Rifle advice

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tbird412s

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I currently own a Savage .270. I will be going Elk hunting this winter in western Colorado. I have considered purchasing a 7mm Rem mag or even a 300 wsm. Do I need to keep looking into a different gun and take the .270 as a backup or should I just buy premium ammo and chance it?
 
If your 270 is accurate and you like it, I'd get premium ammo. Premium ammo is good insurance against a ruined hunt because the ammo failed.


But I would never let that get in the way of buying a new rifle that I want. :D
 
Nope
I have hunted elk since I was a teen and I am not an old man
I used a 270 for many of them.
If you use a good 150 grain bullet it will kill elk as well as any gun out there. Don’t use Sierra Game kings or such bullets that come apart, but if you use a Remington “Cor-Loct”, a Nosler Partition, Barnes X, or any good bonded core bullet, you will have no trouble at all.
I know...I have done it several times and I have also killed them with other rifles, and seem many dozen killed with many more other rifles and calibers.
The 270 with a good bullet doesn't take a back seat to any that I have seen.
 
My BIL used his .270 for years on elk (and always got them). He just used 150 gr. nosler partitions (in Federal Premium ammo).

Now he just bought a nice used Savage .300 Win Mag as he had borrowed my Ruger 77 Mk II all-weather a couple times and liked it.

Use the right bullets and put them in the boiler and a .270 will do the job.
 
A 270 is not "chancing it" on elk. People regularly hunt elk with 243s.

270 is plenty.

Sure, there might be shots that you could take with some mega-boomer that you'd have to (if you're wise) pass with the 270 but the truth is they're probably shots you shouldn't be risking with the super-thunder-boomer anyway.

Plus, if the recoil and muzzle blast of the super-boomer have you flinching so bad that you can't hit an elk at archery distances then the "advantage" over the 270 vaporizes.
 
Like everyone else said, get premium bullets. The .270 is enough. This is from the winchester ballistics calculator.

270 win 140gr accubond

100 yards
2751fps
2350ft-lbs/sec

300 yards
2378fps
1756ft-lbs/sec

300 wsm 180gr accubond

100 yards
2823fps
3181ft-lbs/sec

300 yards
2470fps
2436ft-lbs/sec
 
Elk ar not APC's .... using a good 140/150 gr bullet designed to penetrate well (Accubond, Partition, A-Frame, TSX....) .... a hit to the boiler room from a .270 WIN at reasonable ranges WILL kill them.
 
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If you have money burning a hole in your wallet, go ahead and buy a 300WSM rifle. If you don't need another gun, a .270 will do the job. I have a friend that hunts every year with his .270 (with 150gr bullets) for elk and it does the job fine. Just buy some premium ammo and sight-in for your rifle.
 
A 270 is not "chancing it" on elk. People regularly hunt elk with 243s.
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While I agree that a .270 isn't chancing it with cartridge selection. I've killed elk with a .270 and .30-06 and used 150 and 180 grain bullets respectively. I used Nosler Partitions when I used the .270 Win and it will knock them just as dead as any other cartridge in the same class as a .30-06

However, I seriously doubt there are a lot of people who "regularly" hunt elk with a .243 Win. I only know of one person who has done it with what I call regularity, and he used it for two seasons as it was the only rifle he owned after his divorce. It worked, but he made sure that his shots were short, and broadside only. He has since upgraded to a .30-06 again.
 
I have either shot or been around over 100 elk that was taken with many calibers so I do have some experence. The 270 Win is a fine elk cartridge IF proper bullets are use. Nosler Partitions is the top contender for elk. Unlike a few I have had terrible results with Sierra bullets and also Remington Core-Lokt's.
 
taylorce1 said:
However, I seriously doubt there are a lot of people who "regularly" hunt elk with a .243 Win. I only know of one person who has done it with what I call regularity, and he used it for two seasons as it was the only rifle he owned after his divorce. It worked, but he made sure that his shots were short, and broadside only. He has since upgraded to a .30-06 again.
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Doubt it if you want but lots of women and plenty of others with an aversion to recoil hunt elk with a 243 and nothing but. It may not be "ideal" but it's entirely functional, better in fact, than believing shot placement and distance are irrelevant, as so many with the super-uber-thunder-boomers are prone to do.

