.270 for elk?

PlainsRedneckOK

PlainsRedneckOK

New member
I was just wondering what everyone thought about this caliber for elk. If I do a buy a rifle I'd be using it as an all purpose gun, such as for: deer, antelope, hogs, possibly black bear/elk, and maybe coyotes. I'm wondering if you all consider a .270 sufficient for elk, and if so, to what distances and with what kind of loads? I trust everybody here, so I'm counting on you all telling me the truth about its performance in you all's real-life experience. Thanks.

P.S. Try to give me some factory loads if possible because I don't reload and don't understand reloading lingo. Sorry.
 
I'm pretty much exclusive to reloading so I can't reccomend rounds, and I don't have a 270, but a good friend of mine and his brother have killed literally dozens of elk with 270's. It's a great all around cartridge.
 
270 is plenty big enough for Elk. Have owned 2 of them and got rid of both. They just didn't like the larger bullets. Not only that, they kick more than a 30/06. Just my thoughts. One was a Browning A bolt stainless and the other one was a Browning a bolt black gun with that funny muzzle brake on it. Mabey its just the Brownings. What's wrong with .308 win???? Lots of 30 cal bullets to choose from.
 
I wouldn't hesitate to shoot elk up to 600 yards with a good 150g bullet out of a .270 Win.

I use to use 150g SBT's at 2950fps and I know it would make short work of elk to 600 yards, providing you put the bullet in the chest...I could consistetnly hit a 15" gong at 800 yards with my 150g SBT out of the Rem 700 .270 Win. It was a mighty fine rifle, dont really know why I sold it..

Anyone who says the 270 isn't adequate for elk, either cant shoot straight or there just lacking good common knowledge..
 
Well I shoot pretty straight and I've always felt I had common sense. Growing up and hunting here in Idaho I've been killing elk for durn near 50 years and I'd recommend something a little heavier.

If you've ever dug an elk out of a steep canyon bottom it may make you rethink the 270. Not that there's not been lots of elk killed with it and other smaller calibers, but something that will put them down and keep them down can be a real boon.

I've seen elk with their heart completely blown out run several hundred yards into the bottom of a frying pan canyon where you can spend three days winching and cursing and trying to get the meat out before it spoils.

I would look at a minimum the 06 with 180 grain bullets. Over the last 10 or 15 years I've given up on the heart lung shot and break the front shoulders. Remove the means of locomotion and Mr. elk usually goes nowhere.

When I started hunting elk in 1962 I began with a 308 Norma magnum (a ballistic twin to the 300 Win mag) shooting 180 grain Nosler partitions. In 1978 I Went to the 8mm Rem mag shooting 220 grain Sierra Boattails. I've been lucky in never having had an elk go very far with these combinations.

45 elk in the freezer later this seems to work. If you can shoot a bigger gun than the 270 I would. You'll hear the Jack O'Conner argument about the 270, but all I can say about that is when Jack shot that big elk there were a lot of elk around and he could pick his shot and if it ran to the bottom of the canyon after the shot his packers spent the time getting it out while he sat in camp all comfortable.

I'm not saying elk can't be killed with the 270, but I am saying there are better cartridges for that particular job. If your coming out west on a limited time guided hunt I'd bring something in the 7mm Rem mag, 30-06, 300 Win mag size loaded 175 grainers for the 7mm and 180 grainers for the 30's.

My 2 cents.
 
Ive always been a white tail/ bear hunter. Thats my extent of big game hunting. I know its excepted that 1000FTLBs id enough to cleanly pass through a white tail. Elk being much larger, I'd be comfortable with 1500 to 2000FTLBs for elk. Dont know if thats correct but thats how I feel.

You could do a search and come up with the FTLBs that are commonly excepted to pass shoulder to shoulder through an elk and compair that to the .270 ballistics. At 400 yards or so I think a heavy Properly constructed .270 bullet is only putting out 1500- 1600 FTLBs. I wouldnt push it to 600 yards... I prefur my game in 100 yards if possible. Thats the archerer in me. I do plan on booking an elk or moose hunt in the near future. Just have to come to an agreement with my buddy. I want moose with archery he wants elk out west. I have a Browning .325 WSM sitting in the safe thats never killed more than paper. That will be my choice if we go for elk. Even with that I'd like to keep it within 300 Yards.

