257

Bullet placement PLUS enough power are the key.

If either is lacking, then the results will be disappointing.

Hence my friend's disapppointment at the elk that got away with his 270 bullet in it.

500Grains

You are far too caught up on this POWER thing. With proper placement AND penetration the animal will die quickly. All you need is a properly placed hole in the lungs or arteries and the heart will pump the blood out, the brain will be starved of oxygen and the animal will die.

Keep in mind an arrow has little power and almost no "shock" but when properly placed they kill with no trouble.

Jason

excuse me for my frankness,

500 grains, you are foolish. If the woodleigh is a poor bullet in your caliber (for elk) you shouldn't be using it. Further, you must have a darn nice rifle because if it prints various different types of ammo good enough to take 300 yard + whacks at game animals intermittently it must be magical. Third, how about testing/researching your caliber before you hunt instead of loading a bunch of different bullets and trying a different one if you blast an elk and the first one doesn't work.
Fourth, tell the last five elk I shot that a .270 doesn't work as they all dropped right quick.
Also, if you use ballistic tip, sierra, or other frangible bullets for elk in a light caliber you belong in the same class as 500 grains. I have tried a few different types on game and even more in a wet paper trap and I only use 140 grain barnes-X in .270 Win for elk now.
Really the difference in caliber makes a much smaller difference than presumed. A .303 British has killed many lions, rhinos, and other African game. People that argue the .270 debate have too much time on their hands.

Remember Elmer Keith took 400+ yard shots at deer with a .44 mag handgun. While I respect him for relating his experiences I hardly think he should influence me as to the "most efficient" caliber for the job.

I think the "local v.s. out of state" hunter argument started by Boddington holds no water. I fall under the "local" title. If I thought a larger caliber would give me any advantage I would buy one as I certainly could afford it. Honestly I like killing elk and frankly I think the rifle I am most comfortable with gives me the best chance. It makes no sense to me that someone who is guided presumable by an expert, many times on private land to exclusive elk herds will need to take poor shots any more than a local hunting in pressured areas would.

A friend of mine got an elk with a bow a couple of years ago... I think a .270 has a little more energy behind it than an arrow traveling at 275ft/sec!!!
No matter what you shoot, it's mostly about shot placement.
Yes, it's best not to "underkill" or "overkill". The .270 isn't either of these for an elk.

Has anyone seen the September issue of *American Hunter*. They have an article showing everything from .25-06 to .30-06 being plenty of Elk gun. They even include .260 Rem...

I agree with 500grains.

The 270 is not my first choice, but I would not stay home if that is all I had to shoot.

Bullet placement is everything

Jeremy

1. If I were going to make up stories, I could come up with better ones that that which I post.

2. I have enough respect not to call you a liar regarding your 270 anecdotes. Please return the favor.

3. Just because a caliber worked in the past does not mean it is a good choice. A lot of grizzly have been killed with a 30-30. Is it a good choice? Is a 303 Brit really a good choice for Rhino?

I can't believe we are doing this argument again!

500grains has never shot an elk with a .270, yet somehow he KNOWS that it won't kill elk unless you have 100% perfect shot placement (broadside).

From what I understand, the 150gr Partition would be THE classic elk load in the .270, and has worked sucessfully quite often, yet because of this incident, 500 grains dismisses this cartridge.

Yet so many animals have fallen to this and similar cartridges/loads, that this discussion doesn't make any sense. If we eliminate the .270, where do we draw the line? .308, 3006, .280, 7mm RM, etc. etc.- are they all out too? Do elk cartridges now start at the .33 cals?

If you intend to tailor your gun to the specific situation (As Ray mentioned- he is much more likely to get an opportunity at a rear end shot) then fine. Otherwise, I see no need to eliminate a whole host of good cartridges from your choices. Use what you like, and put the bullet in the right place.

(PS I've never shot an elk with a .270 either, so this is just an uninformed opinion, but I'm not taking any firm stands here ! )

[QUOTE]Originally posted by 500grains:
Hi 500 grains,
I see this one at the top of the list still, so I thought that I would put in my Loonies worth( That's about $0.65 US) Many years ago in the Kootnays I had a frontal shot on a 5 point Elk. I held my 30-06 dead center of the chest and squeezed. The Bull went straight down and came back up running like a heart shot deer. The rule was if your hit is good don't push em. This was on a very steep mountain side and the Bull was out of site in no time. I was 100% certain that the Elk would be 80 yards down the hill piled up. Wrong I never saw that Elk again until 2 years later. That dead center shot did hit dead center but the Elk had a twist to it's body with one leg further down the hill than the other. When the bullet hit it went out just behind the off shoulder. So what looked like a straight on shot really wasn't. The bull ran down the entire mountain on three legs and probably one damaged lung. I tracked that Bull for 2 days and kept loosing him in the sand bar of a creek where he mixed with about one hundred other Elk tracks. No real blood trail. Two years later I went to the same area and saw a wheathered 5 point rack on the side of a guys truck. I asked him where he found the rack and it was about a half mile down from where I lost the tracks. Not one of my best moments but I was thinking about where the bullet was going in rather than where it was coming out. The 30-06 with 180 grain bullets is lots for Elk with proper placement but the placement is necessary. I like the front on shot but now I make sure that I can't see much ass to the left or right which makes sure the bullet travels down the pipe. It hasn't let me down since. 470 Mbogo

Greetings all,

To answer the specific query, "Is the .270 Win adequate for elk?" I say yes without reservation.

Is it an ideal elk cartridge? There are simply too many extraneous variables to answer with any scientific validity.

Yet.... history has clearly demonstrated the .270 as quantified and qualified in its lethal application upon elk.

Sooo.... let us ponder the real question of significance, that is, what constitutes an ideal elk hunter?

Regards,

------------------
~Holmes

"Those who appease a tiger do so in the hope that the tiger will eat them last."
-Winston Churchill

Y'all need to quit using them $5 a pop bullets and get something that opens up somewhere inside the chest cavity. $.50 ought to buy you a good one.
Thanks for tipping me off that your gun wears one of those ear busters out at the end of the barrel, I'll be sure to stay on the other side of the mountain.
When I decide to upgrade my 6.5x57 for elk hunting I'll also try hard to avoid those "inadequate" big bores.

I don't post here that often but I always scan through the posts for good information.
I can't believe this subject has come up again and from the same guy!!! 500gr is it your personal agenda to try and ban the use of the .270?? What gives? You beat this into the ground once before. You come back with one horror story and expect everyone to see the error of their ways and go huck their .270's into the dumpster? I'm just trying to understand what the hell is this all about?

Jarrett

Based upon what I have read it would seem that both the 270 and 470 are not adequate for elk unless one uses a magic bullet.

All I have to say is I am happy that I use a 416 Rigby! I have never had any problems dropping any elk with it (or my 30-40 Krag I used as a kid). I think I will use my 500 AHR next time I go elk hunting to see if the 50 caliber suffers from the same problems as the 470.

I hope that everyone realizes I am being a smart ass. I personally wouldn't use a 270, but that doesn't mean it won't get the job done because it will.

Todd E

From the # 12 speer reloading manual
"the 270 can handle all North american game with the exception of the grizzly and brown bear".

I assume they know something about it. Theres more but I dont think its nessesary.

Nice forum you guys have here.