Hello there Super. It sounds like your family has had some great hunging experiences! Your post is interesting to me in that it appears your have a choice of calibers larger than .270, but select the .270 for your hunting needs. When asked, mosts folks say "Caliber (< 30-06) .XXX is all you need and a larger or forbid, MAGNUM is "overkill". Usually,this is because caliber .XXX is the onlygun they own, so it "must" be adequate. Have you hunted with .30-06 class or larger cartridges for elk, and still choose to carry the .270? I don't own a .270 (or a .30-06 for that matter), but I have a 7x64 that is comparable, that to me is a deer gun. I sure feel better carrying .338+ for elk. What are your experiences with > .270 class cartidges on elk? Thank youfor your time.