Like I said bigbulls this topic has been kicked around and I don' t think it needs to be rehashed. If it works for you then by no means should you change. But firsttimeelkhunter is new to elk hunting and I just wanted to give the guy my opinion. I have never liked the arguement that a 270 will make an elk just as dead as a bigger cartridge. That is true in perfect conditions but in my opinion in less than perfect conditions that is not the case. I' ve just seen elk hit with a 150gr bullet from a 270 in the shoulder and seen em go two miles before they expire. I' ve seen the same circumstances with a bigger, heavier and faster bullet do a much better job. I' d put money on the fact hes not reloading either, so 150gr is the max. Some people can kill elk with great success with a 30-30 cause in their day thats all they had, they learned how to use it. But I feel there is learning curve where someone can do a lot of damage before they learn its limitations. I prefer just to suggest a better tool to limit the damage done by someone learning something new. I just don' t think a 270 is a very good elk rifle, I' ll never pack one for elk and neither will my kids.