Hunting & Fishing 270 win - Elk

[MtnCreek]

A buddy of mine is going elk hunting in a couple of weeks. We shot yesterday using his 270win, 7mm rm and 300um. He shot much better with the 270 (his normal deer rifle) and it's a good bit lighter than the second best shooter (300um). Those will be the two rifles he takes on the trip. The 270 was shooting factory win 130gr ballistic silvertip; works fine for our whitetail here. He's looking for a factory 270 cartridge suitable for elk. Any suggestions? Thanks.

 

[stello1001]

I wouldn't feel undergunned with any of the bonded bullets. My dad has taken hogs with a .270 win using the Remington 130 grain core-lokt and even though they are tougher game, they go down.

 

[fdkay]

I would look at something like the Nosler 130 or 140 accubond or one of the Hornady loads in the 130-150 range (they have a new eld x load)

 

[WVC1119]

Try the 145gr ELD-Xs.

 

[K-tech]

One thing I'd advise from shooting different 270s is a lot of them don't necessarily shoot heavier bullets well (150ish) so if your rifle doesnt shoot a given weight it doesn't matter how good a certain bullet is. Make sure you know what your rifle likes. That being said I've always liked the Hornady SST

 

[powdahound76]

130s that shoot well. Ask Jack!

A well placed (accurate) smaller bullet works. See CBM's story of Jr with an 18" .260 on a cow elk at 500+ yds.

 

[stello1001]

One thing I'd advise from shooting different 270s is a lot of them don't necessarily shoot heavier bullets well (150ish) so if your rifle doesnt shoot a given weight it doesn't matter how good a certain bullet is. Make sure you know what your rifle likes. That being said I've always liked the Hornady SST

This is actually why I commented on staying with a bonded bullet in 130 grain. The OP already knows that the .270 performs really well with 130s in comparison to the 7mm rm and the 300 rum. SST is not a bad option.

 

[Jakebrake300]

My wife's Rem .270 loves 150g nosler partitions and almost puts them in 1 ragged hole! All factory rifle nothing fancy, it's dispatched several deer and bear, hopefully an elk this year..

 

[MTFalconer]

A well placed .270 in any size will put an elk down without question. I will confess to preferring .30 caliber for elk but that's me. When I guided elk hunts for my living I required customers to bring a 30 caliber. Mostly because there was entirely too many "dudes" coming out to hunt with smaller calibers that professed their skill only to take a bad shot that resulted in me having to track the fucker for miles and put it down with my 30-30. 30 caliber, just makes a bigger hole and makes a marginal shot into a kill shot. If he shoots the .270 better, take it and put it where it needs to go. Elk aren't moose. They are essentially large deer. It doesn't take as much as people think to put them down.

 

[kraigWY]

My "Go To" elk rifle is a Model 70 Featherweight 270 using Hornady InterBonds. Dont think they are made any more. When I run out I'll probably go to their 145 gr ELD-X

 

[JG26_Irish]

150g Nosler or Hornady. Someone mentioned partitions. Good choice. But, the comments about some of the 270's don't shoot the longer/heavier bullets as well. Test that. I use 130's for deer with Nosler BT's but my rifle shoots 150's more accurately. Would not use BT's for Elk. You will want it to penetrate more. Still even the BT's penetrate very well. I have only had one failure and it was a poorly placed shot on my part. Had to track it for about a mile. It did go down but it was not pretty. I am using an old Mauser Custom with a Douglas BBL. It is a very old custom.

Irish