Another aspect is bullet construction. I would go with the heaviest strongest bullet for pennatration with the .270. I've shot several white tail with a .220 swift. Great round for that but with a properly constructed bullet. Nostler Partition has worked great out of that. In my eyes I'd compair the .220 swift for white tails to a .270 for elk. About as small as you'd want to go and keep shots close.

This is just my opinion on ballistics. Ive never hunted elk. But plenty of bear and deer.
 
The .270 is an excellent choice for elk from my experience of watching close to 50 elk die from .270 bullets.

Use a good stout bullet like a 150 grain Nosler Partition or Barnes TSX and put the bullet between the slats of an elk and you will be punching your tag in short order. The stories of elk running for miles with lungs and heart shot up with a .270 are just tales of poor hits.

About a dozen years ago I bought into the outdoor mag hype that a .30 cal mag was needed for killing elk, so I bought a .300 Win Mag. After killing half a dozen bull elk, some caribou, and several bears, I honestly could not see any difference in effect on animals shot with the .300 over the .270. So, I switched back to using the .270 and have been pleased as punch.
 
Well, Idaho aint to much different from Oregon...

I've packed more then my fair share of elk out of the bottom of canyons. Not from them running down there, but from them dropping with shoulder shots, and them tumbling down all the way to the bottom. Come to think of it, I've helped track and pack elk that were shot poorly with 7 RM and 300 WM's, it aint no different then a bad shot with a .270...They werne't any of my elk, but when your hunting camp is 10+ strong, you sometimes got your work cut out for you when you start dropping elk in the canyons. And since I"m 21, Mr. Young buck according to all you old geezers, I have to pack your elk out of the bottom every year. Trust me, I know, you dont have to tell me. The elk are no different packing out when shot with a 270 vs a 300 Mag...

I've seen .270's kill elk since I was in hunting camp. Its all my dad used for 10 years and he never lost an elk?? Seen several others come to camp with .270's and collect there elk. I've seen them pushed to there outer limits, as I have with all calibers. A lot of shooting is done from cross canyon which is 300-500 yards. I will say a .270 w/a good 150g bullet at 2900fps+ is more then adequate for elk to 600 yards, providing you put the bullet where it needs to go. A 30-06/180g bullet isn't going to do any better, or worse for that matter, but I'll personally take a .270.

I'll agree with you though that if you can handle a magnum, and shoot it as well or better, by all means use it!! I have shot all my elk with magnums 7 RM, 300 WM, 300 RUM, but I know there not neccesary...They will kill elk well past 600 yards when put in the right spot...

FYI, I dont think elk require 1500 ft lbs to get have clean kills. I would think more along the lines of 1,000 ft lbs is more like it at the minimum end...To each his own..
 
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I've seen elk with their heart completely blown out run several hundred yards into the bottom of a frying pan canyon where you can spend three days winching and cursing and trying to get the meat out before it spoils.


In that case, it doesn't matter which caliber did the damage, now does it!
I killed 11 elk with my .270 win. before going to the 300 win. mag, and they both killed elk. I only shot two elk with the 300 winny before going to archery gear. My longest shot was 225 yards on a cow with the .270 and she ran about 100 yards before piling up. My shortest shot was about 40 yards on a cow and that was the only elk that I didn't recover my bullet and it was the only elk that I wasn't using the 150 gr. partition, instead that year I tried the 140 gr. fail safe and it went through the ribs on the near side and out the shoulder on the off side.
The .270 was my first center fire and I shot coyotes, deer, elk, and even one bobcat with it, and the only down side was it was hard on pelts. I used 100 gr. bullets on the predators, but it was still rough on them. I still got the rifle in the safe.
I remember the 1st year that I was at elk camp. I took a lot of ribbing from the other guys because I had a "BB" gun. Then /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif I made the mistake of shooting a showshoe and bringing it to camp to eat once, and that just threw more coals on the "BB" gun fire. It wasn't until I had a run of about 4 elk in 4 years that the fire died and they all saw that a "BB" gun in the right hands was plenty for elk hunting.
 