Regardless, I believe we agree that the 270 is not remotely under powered for the purpose.
 
My vote is to stick with the 270.

I have lots of large (magnum) guns, 300 WM, 375H&H 416 Rigby, etc etc,

When I go elk hunting I take my Model 70 Featherweight in 270 Win. Its never failed me.
 
I think you will get consistent affirmation that the .270 is enough especially with proper bullet selection. Much can be said for being able to hit what you want with the rifle you take.

I for one don't think the 7mm is that big a step up. If I was to make a jump up from .270 I'd go right up to 8mm or larger caliber, specifically .338 win, .325wsm, or any one of many similar rounds.
 
I wouldn't buy a 270 as my elk rifle. But I would use it with confidence if it is what I had. Buy good bullets and go hunting.
 
I think the 270 would be OK for perfect shots...Less than perfect..nope.....I own two 270's.....It is a great long range whitetail round......300..338..I feel would be better........I have a couple stories bout that.......
 
Peet, my comment wasn't to pick a fight but to state that of all the years that I've hunted elk I've only ever seen one person use the .243 Win. I've been hunting elk for several years now, but my experience with it is still somewhat limited as I've only killed a 5 cows myself and been in on another dozen or so killed. While not an expert by any means, I don't feel your statement holds a lot water.

Yes the .243/6mm is the minimum caliber you can hunt elk with in Colorado as long as you use an 85 grain or heavier bullet. That said most women and 12 and up children I've seen and helped hunt elk have used more common cartridges like the .270 Win, .308, and .30-06. That said I'm starting to see more and more of the 7mm-08 these days. If the person who mentored these people have a clue about elk then they will wait until that person can usually handle shooting a larger caliber rifle than pushing them out into the field with a rifle the will be marginal for hunting elk.

Even though I have no doubts the .243 Winchester will kill an elk with proper bullet selection and shot placement. Plus with todays bullets it kills better than ever, but that still doesn't make it a good choice for elk. Most people who have never hunted elk before don't have a clue to the size a mature cow can reach let alone a mature bull but if they do their research will find very few recommendations for the .243 Win by experienced elk hunters and guides. In fact some guides and outfitters have minimum calibers that they will allow for hunting elk.

So I'll say it again, I think your statement that the use of the .243 is common for elk hunting isn't exactly true. I'm not saying it hasn't been done before. I just doubt your opinion of the .243 for elk has the statistics to back it up.
 
People regularly hunt elk with 243s.
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This has been my observation as well.

Professional Guides may require a certain caliber due to those they are guiding not being able to shoot and want their clients to have a little margin for error.

For example, I want to go on a guided hunt where the minimum caliber allowed is .375H&H. That's fine, and I would accomodate the Guide's desires, but I would prefer to use a .338 Magnum.

While the .243 is still with us, I see the 7mm-08 making inroads in to the .243 territory. It seems many newer shooters will select the 7mm-08 over the .243 today, but it's not really much of a step up in my opinion. Of course the ballistic tables only tell one side of the story. I have yet to find a 7mm-08 that is as accurate as a .243, and accuracy counts in my opinion. Bear in mind that it's been over twenty years since I last played with a 7mm-08 and have no desire to repeat the expirience.

Conventional wisdom, be it self defense or hunting, would tell you that a bigger bullet is a better bullet. With that said it's what the shooter can shoot accurately that is most important. "A hit with a 9mm is better than a miss with a .44 Magnum."

Guides don't want to track and lose game. I can understand that. That is why they have minimum caliber requirements. The Guide is being asked, or paid rather, to take an unknown quantity, the Hunter, and put them on the selected game animal. What the minimum caliber requirements do is remove some of the variables, IMHO.

.243 is fine for elk if the hunter knows their game, and their range dope, and they are willing to pass on questionable or poor shots offered.

Biker
 
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