I admittedly have a bias towards .30 cal on up for elk and bears. If you don't break them down with the shot, I REALLY like big obvious blood trails to follow and that is really the ONLY beef I have with smaller calibers on elk or bear where the thick hide and/or fat under it can plug a smaller hole.
If you place your shots in the shoulders or CNS with anything reasonable, there isn't going to be much difference between a 270 WSM and a .460 Wby Mag.
Granted they aren't going to go too far on a double lung shot either, but again a little extra blood on the trail gives me the warm and fuzzys.
I never shot an Elk with a 270, but one heck of a lot of 'em fall to it every year here in Oregon. I think that the 270 WSM with 150 grain premium bullets shoould be just fine if the shooter does his part.
That being said, 270 Win is the lightest I would go for Elk if you are not a local. The locals can decide to pass on a tough shot and come back tomorrow. Out of towers may want the capacity to take a quartering away shot at 250 yards. The 270 WSM gives you a little more ooomph and is probably going to penetrate well under such circumstances.
Just my 2 cents . . . .
BMT
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I would certainly not buy that cartridge if I were planning to make it my "elk" rifle. I'm with Muley Stalker on this 100% Elk are big powerful animals that can run a long way dead on their feet. It would be a shame to lose one because it left no blood even after a vital shot was made.
In my opinion Elk rifles begin at .308 diameter and get better and better as diameter increases. I would also say that bullet weight of 150 grains is awefully light for animals of 600-800 pounds. It becomes unlikely you will get exits with bullets that light unless perfect broadside shots are taken and no bones hit. Quartering away shots are also very difficult for lighter bullets and near impossible for an exit hole to add blood to the tracking job.
If it were all I had and the personal dicipline was there to take only the right shot I would use it. However for general elk hunting I would much prefer a heavier bullet and a bigger bore. That's just my opinon though.
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A lot of elk are killed with 270s. Those that are (that I know about) are shot by very experienced hunters who have the luxury to wait until the perfect shot presents its self or as was said earlier, to come back tomorrow. But a 270 would not be my first choice of elk rifle calibers.
Remember, every 100 yards of tracking a wounded elk can add hours to the job of getting one out! Better to use a bigger caliber. The older I get the smarter ol' Elmer Keith becomes. User big heavy bullets which plow through muscle and bone.
I, for one, would choose a 30-06, 338-06, or a 35 Whelen over a 270.
While I'm sure the .270WSM will kill a lot of elk, as did its predecessor, I wouldn't pick it as a designated elk rifle. While Elmer's ".33 and 250 grains" rule may be obsolete with modern bullet technology, you can't go wrong following it. And you help avoid those tiresome gunfights over an elk carcasse with two different sizes of bullet hole in it. I prefer to do all my hunting prior to the shot.
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I'm in the experimenting stage on elk with this gun. I've used the 270 WSM for the past two years. Last year I used the factory 150g bullets. This year I worked up a load with the 140g Barnes TSX. The 140g @ 3300+fps out of the 270 WSM has more ft/lbs energy than a 168g out of my 30-06 and is flatter shooting. I think it will be a good gun with the standard caveat of careful shot placement.
I'm a local. I can wait for tomorrow for a better shot. I take pride in taking good solid shots. I use premium bullets that go all the way through. Last year's elk dropped in it's tracks when hit with the 150grain.
Rarely have I had to track an elk. They usually drop very close to where they are shot. But if I think there is a risk of finding them, (i.e. real heavy timber) I'll take the shoulder out instead of a behind the shoulder shot.
The plain jane 270 kills alot of elk every year, so the new version with its reported faster velocity will do it to. Bigbore's and heavy bullets are nice , but a poorly place shot is still a poorly placed shot. If you have confidence in the gun and load the shot will most likely be on the mark, no matter how far you are from home.
the most expensive bullet there is isn't worth a plug nickel if it don't go where its supposed to. www.historicshooting.com
No doubt it will work--that 140 at 3300+ ought to melt the lungs on a behind the shoulder shot. My pal in Idaho uses the .25-06 with partitions and gets his every year--he nearly cracked up when I brought a .338. The difference is for him, there's always next weekend. For me, there ain't. <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/mad.gif" alt="" />
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A 338 of some sort will give more dramatic results and generally mean less tracking. The truth is however, any decent cartridge from the 260 Rem up will kill elk with a good bullet in the right spot. A mature bull is quite a different critter than the average cow/raghead so it's wise to stack a bit more power in your corner for those boys. I'd not feel one bit handicapped with a 270 WSM however. I was up at our ranch the other day banging away with my 338 WM on targets. A neighbor rancher was moving cows down the road and stopped to talk. He asked what I was shooting and I told him... he shook his head and laughed and wondered out loud why anyone would use such a cannon for elk rather than a vanilla-grade 270! He's an old timer in his 70's and has been outifitting on elk for fifty years and has never seen the need for more than a 270.