I love 270s and a 270 will kill elk just fine, IDBob does make a very good point.
I grew up with the ethic that 'hunting' was the sport, first blood claimed the animal as the hunter that got first blood hunted it. Now days and the legal system says it is the kill.
There are lots of hunters and not as many trophys, with that thought in mind;
I say a 270 will kill Elk just fine, in certain situations more power, more range, or bigger bullets might be a smarter choice.
Carl
 
Quote:
Quote:
I've seen elk with their heart completely blown out run several hundred yards into the bottom of a frying pan canyon where you can spend three days winching and cursing and trying to get the meat out before it spoils.


In that case, it doesn't matter which caliber did the damage, now does it!
I killed 11 elk with my .270 win. before going to the 300 win. mag, and they both killed elk. I only shot two elk with the 300 winny before going to archery gear. My longest shot was 225 yards on a cow with the .270 and she ran about 100 yards before piling up. My shortest shot was about 40 yards on a cow and that was the only elk that I didn't recover my bullet and it was the only elk that I wasn't using the 150 gr. partition, instead that year I tried the 140 gr. fail safe and it went through the ribs on the near side and out the shoulder on the off side.
The .270 was my first center fire and I shot coyotes, deer, elk, and even one bobcat with it, and the only down side was it was hard on pelts. I used 100 gr. bullets on the predators, but it was still rough on them. I still got the rifle in the safe.
I remember the 1st year that I was at elk camp. I took a lot of ribbing from the other guys because I had a "BB" gun. Then /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif I made the mistake of shooting a showshoe and bringing it to camp to eat once, and that just threw more coals on the "BB" gun fire. It wasn't until I had a run of about 4 elk in 4 years that the fire died and they all saw that a "BB" gun in the right hands was plenty for elk hunting.



Your right songdog with a heart lung shot any caliber may let an animal run several hundred yards. That's why I quit doing the heart lung thing a dozen years ago and just do a front shoulder shot anymore. Take away the means of locomotion and an elk won't go far. I shoot a heavy well constructed 32 caliber bullet and I don't get a lot of meat damage, in fact not near as much as friends whom shoot the 270 or even the 06 with 150 grain bullets.

My friends wife has been killing elk for lots of years with a 243. She does neck shots only and keeps her ranges under a hundred yards. She's never lost any of the 25 or so elk she's shot, but I wouldn't recommend that rifle as an elk gun either.

Lots of folks hunt elk with the 270 and are successful showing that this little caliber will kill elk. Folks that come here on a guided hunt with a time limit often take shots that you and I wouldn't. for those folks I'd recommend a heavier caliber if their able to shoot it accurately.

I've helped a friend who guides a few times and I've got to say I've never seen so many gut shot elk. Between plain old buck fever and so much excitement a fella can't shoot well and just plain lack of shooting ability you'd be amazed at what folks will do with a rifle.
 
A .22 will kill an elk with shot placement every time. However I have settled successfully in the .30 caliber side. I have even found two whitetails killed by other hunters that have run unbelievable distance after lung shots with .270. I have also blown the lungs out of a whitetail with my .300 WM, only to my surprise to watch him make a 70 yard thunderous run. He hit a tree so hard it broke his nose & jaw. With elk I prefer to bust them down if a good neck shot is not available. A high shoulder shot does well. The .300 WM flat has more power to put them down. My understanding is 1400 lbs is the general minimum for elk. 4-500 yards is a real real long shot for most hunters. .338WM is very popular for elk around here but recoil quickly becomes an issue with that caliber. Most areas here you want the extra power to put it down where you see it and have your running shoes on. The first person to tag it wins. I could tell stories all night of stolen kills. The best is a friend who killed three bulls before tagging one. Hunting grizzlies is proof that a.22 will do but that larger calibers perform better and in fact are preferred.
 
