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How many of you hunt elk with a 270?
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posted
Do you feel under gunned? What have your results been?

What bullet what load?

Have you taken 1 animal with your 270? 2? 3? 4? 5+?


Mike

[i] Never under estimate the internet community to use any opportunity to reply to a post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence problem.[i/]



What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
 
Posts: 10067 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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I have killed 16 elk. One with a bow, one with a 243, one with a muzzleloader, and 13 with a 270. I never once felt undergunned. Yes I have shot big bulls. I use 140 gr Hornady at 3000. This load has never failed me. Ron
 
Posts: 985 | Location: Southern Idaho | Registered: 24 March 2002Reply With Quote
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Mike,
I have hunted elk with a 270 win, so has my Dad and a couple friends.

My Dad and I have moved up to a 338-06.
My friends went with 300WSM and 300 Win Mag.

A 270 is not undergunned for elk, but I "felt undergunned". They all died and no horror stories, but to me a bigger diameter is better.

I have seen/killed elk with cartridges from 243 Win to 375 H&H. I am by no means a expert. But the 338 and up calibers seem to hit harder IMO.

The loads in the 270 ranged from:
140gr Barnes X
150gr Speer Grand Slams
150 grain NP's
and some misc factory 150gr loads.

All told probably around 10-12 elk from the late 90's early 2000's shot with 270's. Not a huge amount of experience, but the last half dozen elk I witnessed with the bigger cartridges were definitely hit harder.
 
Posts: 2034 | Location: Black Mining Hills of Dakota | Registered: 22 June 2005Reply With Quote
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25 + yrs of elk hunting with a 270.pet load was 58.5 grns IMR 4831 and a 130 grn nosler BT.in that time frame 22-28 elk killed, many 1 shot kills.no feeling of being under gunned as shots were less than 300 yds for the most part.did kill a bull several yrs ago at 469 coming up out of a steep draw below me,held top of head and dropped one into chest,have since moved on to 7stw for the range not because 270 wasn't doing the job.why do you ask?
 
Posts: 2141 | Location: enjoying my freedom in wyoming | Registered: 13 January 2006Reply With Quote
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I have a 270 and it is very nice. At some point I will thin the heard on rifles.

I like having my rifles do double duty. the 270 would be my light rifle. I quite certain it would do the trick on elk...I was just looking for real world experience.


Mike

[i] Never under estimate the internet community to use any opportunity to reply to a post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence problem.[i/]



What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
 
Posts: 10067 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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I used to hunt elk with a .270 and shot a number of them, but in the last 10 years I have been hunting the black timber and dark holes where the big bulls live after the first shot, I use a 338 With 300 gr. Woodleighs or my .375 as almost all shots are going away running and those big guns will tip them over on their nose and sometimes the lighter calibers will not..I went to the .338 after several incidense by my hunting partners with 30-06s and 270s failed..In open country the .270 is a great elk rifle..


Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120

rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
 
Posts: 41875 | Location: Twin Falls, Idaho | Registered: 04 June 2000Reply With Quote
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My dad had used a 270 for years taking several elk with it. All ammo was factory, with nothing special or custom.


Graybird

"Make no mistake, it's not revenge he's after ... it's the reckoning."
 
Posts: 3722 | Location: Okie in Falcon, CO | Registered: 01 July 2004Reply With Quote
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People do it all the time because thats what they have for deer etc., but most that hunt Elk with any frequency move up to a bigger caliber later when/if they can. (around here anyway)
Take care.


"Hunt smart, know your target and beyond"
 
Posts: 394 | Location: Arizona | Registered: 20 May 2007Reply With Quote
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First there is a big difference between a cow and a big bull. That said, I shoot a 280 (essentially the same as a 270) with 150gr Nosler Partitions for elk. I have shot many cows and mature bulls with my 280 and it has never failed me. Of course, I choose to not shoot an elk in the butt. I find that logic, "Shoot them from behind and penetrate from back to front", to be not my style. A 270 would do it, but you have to take the right shots.
 
Posts: 783 | Location: Utah, USA | Registered: 14 January 2005Reply With Quote
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I don't have as much experience hunting elk as a lot of people out there but I have used the .270. I would never feel that the .270 would let me down as long as I do my job and place the bullet where it needs to be. I've never had to track an elk that I shot with my .270. I think that 150 grain bullets are ideal for elk and I like the Nosler Partition, but any premium bullet should do. I just feel that I could break down the shoulders on an elk if I needed to with the Partition. So far I've shot through the heart/lung area and the elk have went down. I did do a spine shot between the shoulder blades on a cow once and that was the only time I used the .30-06 to hunt elk.

