My wife and a friend drew out on bull elk tags together. My friend (Jim) though growing up in wyoming has never killed a elk. He has only gotten into hunting in the past few years, after moving here to Idaho. The only rifle he owns is his late grandfathers Pre-64 M70 Winchester .270 bought new in the 1950's right before he (grandfather) passed away. The gun is in excellent condition and has never been on a hunt. Jim's father didn't hunt and didn't like guns much so the gun was given to Jim by his grandmother. Anyway according to Jim the gun has only been fired 200 times at most. Jim has no idea of the collectors value of his gun. I have tried to tell Jim the worth of his rifle, and he wants to know if he should borrow another rifle instead of using his .270? Jim doesn't have the money to afford a new rifle this year and he doesn't reload. He wants to use Remington factory 150gr core locks in his rifle for the elk hunt. I only have one experience with the .270. I shot my first bull elk with a .270 when I was 13 with 130 gr. corelocks with not the best results. I had to shoot him 5 times, before he went down. After that I used a .300 WBY, anyway would the 150 gr. be much better. Or should I convince Jim to use a better bullet? Also if you owned the rifle would you hunt with it? Just trying to help a friend out with advice!
Thanks.
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Vegetarian - Old Indian word for lousy hunter.
"The rich... who are content to buy what they have not the skill to get by their own exertions, these are the real enemies of game." -Theodore Rosevelt's Principals of the Hunt
Is he wanting to use the CoreLokts, or the Ultras? I may consider using the Ultras, but definately not the regulars. I would try to convince him to buy some better bullets. He will pay, what $5 more for a box of Federal Partitions. Heck that is barely two gallons of gas. I would try to tell him, that the .270 is marginal for elk anyway and needs to use the best bullet available that his gun will shoot well. All I can suggest.
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While it isn't one of my first choices the 270win will certainly kill elk.I would use a load that contains a premium bullet such as the nosler partition or the failsafe.
The 270 will kill elk with good shot placement on a broadside animal. I would not use 150 gr. Core-Lokt's. There are many controlled expansion loadings on the market today. Look for Federal Premium loaded with the Nosler Partition, Barnes X, or Trophy Bonded bullets. Winchester offers the fail-safe for the 270. There are numerous others but any mentioned should work nicely. Also, go with 140 gr or heavier.
If the .270 is what he's using here's a couple to consider. I'm sure there are some others commercially available. And some here will point to some handload options right from the loading books.
The .270 is plenty enough gun for elk hunting. It has enough power to spare should you need to shoot through the shoulders or take a raking, quartering away shot. Mine has accounted for 10 elk, 6 for me and 4 for my grandfather and I have yet to need a follow up shot and all but one bullet exited the elk.
I would advise him to use a better bullet than the core lokt bullet for elk though. Even if he were using a 300 mag I would not use corelokts on elk. Great bullets for elk include the 140 grain TBBC, failsafe, Barnes-X, & A-frame or the 150 grain Nosler partition. Use any one of these bullets and you will have elk in the freezer.
Oh yeah, You're dang right I would hunt with it. I would try not to drop it but I would certainly take it to the elk woods and fill my freezer.
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Thanks again everyone for the input! Like I said, I started shooting a .300 WBY at age 14. But I always used factory ammo, with nosler partitions in the .300 WBY with great results. On a side note I am working up a load right now for my ultra mag using the nosler 180 gr. accubond. But anyway back to the subject I just have to somehow convince Jim that he realy needs a quality bullet. I am so used to giving people advice with archery hunting and the products that come with that sport. That it should be easy to give advice with guns and bullets. But in no way am I even close to a expert with rifles/guns. My biggest problem is Jim's boss is a rifle hunter and claims to have killed everything under the sun with different calibers using factory Rem corelocks. I think I will give Jim some hunting mags/articles on this subject and let him learn from it himself.
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Vegetarian - Old Indian word for lousy hunter.
"The rich... who are content to buy what they have not the skill to get by their own exertions, these are the real enemies of game." -Theodore Rosevelt's Principals of the Hunt
I would use the 270 he has if I were him. I have a old Beretta shotgun that was my grandfathers. This shotgun is in like new condition with a market value of $20,000 to $25,000. I use two or three times every year blue grouse hunting. Just because my grandfather would want me to. After I shoot two limits of blue grouse with it for the year, it goes back into the gunsafe.
My point is his grandfather would be proud to know his grandson is hunting with his old 270. If your friend is like me he would never consider selling this rifle. So the market value of the gun means nothing. The memories are priceless.
Have him try the corelokt ultra bullet. He should also look at other premium bullets. Nosler Partition, Nosler Accubond, TBBC, Swift A-Frames, Barnes-X, Winchester Failsafe.
Just tell him bullets are like broadheads. Some bullets/broadheads work great on deer but just are not good enough to trust 100% of the time on elk.
The .270 is plenty enough gun for elk hunting. It has enough power to spare should you need to shoot through the shoulders or take a raking, quartering away shot. Mine has accounted for 10 elk, 6 for me and 4 for my grandfather and I have yet to need a follow up shot and all but one bullet exited the elk.
It sure is! I used one in Alaska for three years, and the ONLY GAME I did not kill with it was brown/grizzly bears. Everything else up there was easily taken with it, including Alaska-Yukon moose. My load was the 150 grain Nosler Partition bullet with 53.5 grains of IMR 4350....... If one is to use Remington factory ammo, bee sure it is the bonded-core Ultra Corelokts, or the stuff with Nosler Partition bullets......
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I personally would go with a winchester bullet. They have been making good bullets for a very long time, and their 140gr supreme failsafe is a perfect choice for deer, muleys, or elk.
A special .270 for elk?
After I shoot two limits of blue grouse with it for the year, it goes back into the gunsafe.
