I don't know that I have anything to add to the above but I will throw my two cents in. There are two important factors, and you need to be able to put a check mark in both boxes to be successful. The easy one is bullet construction. I know of elk that have not been recovered after accurate shots with soft bullets. As long as you use one of the controlled expansion bullets others have recommended you will be fine. My elk rifle, a .300 Winchester Magnum, shoots 180 grain Trophy Bonded Bear Claws exceptionally well. I have enough boxes to last me for many years.

The other important factor, just like others have said, is shot placement. There is no doubt that a .270 is plenty of rifle. Apparently I may be in the minority, but I shoot my .300 just as well as my other rifles (.270, 30-06, etc.). My theory is to use the .300 because it packs more of a wallop and I shoot it well. If I flinched with it, or otherwise did not shoot it well, I would use one of my other rifles instead and would be very confident in those rifles.

the others have said it well, the 270 is wnough for elk especially if you shoot it well. A good bonded bullet such as Nosler Accubond or Swift Sirocco would be my choice or the prooven Nosler Partition is never a bad one.

Punch both lungs or the heart with any of those or several other bullets and you have a dead elk in short order. gut shoot or jsut hit one lung and you have a bull that can and will go a long ways.

Good luck and happy

I know they never made it, just got a laugh out of the guy that made such a big deal out of using it...

This may have already been said, but I didn't take the time to read both pages. As an outfitters/guide in Colorado, I would recommend a larger caliber than a 270. Although it is no doubt a big enough caliber to do the job, in my mind there are just to many other rounds that do a way better job. More often than not you are hunting big county in Co and might have to take a long range shot. Why not have a big enough rifle to put an elk down quickly at any reasonable yardage. I say, if you have a bigger gun, shoot it.

Sorry I should have stated this when I posted,especially for all the smart, well you know who you are!!

Did not see anywhere on the post where any one referenced the 165gr Gameking load specifically. I said 165-180 grain for deeper penetration.

Open mouth and insert foot!!! Sorry Skitini I see where he said he took his elk with a 165 game king now.

Hornady makes a 165 grain SST
Nosler makes 170 grain Accubond

Could you post a link for those bullets, I can't find either one currently in production at Nosler or Hornady?

I've still got some of the old 170gr Speers laying around and three of the Barnes 180gr, just didnt think anyone was making the heavy stuff anymore. Just curious.

At one time Barnes made the Barnes Original in a 180grain .277 bullet but most of the Barnes Originals have been dropped from the line including that one. So unless you find some old stock or they will do custom orders out of luck.

Nosler still makes a 160gr Partition

Woodleigh also makes a 180gr .277 bullet

They may not be I just seen them on a reloader site I frequent, Not many people would use bullet's of that weight in a 270, you lose too much velocity. While that may not bother a long range match shooter, it definitly deter's the hunter's.

HWY_MAN;

Are you sure you are not thinking of some other caliber. I have all the Hornady and Nosler manuals and frequent their websites often because I shoot several flavors of 270's. I'm quite confiednt that there is not 165gr SST or 170gr AB,(or 165 GameKing) in .277 caliber.

If you have data otherwise, I will humbly eat crow!

This was listed in they're loading data, I don't know if their still produced.

Load 5998 in caliber .270 Weatherby Magnum

LoadID 5998
Bullet HORNADY SST
Bullet Weight 165 grs
Powder NORMA 204
Powder Weight 84.9 grs
Primer FEDERAL 215 MAG
Brass Make WEATHERBY
Barrel Length 26 (inches)
C.O.L 35.77 (inches)
Velocity 0 fps
Group 100 yds 1/4 AT 100YRDS (inches)
Submitted By HAWK

they might make it but question is where would you find it if they do?

we have had ALOT of success with 300 Wby. 180 Barnes TSX at 3000fps. Co. and NM elk, from 85 yds to just past 400 on a calm day. 1 shot 1 Elk. They just fold up in place. Good Luck,good hunting and tell us a good story when you get back.

ya'll wait till chital shakari shows up, he'll educate us on the fine are of neck shooting them with a .22-250

30-06 or 7mm mag done

Big ooops on my part guys, sorry! I was using 130gr Game King for the 270. Chad Brauer was shooting 165gr Game King in the 30-06!

You guys can UNWAD your panties now!

I grew up in AZ, the only thing that I have ever used for elk has been a .270 - 130 grain handloads. If you're comfortable with your rifle and have good optics you will be fine. Make sure you know the range of your shot/ballistics for your load. Good luck!

270wsm loaded HOT & accurate would be about as low on the totem pole as I would go on an elk hunt.. then again, that's my same mindset for quality unit muleys.

you can kill almost anything with the 270 if you have a good bullet and you shoot your game in the right spot(you decide that)
also i hope you have a bright scope with more that 9x zoom zeroed and 200-300 yds...on youtube and on tv it shows that the shots are very long...

LOL!! That's what I'm waiting for!

not making that mistake...i said what i wanted to say and no more

I personally believe that a .270 is a whitetail deer gun....and NOT an elk gun. I would say that it's the BARE MINIMUM I would ever consider using for an elk.

In my opinion, a .30 caliber of some flavor is ideal....or even a .338 Win. I would also use at least a 180 gr. bullet that is of premium quality.

Most people don't even realize how big an elk is. A mature bull will weigh between 700 and 900 lbs. That is MUCH bigger than any Texas whitetail.

Well said. I've seen a few old bulls that went just over 1000 lbs. I would say a 300 mag. thowing a good 180 bullet is the minimum in my opinion. 338 would anchor them pretty quickly.