You don't need a big magnum rifle to hunt elk, but you do need to have good bullet placement to bring them down. I think this is where the .270 Win is a better choice than a lot of others out there. With the moderate recoil most hunters can shoot it very well and place the bullet where they aim. There are quite a few hunters out there who can't shoot their rifles well, because they have developed bad habits from falling prey to magnumitis. Nothing against magnum rifles if the person hunting with them can shoot them well, I just find I shoot my .270 Win better than my 7mm Rem Mag.

I was hunting a Ranching for Wildlife area a few years back and one of the ranch hands saw me shoot a cow with my .270 at 250 yards, a one shot kill pretty much DRT. He told me of a hunter using a .338 Win Mag the year before who shot an elk 6 times before he brought the cow down. I guess he couldn't hit the vitals an pretty much ruined most of the meat with his poor shooting. The ranch hand had told me earlier he thought the .270 was a little light, but he changed my mind after he saw me shoot my cow.

Is the .270 Win the perfect round for elk? Probably not, but it is as good as a lot of other choices out there. The .270 is a caliber I'm very comfortable with using as well.
 
Posts: 2242 | Registered: 09 March 2006Reply With Quote
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I've seen a few elk killed with a 270, it always killed them, but its not what I carry.
 
Posts: 96 | Location: Arroyo Grande, Ca. | Registered: 09 December 2004Reply With Quote
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I have taken 4 with a .280, my son took one with his .270. My hunting partner has taken 20 to 25 with his .270 along with a Shiras Moose. We use 150 gr. Nosler Partitions.
 
Posts: 10201 | Location: Texas... time to secede!! | Registered: 12 February 2004Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Mike_Dettorre:
What have your results been?

What bullet what load?


A friend of mine took a full frontal chest shot at a trophy bull with a 270 using Rem factory 150 grain ammo. The bullet visibly hit the brisket area and the elk ran. After half a mile the blood trail stopped. Seems like the bullet skidded around the ribs instead of going inside the chest cavity. Probably the bullet opened too fast, thus veering off course.

After years of hunting elk with a .338, my present personal preference is a 9.3 x 62 or a 375 H&H.
 
Posts: 18352 | Location: Salt Lake City, Utah USA | Registered: 20 April 2002Reply With Quote
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This may be irrelevant but, when I was going to the Colorado School of Trades, one of the students (I think at the instigation of one of the instructors, Dick Kroekle) wrote to Elmer Keith and asked what he thought of the .270WIN as an elk cartridge. Now, I liked old Elmer and respected him but, it was kind of comical because he took two pages, type written, single spaced to tell the guy that the .270 was not, is not and never will be an adequate Elk cartridge. I do not necessarily subscribe to that, I just thought it was funny.


"I ask, sir, what is the Militia? It is the whole people. To disarm the people is the best and most effective way to enslave them" - George Mason, co-author of the Second Amendment during the Virginia convention to ratify the Constitution
 
Posts: 1699 | Location: San Antonio, TX | Registered: 14 April 2004Reply With Quote
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One cow Elk, .270 150grain Sierra GK through the lungs, she did a backflip and stayed down. I believe it was 54 grains of IMR 4350. Lasered at 202 yards.
 
Posts: 41786 | Location: Crosby and Barksdale, Texas | Registered: 18 September 2006Reply With Quote
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In my honest opinion (it is only my opinion, so don't be too hard on me) using a .270 on a big bull elk is like using a .243 on a big Canadian whitetail. No doubt it can be done and has been by many. However, I just believe one should use one of the .30 caliber magnums or larger (I shoot a .300 WSM on just about everything, but I still haven't been elk hunting). Just my $0.02 sofa


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Posts: 3106 | Location: Hockley, TX | Registered: 01 October 2005Reply With Quote
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quote:
using a .270 on a big bull elk is like using a .243 on a big Canadian whitetail

animal

I prefer to use the .270 on nothing larger than your good ol deer mouse, although maybe if you stretch it you can take the occasional pack rat.
moon
MG
 
Posts: 1029 | Registered: 29 January 2004Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Atkinson:
in the last 10 years I have been hunting the black timber and dark holes where the big bulls live after the first shot


sure...
 
Posts: 3517 | Registered: 27 June 2000Reply With Quote
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I've only killed elk with my archery equipment. Anyone "hunting" elk with anything other than a bow isn't really hunting, you're just "shooting." Totally unethical. coffee Anyone "shooting" beyond 50 yards is really just "sniping" anyway.


Ted Kennedy's car has killed more people than my guns
 
Posts: 7906 | Registered: 05 July 2004Reply With Quote
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Mike-hope all is well in your camp!

Now to your question, I would have to sharpen my pencil to say for sure but the number of elk I've been around taken out with a 270 is right in the area of 3 dozen. These are elk that I've either personally taken and or stood side by side of the shooter. The ranges have been close in the timber and or out to a bit over 600 yds in the open country.