If you've got your heart set on the 270 WSM don't let anyone talk you out of it!
“Perfection is Achieved Not When There Is Nothing More to Add, But When There Is Nothing Left to Take Away” Antoine de Saint-Exupery
Sometimes I think people get to involved in filling their tag, and take shots that shouldn't be taken with any caliber. I like most calibers and the big magnums are alot of fun, but too many times I've seen them turn good shooters into excellent flinchers.
the most expensive bullet there is isn't worth a plug nickel if it don't go where its supposed to. www.historicshooting.com
I think Muley Stalker's initial reply was a good one, though my personal bias is toward the 7mm's. It seems the topic of elk cartridges spawns heated discussion matched only by optics!
I don't have anywhere near the experience that you have. But in my limited experience being on hand while elk were taken, the bigger guns definately drop them faster, even with the same vital hit.
There are exceptions to every circumstance, however, as I have stated on prior posts on this subject, the east coast dude that has 5 - 7 days to get it done needs every advantage they can get. I would LOVE to be able to hunt an entire season for elk, moose, or even any of the African game animals that you hunt with a lighter rifle, looking for a perfect shot. But that just ain't in the cards right now. So with limited time and money, I'll stick to the boomers (as long as I can shoot them well).
I'll tell you that the most impressive performance my buddy and I have seen on moose, elk and sheep has been with the 300 RUM shooting 180's and 200's. I have not shot any game with my 338 RUM yet, but I am willing to bet that it also is a big hammer.
I have a good freind that has used the 338 rum on 2 elk and 1 muley buck. It definetyly works. I was surprised at how easy that thing is to shoot even with the plastic stock. Gotta have good scope rings the weavers would shake loose after about 6 rounds when we did the initial sighing in.
the most expensive bullet there is isn't worth a plug nickel if it don't go where its supposed to. www.historicshooting.com
Really funny, I just got the latest Peterson's Hunting. Craig Boddington wrote a great article on all the new mag. rounds.
He stated of all of the mags. he has tried, he stated that sees the 270WSM as the ultimate sheep/goat/antelope cartridge and the 338 RUM as a fabulous elk/moose/bear round.
He also stated that of them all (7mm and 30 cal mags), the only one that really caught his eye was the Laz Warbird (30 cal). Said something about it was kinda fun having the fastest 30 cal !! He also said that it was not a joy to carry on a sheep hunt either.
No doubt, with good stout 150 grain bullets like a Partition in the 270 WSM, I certainly would not fret if that was my only choice of rifles.
There just are better choices that create a larger margin of error for someone who is time constrained.
So far I have taken elk with a 300 WIN and a 300 RUM and have been present when other elk have been taken with a 300 RUM, and a .270 (regular). My observations are that the bigger guns were more effective. My son killed a large cow with his 270. While the first shot was right behind the shoulder, the cow wasn't impressed. While the elk taken with the other rounds dropped in their tracks with similar hits. His shot did the job but it made for an exciting few minutes !!
I'm not a fan of Boddington so if he says something good about something I usually head the other way, but that's just me. I can't stress enough, it don't matter the time constraints of a hunt or the caliber of choice, if the shot presented is a bad angle or excessive range its just best to be satisfied to go home with a pocket full of memories and the hope of trying it again. Elk have and will be killed with all types and sizes of weapons. Pick the biggest baddest caliber you can shoot well, and head for the hills. If it happens to be a 243 enjoy your hunt and the winters meat. One thing you very seldom see is the fact that on average 60 percent of the elk hunters every year go home without filling a tag. So if you're unsuccessful you are in good company.
the most expensive bullet there is isn't worth a plug nickel if it don't go where its supposed to. www.historicshooting.com
The 270 WSM is probably the short mag I will eventually purchase. Mainly because for me, it does something the standard doesnt. As much as I like to question the short mags, the 270 and 300 WSM are interesting to me. The others, I havent made up my mind. I would think with a good Barnes X bullet coming out of that 270 WSM, and a decent shot, and you should be ok. I read Craig Boddington's article also, one must remember, Craig is a 30 cal fan. Nothing wrong with that, just understand he is. A key consideration I would have is, if the bigger boomers you find uncomfortable to shoot, then dont, but just make sure you are using a premium bullet that retains a high percentage of it's weight.
