The " 270 on elk thread" has been kicked around this board as much as a 20 year old soccer ball. But I' ll put in my cents in on this anyway.

It will kill and has killed a lot of elk, however I' ve seen it wound more elk than any other cartridge. There are guys out there like bigbulls who has a lot of success with a 270. However I do not feel a 270 is a reliable elk rifle. I think you have to have above average talent to be able to say " I' ve shot a 100 elk and all but one was dead in its tracks with one shot." Realistically most guys, and I mean like 95%, don' t have the much success with a 300 UM. Me included, I' m a pretty good shot but once in a while I miss. Sometimes I misjudge range or the wind. Sometimes a shot is uphill or downhill. Sometimes I hit the shoulder but with a big enough bullet with enough energy it doesn' t break apart and takes out his wheel.

If you' re a world class marksmen don' t give it a second thought but I would advise getting a bigger cartridge. If your dead set on using the 270 get the biggest bullet you can get which is a 150grs(still not an elk bullet in that caliber). And please don' t shoot much out past 200 yds with it. You would be unethical in my mind to try a 500 yd shot with a 270 on an elk, especially a big bull that weighs around 1000lbs.

In perfect conditions a 270 will kill an elk but you hit that shoulder at 200+ yds and I can about guarantee you' ll be tracking for the next two days. I don' t ask what a rifle can do in the best conditions, I ask what it can do in the worst conditions.

Again just my 2 cents.