re: the .270 Winchester for elk:
The smallest rifle I've used for elk is a 280 Remington with 160 partitions....so far that combo has resulted in two dead elk with two shots.
I loaded some 160 partitions for a friend with a .270 Winchester....same thing....dead elk.
My personal preference is for a larger bullet but one can't argue with what works.....and there's a lot of testimony here for the old .270 Winchester