My wife is from Washington and has killed a number of elk with 270 and 06'.

I have killed a pile of medium-big game over the years, and have used a 270 of one type or another for probably 90% of them. About 17 years back I killed a big cow moose at 424 yards with a 150 grain Nosler Partition handload from a 270. Worked just fine.

The only elk I've taken was an old, big bodied, heavy racked 340 class 6 point. I used a 338 Magnum and 225 grain Nosler handload at 240 yards to drop him virtually in his tracks...

For what it's worth, I will add the advice of the guide with whom I took this bull (an old friend of many campfires). Billy prefers his hunters to use, and he emphasized be able to shoot, a 300 Magnum or 338 Magnum.
He said the lighter stuff kills elk just fine, but they often run far enough to end up at the bottom of a canyon, making recovery a difficult job...
 
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I believe a 270 is the low end of a good elk rifle. I used a 270 for elk and a good placement shot will bring it down. Some people have touched on a significant issue. I went to a 338 for elk because I hunt an area that if the elk runs over the ridge, two other hunters are pumping lead into it. I still have and use my original Savage 270 that was used when I got it at 13 over 40 years ago. I am putting a new stock and barrel on it to keep it going strong. That and my daughter will probably completely take it over then. I have dropped elk in it's tracks with a 25-06 but I would still prefer a larger caliber for elk. The 270 is a good all around caliber, great for deer and bear sized targets. That is my 2 cents worth.
 
Yes, the 270 is sufficient for elk. I have used mine since I was 15, and am now 51. I have never lost an animal hit with it.

Federal loads the Barnes Triple Shock in 270. Get a box in 130, 140 and 150gr., then use the grain that gives you the best accuracy. The use of Barnes bullets seems to 'one-up' the power level of the cartridge. The longest distance an elk covered when hit by my 270 and a Barnes has been 20-30 yards, all downhill.

Longest shot was a lasered 417yds, and he went about 15 feet. I was hoping to recover that Barnes, but did not. It went in the right side, out the left, back into the upper left leg, busted up the leg bone and went out into the hillside. Great bullets!
 
You can use the .338 Lapua and still have runaway elk.

The .270win is quite adequate with the proper bullet attached to the case and plenty of practice for the distance you intend to shoot. Place that shot correctly and that elk will go down.

A couple things that are obvious but sometimes overlooked when practicing.......

1. Get off the bench.

2. Make cold shot groups. For example, I can shoot out to 450yds just out in the back field. I will come home grab my backpack, rifle and head out to a spot in the field 325yds or more.....take one shot and put the rifle away. That is what you will get in the field so be ready to work on those one-shot per day groups and see what you get in a week or so.

3. Work on that second and third shot. If it's a bolt gun then learn to bolt in that second and third round. When you hit the elk dont wait for it to go down. Start working that bolt with accuracy until the elk goes down or you are out of ammo.

I use the .270 with 140gr Nosler Partition. Only prob I had last fall was getting into an area that missed the migration by 3 days....no elk. But I was ready, baby.
 
My friend has used a .270 for years on elk(and everything else). No problems whatsoever. He keeps his shots inside 300 yards and uses good bullets. Elk aren't bullet proof, you just need to put the bullet where it needs to be. And I agree with the above statement. Don't stop shooting untill the elk is down.
bullpup
 
Thanks for all the input guys. If I am to buy a rifle any time soon the .270 would definitely be one of my top 3 choices caliber wise. If anything, though, you all have given me a big confidence boost that should definitely come in handy if I am to take it elk hunting. Thanks again.
 
a 270 is a fine all around cartridge and you would be hard pressed to find a finer one
Personally I think that any elk shot with any rifle cartridge stands a chance of ending up at the bottom of a canyon
If it was so easy everyone would be doing it
 
I have killed lots of elk with my #1 in .270. I have shot a few with a .375 H&H mag and, frankly, the .270 did a better job. The biggest factor is shot placement. I have been using the .270 caliber for almost 50 years, it is my choice of caliber, imo, second to none.
 


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