rifle ? for elk

You really have to look at the total costs. If you are spending $600 to fly half way across the country, $40 in cab fares, $300 in motels, who knows what(a lot) for tags and license and $1000 for a guide who can get you into prime territory, does it really matter if the bullet costs 10 cents or 10 dollars?

Jack
 
I worked up a load for my .270 Win that sends 160 Partitions out at 2845 fps from my 20" barreled A-Bolt. They've proven very accurate, .75" at 100 and 1.3" at 200. They tend to make a very nice hole in whatever they hit.

I've also worked up a load for the 150 AFrames at about the same velocity as the 160 Partitions. They average about 1.2" at 100, and I've yet to shoot one into an animal, but I suspect they'd work very well.

Mike
 
150g partition or sierra boat tail would be great for elk out to at least 500 yards with a 270. As long as you put the bullet wehere it needs to go, that 150g .277" will get its way through there and cause more then enough damage.
 
NO question about it working.... it would.........I would personally want to have something that if I was to get too shakey seeing and hearing my 1st animal this large able to hit off the mark a little and still drop it. Its a long time before season. WIll your budget not allow you to get some kind of 7mm or 300 in 6 months or so?? Hell every hunter deserves on caliber bigger that a 30/06 dont they??
 
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The .270 is a great elk round. 150gr. patitions or sierra gamekings work very well. I'd sight in for 200 yards but that's my personal preference. Don't need a magnum to kill an elk.
bullpup
 
A lot of the choice of an elk rifle cartridge depends on they type of country you hunt. I've always felt that the 270 was a little light, especially in the part of Idaho I hunt.

Here it's steep and brushy with short range shots where a wounded elk can drop down into a brushy steep canyon that makes recovery a nightmare. That along with chances for shots at long distance across canyons makes a rifle with a little more power a better choice.

There's been a lot of elk killed with a 270, but I've helped friends dig them out of places where I sure wished I'd stayed at home.

My hunting partner has been using a 7mm Rem mag for better than 20 years with 175 grain bullets. I started hunting elk in Northern Idaho in the early 60's with a 308 Norma Magnum with Nosler 180's and then in 78 went to Remingtons 8mm magnum with 220 grain Sierra's. I've been lucky to never have one go more than a hundred yards.

Best I can say if your going to use your 270 is use a well constructed bullet such as a Nosler or a bonded core or one of the new barnes and practice shooting from field positions at all the ranges you want to shoot at. No gun will kill well if you don't have good shot placement.

Good luck on your elk hunt.
 
desertlongrifle,
I don't know what to tell you about the sighting in part. I went to Wyoming for the first time in 1970. Had a Pre-64 Model 70, .264 Win Mag. 3x9 Loupy on her. Went to longest range at home thinking I needed real long sighting in. Loaded 140 Gr. Boatails. Had it covered from 600 yds back to 100 yds. All written down on paper taped under my floorplate. Well, you know ole Murphys law...I shot an Elk at 110 yds. and a Mule deer at about 90 yds. So you never know what your going to run into. I guess I was glad I was prepared tho. We hunted off of horses. Very neat hunt.
Pinedale Wyo. area about 90 miles south of Jackson Hole...BTW 270 is a great Elk caliber. Jack O'Conner and his wife killed a lot of big critters with that caliber. That and the 7x57 Mauser.
 
150g Nosler Partition, sight it in for 200yds then shoot it at 300yds to see how much it drops. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grinning-smiley-003.gif It will work just fine with a wee placed shot.
Frank
 
the 270 is fine. sight in at 200yrds and practice practice practice... i personally use the 7STW with 150gr swift a-frames and they rock...
 
I agree with almost everything that has been said except for the weight of the bullet. The 150 grain bullet in the .277 diameter is about as overlooked as they get, yet a superior performer. However, the question arises as to what you need after you shoot the elk. Especially when something comes to the sound of a rifle shot looking for a gut pile. There are plenty of good and better elk cartridges out there and I am sure that any of them would perform well for you. But there is a reason the .338 Winchester is such a fine elk cartridge. It kills elk real dead, and it keeps other critters from finding out what you taste like. In that situation I think you want a medium bore with considerable horsepower and a premium bullet.
 
I use a 30-06 and it has always done the job. I am looking at getting my wife a new Elk rifle and I am thinking about going with the 308 or another 06.
 
You cant go wrong with a .270, It will kill them just as dead as anything else. I personally like my .300 win. mag. with a 180gr projectile for a little more insurance. I'd sight it in for 250yds, which only leaves 3-4in. of drop at 300yds, which on an elk sized critter is still right in the vitals.
 
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