I dont know that the 50 gr bullet of a 223 would have done the job. If i would have hit an inch lower i would have missed the spine and just got the lungs, the only differance would have been we wouldnt have found the bullet. He was still a very dead elk. The 270 has the same ballistics with a 150 gr bullet as the 300 does with a 180 gr bullet. It puts very nearly the same size hole in the lungs or other places. The only place that i could see it mattering is if you shot it in the shoulder. And yes i think at the long range then it would probably break the shoulder and maybe get one lung, but not both. But that is called shot placement. If you miss it doesnt matter what gun you use.