Anyone use 270 or 270WSM on ELK

[Reloaderlen]

I was wondering if any of you guy's used a 270 to take ELK.
I have a 270WSM that i shoot really well 2 1/2 group at 300 yards.
Thought i might give it a try instead of the 30 cal. Thanks!

 

[Mr.Redneck]

I have been told that with good shot placement a .270 should be adequate. If you can put groups that tight, you should be just fine.

I'd be willing to use a .22LR if I could group that well at that distance!!!!! Don't waste your time sighting anything else in, take that rifle with you and tag one out.

GOOD LUCK!!!!

 

[Railguner]

I've used a .270wby magnum on elk with a 150gr partition and it did just fine. Shot placement is still the key. I would try to avoid a shoulder shot if possible, just to play it safe. But them partitions are pretty tuff bullets...I think they could pull it off if that was your only shot. I would definitely put a second bullet into him after a shoulder hit just to play it safe. Federal loads a .270 WSM with a150gr Partition @3160...that should fit the bill just right. Accubonds will work also, but keep away from the shoulder. I would also stay away from the 130gr bullets. I know they take elk all the time..but why not just jump up a few grains and gain 300 ft/lbs of punch. Elk are big critters. GOOD LUCK! RG

 

[340mag]

as has been said a zillion times," its GREAT SHOT PLACEMENT" that counts more than POWER LEVEL,so if you want to use the 270 cal. it will work in the hands of a good shot, but ID use a really tough 150 grain bullet and aim for the arteries on the top of the heart and avoid raking angle shots and youll do fine!
its PENETRATION and precise shot placement more than almost any other factors that effect the out come! now, that being said!....I can,t see why youll choose a 270 cal. if you own a 30caliber, (im assuming its a 30/06 or 300 mag of course) , simply because the 30 caliber has the advantage in larger potential bullet size and weight and the trajectorys fairly flat, so why use the 270 caliber????
it never hurts to have a slight extra edge in bullet size,and thicker jackets and larger cores in bullets of similar sectional density, traveling at similar velocities tend to give you better energy on target
you don,t get extra points for using slightly less power than your other potential rifle choice , do you???and getting the job done while some how expending less energy on target gets you WHAT ADVANTAGE?
the 30 cal (especially the 300 mags)with a heavier 180-200 grain premium bullet are a better choice, simply because they allow you a slightly longer range and slightly larger choice in angles where the bullet can drive thru to the vital organs, since you own one why not take advantage of the better equipment
yeah ! I know the differance is not huge! you might hunt for years before seeing any advantages with equal hits on game!, but sometimes its just a slight differance in depth of penetration that makes ALL the differance in an ELK dropping or running, both will kill but taking advantage of every last foot pound of energy and every potential inch of penertation is the way to stack the deck in your favor!

I hunted ELK successfully for several years with a 30/06 before swapping to a 340 wby mag, both cartridges KILLED ELK JUST FINE!, but the 340 wby tends to drop them on the spot! the 30/06 did NOT tend to do that!

 

[paulc]

Myself and my wife have killed several elk with a .270. I now use a .338 but my wife still uses a .270. Someone convinced me that the .338 was the ultimate elk gun before all of the 300 mags and WSMs got popular.

I think all that stuff is just an excuse to sell more guns.

I dont think the elk really know the difference. dead is dead.

 

[wmidbrook]

There's a good artical in this month's American Hunter regarding the .30-06 vs. .338 mag on elk. Basically, the jist of the article was "Are we overly crazed with Magnums?"

The article was based on a study done on depredation elk hunts near Yellowstone many years ago. Basically, both rifles were effective in dropping the bulls; however, the .30-06 often required a second shot to anchor/drop the bull closer to where the bull was first shot. Both rifles did the job.

I think it boils down to are you willing to do a little more tracking?

To archers, this is a no brainer. Then again, archers only take boiler room broadside shots....and the blood trails from such shots are usually very easy to follow for elk.

Any shot from a .243 on up to the thorax (boiler room) on an elk within that caliber's effective range with a bullet that has roughly a .250 sectional density or better and is of sound construction will do the trick as long as the shot placement is to the boiler room.

If you're insistent on taking shoulder shots, heavily quartering to or away shots, or even Texas Heart shots, the bigger the better in terms of caliber. Or in all honesty with yourself know that you take shots that might not hit the boiler room, then the bigger caliber the better imo.

 

[rthunter]

My hubby and father in law use a .270. They have killed more elk and deer with theirs than any other rifle they own. We've used it to get my dow, his 4x4 buck w/ 27" spread, and his nontypical 2x2 bull. We hunt for meat but my hubby couldn't pass up the untypical. He says it looks like a unicorn because one antler follows the nose and the other is normal. I'll see it this weekend when I go get my cow.
My bud Jake just got his 5x5 bull. Good job Jake!!!

Too bad he's moving back to Cali

Good luck to everyone.