aug 29, 2022 10:21:09 GMT -5
IF, I were going to use a 243 or any 6mm on game like bighorn or Mtn.Goat, it would definitely be with a Partition type bullet (Swift or Nosler) or a mono (Hornady or Barnes). While I don’t prefer the 6mm diameter, I do think with our newer bullets it elevates the capabilities from nominal to adequate. Many an elk and bear have been taken with 6mm’s, but I prefer more bullet weight than 100gr. even with premium bullets. Most of my experience with bullets is based on taking feral hogs, for me they offer plentiful testing media and vary enough in size and build to offer good examples of performance for any game in North America. I always recommend 120gr. of bullet for those coming to hunt pigs with rifles, which eliminates 6mm’s. Just my opinion but I’d lost weight somewhere else in your gear and carry the 338 over the 243.
Trapr
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Post by magnumwheelman on Aug 29, 2022 10:27:42 GMT -5
Well I love my 338... but there must be some reason to have another rifle??? it seems like it could be the one do it all big game rifle
My .243 was my 1st rifle... bought with the intention, that it could shoot from Prairie Dogs, to Deer... honestly never considered sheep or goat when I bought the rifle
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Post by magnumwheelman on Aug 29, 2022 10:33:43 GMT -5
These go 108 grains... but yet to be seen if they would stabilize in a Ruger standard twist .243... www.midwayusa.com/product/1022626653?pid=726152yep, thinking mine is likely 1 in 10 twist, & see they recommend 1 in 8 twist for these heavy long bullets |
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