Bullets used are as follows:

*130 Sierra Bt (for about 20 of them, only one took more than one round and that was because the first shot was in the yams and no elk ever deserves to be shot in the yams)

*140 Hornday

*130 Nozler

*150 Sierra BT

*150 Nozler

*160 Nozler

*130 TSX

and most likely a couple more I just can't remember but that is what most were taken with.

I can only say that I've never felt undergunned whether out in the open country @ 500 yds and or in the "dark timber". I've always (and the fellas I've been with) been able to get in one very good shot whether in close and or far away.

I do not in any way feel handicapped given a 270 for any elk in any area. In the open country I need to take an intelligent shot, in the "dark timber" I need to take a intelligent shot.

In the timber I, like Brad go into predator mode and quite honestly would do just fine with a 243 and or 257 as I do with bigger guns. I will sneak in and take and make the right shot and it won't have anything to do with the legendary old BS going away "raking shots" that Elmer and his disciples love to talk about.

Mark D

(next time your this way give a shout and Brad and I will take you out for lunch, we'll let Brad buy......grins)
 
Posts: 1089 | Location: Bozeman, Mt | Registered: 05 August 2005Reply With Quote
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Mark,

Thanks for answering my question as opposed to telling me what caliber elk should be hunted with... Big Grin


Mike

[i] Never under estimate the internet community to use any opportunity to reply to a post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence problem.[i/]



What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
 
Posts: 10067 | Location: Loving retirement in Boise, ID | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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Both of my sons, the wife, and I have all taken quite a few elk with both a 270 and 280, and also a 7MM-08. Bullets have been 130 Nosler Solid Base, 140 TBBC, or 150 grain Nosler Partition. Used the 140 Nosler Solid Base in the 7MM-08. Ranges from 40 yards to out to 400 yards. Never lost a single one, and the performance has been great.

My choice now is a 7MM Rem Mag with 160 Barnes TSX for open country, but only because it the most accurate rifle I have ever shot! In September, it is an old bow I love and telephone-pole sized arrows with massive broadheads.
 
Posts: 1517 | Location: Idaho Falls, Idaho | Registered: 03 June 2004Reply With Quote
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I have hunted elk with a 270 many times and actually prefer it to my 338Winny. I have confidence in my ability to hit what I am aim at with the 270 and bullet placement is the key, as far as I am concerned.

I watched my brother put four 338Winny rounds of Federal Premium Nosler 220 grain Partitions into the boiler room of a really nice bull and it stood there and soaked them up. It finally did go down but he followed the old axiom, "if it is still standing, keep shooting."

I have killed several elk with my 270 and had one shot kills, as well as multiple shot kills. As I said, bullet placement and performance is the key here.


Liver Eat'n Johnson
 
Posts: 5 | Location: Utah | Registered: 26 July 2006Reply With Quote
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Well good ole Elmer Keith thought that the .270 made a darn good coyote rifle.

Regardless. From .270 on up, it's all good. Hunt elk if you like with a .270. If you like using a .458 Win Mag, more power to you.

Just as long as you place the shot properly, it's all good.
 
Posts: 48 | Location: Parma, Italy | Registered: 06 December 2005Reply With Quote
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A 270 worked for me on two elk, but I liked the performance and reaction of the animal better on the one I shot with a 338.

Perry
 
Posts: 1144 | Location: Green Country Oklahoma | Registered: 16 December 2003Reply With Quote
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I've used my .280 pushing 160 grain Speer grand slams. No problems, even on the long range shots. It would be my minimum caliber for Wapati. Good hunting, David



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Every morning the Zebra wakes up knowing it must outrun the fastest Lion if it wants to stay alive. Every morning the Lion wakes up knowing it must outrun the slowest Zebra or it will starve. It makes no difference if you are a Zebra or a Lion; when the Sun comes up in Africa, you must wake up running......

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Posts: 6804 | Location: Tennessee | Registered: 18 December 2006Reply With Quote
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quote:
Originally posted by Mark Dobrenski:
In the timber I, like Brad go into predator mode and quite honestly would do just fine with a 243 and or 257 as I do with bigger guns. I will sneak in and take and make the right shot and it won't have anything to do with the legendary old BS going away "raking shots" that Elmer and his disciples love to talk about.

Mark D


I hunt in the same kind of habitat as you guys, just a little north of the 49th, and I have never felt the need to take a "raking" shot either. You can be far more selective about your shots, without completely missing opportunities, than some might want you to believe. Hell, lots of bulls get shot with bows in that same black timber....

Cheers,
Canuck



 
Posts: 7121 | Location: The Rock (southern V.I.) | Registered: 27 February 2001Reply With Quote
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I don't like 130grn bullets for whitetail, let alone elk. I use a 300 RUM and 200grn TBBC for elk. Overkill maybe but it works for me.


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I don't shoot elk at 600 yards for the same reasons I don't shoot ducks on the water, or turkeys from their roosts. If this confuses you then you're not welcome in my hunting camp.
 
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