The mystical elk has 5in thick hide, armor plated ribs, magical healing properties and the ability out jump s speeding bullet.


But not tuff enough to beat a 30-30 @ 150 yards

the 270 has enough energy out to three hundred yards. Don't second guess yourself.

I would feel comfortable hunting elk with a .270.

I'd feel more comfortable at longer range (300 or farther) with a 7 mag though. Anything above that would be extra insurance.

No matter what you take you've got to decide ahead of time what your range limit is considering the caliber, YOUR ACCURACY and the accuracy of the rifle that you are using.

Take it out and shoot 400 yds. and see how it does. Some shooters and guns/scopes have no business shooting that far.

I know I took my gun out last year and shot 300 yds. and realized that it wasn't hitting quite as well as I hoped with that ammo. I had to work up another load for that range.

If you handload, I think the best way to go would be to develop a load in your .270 that you could shoot 400 yds. at an Elk with.

As has already been stated the 270 will kill and Elk out to 300yds. The problem I have with a 270 is the asumption that all shots will be right in bread basket when we all know it's not that way. You need to shoot enough round to allow for a marginal shot to deliever enough energy to kill the animal the same day you shoot it. If a hunter is disciplined enough to know his limits and stays within them then "go for it" but a round with a little more margin of error is what I'd recommend. Later Baker

P.S. I'm curious BOBO have you ever killed and elk?

I totally agree with the above, 270 is fine - lots of elk have been taken with a it. I shoot a 300 win mag and use Hornady 150gr SST's - just in case I have to reach out there.

Yelp a cow, and a little bitty red stag ...is this good enough?

I use to have cabin south of pagosa springs off rio blanco basin road.
For over 20 years.

There are three bulls at my parents house that are over 280 biggest being 310, I was on two of those trips, in addition I have cleaned probably close to 10 cows, 2 bulls and three spikes.

I 've seen elk killed with a 25-06, 257wby, .50 ml, 7-08, 30-30, 270, 7mm and 06
All first hand.

Why use the minimum cal.? Why not just use a larger caliber? I shoot a 300 Win. mag. with 180 grain Federals. They don't go maybe 20 yards after the shot. Most drop in their tracts. Maybe it's just me, but that makes more sense to have enough gun for any situation, like a long shot or short.

I'd say ur question needs to be explained in two parts:

1st: bullet type is critical no matter what you shoot

2nd: I can't stress this enough to my clients when they ask what caliber should be used for a particular animal. My response is shoot what ever caliber your most accurate with. Why? Because shot placement is the most crucial part of the equation of the question at hand. For example I don't shot mags w/o breaks that well for some reason. So for bigger game like elk I'd use my 280 or 308 win or 260 rem. If you do the math all 3 will provide enough kinetic energy to take down a bull elk. Mags just allow for a larger margin for error but at the same time depending on how you shoot it can increase that margin also. Fyi I've taken more oryx and nilgai which are very hardy animals especially the latter with my 22-6mm ai shooting an 80 gr sorocco all down within 15 yds with one shot.

Hope this helps. Stay in the 140 gr + range at 3k fps or around there and with the right bullet and placement ull not have to chase your target. Good luck on your hunt!

I agree with ya. However, I believe in bringing a larger caliber for Elk just in case there is a need for a long range shot. I agree that you need be familiar with your weapon's limitations, you never know up in the mountains what you'll be faced with. I've bulls as close as 50 yards away, and as far away as 400 yards away. My point is just bring enough gun to cover all the bases is all I'm saying.

ballistically any thing based off an 08 casing and 06 casing will provide sufficient kinetic energy with bullet weights from 140gr-180gr at 500 yds and in. most my shots at oryx and nilgai with that screamin 22-6 ai are between 150 yds and 200 yds.

this might help. do some research on the tko equation/ratio for ballistics this has served me well when im deciding on what caliber to build or use. also sectional density and bc (ballistic coefficient are important factors thats why the 7mm/284's and 6.5mm/264's are such phenomenal rounds compared to their 30 cal big brother at heavier grain weights.

remember its the nut behind the glass that has to do his part 99% of the time. most situations in hunting are operator error

my dad shot a 5x5 bull with a .243

I just did some ballistic camparisons between the 270 win, 30-06 springfield and the 300WSM. This is what I've found:

500 yards all with the Winchest XP3 150 grain:
Round Drop @ 500 Velocity
270 Win 39.0" 2086 FPS
30-06 SPRF 42.1" 1950 FPS
300 WSM 32.0" 2245 FPS

500 yards with diffence rounds
270 WIN all info is same as above
30-06 SPRF XP3 180 grain 45" drop and Velocity of 1957FPS
300 WSM XP3 180 grain 36.7" drop and Velocity of 2171 FPS
338 Win Mag Supreme Ballistic Silver Tip 200 grain has 42.3" drop and Velocity of 1922 FPS

Now, I know I didn't calculate energy, but to me, especially in the first comparison, they pretty much all match up. There really isn't a big difference in the 270 and the 30-06 and that's why there's that debate of "which is better". In the comparison with the same bullet, the 270 is 136 FPS faster and 2.1" flatter. To each his own. 270 is plenty to kill an elk.

Yep.

Last thing ill share. Its always good to compare ballistics like apples and apples:

Check your barrel length to the barrel length of the ballistics stated. Ill give you a great example. I have a 257 wby accumark that has a 26" barrel. With all factory data shown for that caliber it was shot using a 26" barrel. Now take a look at the vanguard model 257 wby it has a 24" barrel we chrono'd my friends and because the -2" it didn't even come close to 257 wby speeds out of the 26". Remeber powder needs time to burn in the barrel to get the max speed. 08 casing=22" barrel min for max velo 06 casing 24" barrel for max velo. Any mag 26" min barrel. Anything less and ur not getting true stats on the back of the box. Mass x velocity= kinetic energy! Take care hope I steered ya in the right direction. All the tech bs aside your 270 will work especially if you load.