Originally Posted by
builder459
The 270 has lost a lot of elk, including the one i found dead during the bow season in Utah, while there was a special cow elk hunt taking place. problem was the guy who shot it didnt find it, i did 2 days later! my rule of thumb for elk is the following. centerfire rilfes 200 + gr plus bullets,M/L 300 + gr plus bullets. i lived not far from where muley is and hunted ducks in his area and have seen to many lost elk by under gunned hunters..you old timers can shoot whatever you like..
Its not the .270's fault for not killing the elk. Either two are to blame with one standard. A The person did not make a killing shot, he nick the lung etc B He shot thinking it was closer then it was therefore the bullet dropped nickin the lung. It is the hunters fault. I've seen just as many people lose elk using a 30-06 up to a 45-70. Its all about shot placement. My aunt that lives in WYO has shot elk every year and a couple royals that are mounted with a .243 win. Also its about using the right bullet with the caliber. A .243 your going to use a 100 grain, .270 you use a 150 grain bullet, etc. Same way with a muzzleloader. We may all have a 50 cal. but I would using nothing under 300 grains for elk. But alot of the issue of losing game it taking too long of shots then what you and your rifle are capable. Plain and Simple. I don't know how many antelope I see every year with their legs blown up. But this is a never ending battle of what cal is better etc. We will never agree on this. I've just seen it personnaly that a .270 is more than capable of killing elk and so is a .243