ORIGINAL: bigbulls
I think it has more to do with the threads "talking down" to the non-elk-hammer shooters from right out of the gate so the "hammerless" folks got a little miffed about it.
My sentiments exactly..
But I think this goes beyond magnums. More is always better and in this case more is realistically more ethical but not always necessary.
This is a forum with all the forum quirks, I just shake my head when I read posts thatderide the 30/06 or 270 and yet turn around and extol the virtues of the 280 as a far superior cartridge.. Its not necessarily a magnum thing, but a cartridge cult where people place themselves in ‘cartridge camps’ and defend those idealistic ‘cartridges’ with "talking down" other common cartridges that are virtually identical in performance....
Personally I use a 270 and with my hunting group I have seen success and failures with both the 270 and 338 Win Mag on elk. All of the failures were bad shot placement with both calibers and I saw no leading trend that indicated one cartridge was superior over the other when the shot placement was not ideal. I am not a guide and a DIY hunter and my experience is limited since I work full time. I agree that more is better and more is ethical, but still the evidence that I have either experienced or seen with my eyes was not all that compelling.