is the 270 a elk whacker?
12-03-2002, 10:37 PM
#21
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Seattle, WA
Posts: 917
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
I've shot a few elk with a .270 Wby Mag, and it kills them as well as anything else. I've seen a few shot with a .270 Win, and it also seems to do a fine job. If that is what you have and you shoot it well, go for it.
Also, you'll get absolutely no advantage by using a .30-06. Less energy and less range beyond 200 yards is what that will accomplish for you, and that is not what you're after when chasing elk.
And follow the advice of others here who tell you to shoot for the shoulder.
Good Dogwork and Good Hunting
Edited by - seattlesetters on 12/04/2002 11:01:37
Also, you'll get absolutely no advantage by using a .30-06. Less energy and less range beyond 200 yards is what that will accomplish for you, and that is not what you're after when chasing elk.
And follow the advice of others here who tell you to shoot for the shoulder.
Good Dogwork and Good Hunting
Edited by - seattlesetters on 12/04/2002 11:01:37
12-04-2002, 01:27 PM
#23
Giant Nontypical
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Saskatchewan Canada
Posts: 6,921
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
I have killed elk with a 270 win, using 140 gr failsafe and 150 gr parts. I also limited my shots to 250 or under and a piece of the vitals was required...maybe not fully broadside but something in the rib. Now I never had to make a heated desicion...my elk offered me with what I wanted at a distance under 200 yards...result was 3 dead bulls with a 270 win.
Like others have stated real hunting conditions, individuals practice sessions or even ethics...are very different. If your buddy is a decent shot, willing to practice and limit his range or shot opp then he'll be fine with a prem. bullet and a 270. However if he is going to fling them at 400 yards and take marginal shots then he better go to a bigger gun that will help in busting the bones a bit. I certainly wouldn't want to rely on my 270 and a 300 yards shoulder shot on a big bull elk...hell not even one of our big mature whitetails...but I am me and know my limits. I have passed shots due to not knowing for sure, if you can do this then any caliber will do. However BJ is stating like it is, a new elk hunter(or hunter) can often not make the right decision when the opp. is presented and emotions or whatever get in the way of a rash decision...leading to poor shot animals (lack of experience not gun power).
Like others have stated real hunting conditions, individuals practice sessions or even ethics...are very different. If your buddy is a decent shot, willing to practice and limit his range or shot opp then he'll be fine with a prem. bullet and a 270. However if he is going to fling them at 400 yards and take marginal shots then he better go to a bigger gun that will help in busting the bones a bit. I certainly wouldn't want to rely on my 270 and a 300 yards shoulder shot on a big bull elk...hell not even one of our big mature whitetails...but I am me and know my limits. I have passed shots due to not knowing for sure, if you can do this then any caliber will do. However BJ is stating like it is, a new elk hunter(or hunter) can often not make the right decision when the opp. is presented and emotions or whatever get in the way of a rash decision...leading to poor shot animals (lack of experience not gun power).
12-04-2002, 03:39 PM
#24
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location:
Posts: 1,168
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
i prefer larger diamaeter bullets in hunting myself, mind you i dont want them going really fast i just like larger bullets. so i think a .35whelen would be my choice for larger game. how ever there is no reason not to take the .270, load some deep penetrating bullets and voila a dead elk.
propmahn
save the world, reload your brass
propmahn
save the world, reload your brass
12-05-2002, 06:28 AM
#25
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Glen MT USA
Posts: 72
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
I have have went through the whole nine yards of leads for my 270. I have used 130`s they were ok then I went to noslers 150 patitions then to the solid bast boatails and ended up going to 140 balistic tips and like them alot but I reload my own shells and thats a different topic. For the 270 taking an elk size animal yes but if you don`t know any animals anatomy thinking you know what stot placment is, is no good. I have taken over 30 elk with my 270 and even shot a few out there ways and never lost one or had to track one for over 50 yards. What this whole thing comes down to is practice in the field and confidence in the gun you shoot and knowing your ability to make a good shot.
12-05-2002, 03:22 PM
#26
Typical Buck
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky (by God!) Mountings
Posts: 572
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
Right you are buckaroo. So a newbie thet shoots "one box a year" and is only a passable shot an' likely to be excited when gettin' a shot should look at a larger caliber and practice unner field conditions. And fer the record, there ain't no such thing as an' elk whacker. I've seed elk try to git up after bein' hit in the neck with a 300 Weatherby at 27 yards. Also seed a cow take a 45-70 thru both shoulders an' manage to run a 1/2 mile, with one leg danglin'. Elk are bout the tuffest critter pound fer pound on the mountin'. Greenhorns with 270s and 243s outta be run back home.
BJ
Edited by - BeaverJack on 12/05/2002 16:28:35
BJ
Edited by - BeaverJack on 12/05/2002 16:28:35
12-05-2002, 05:26 PM
#27
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Glen MT USA
Posts: 72
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
Jack it sounds like you only hunt with a big caliber rifel or nothing and from what you have said about shot placment that would put bowhunters out and muzzelloaders also because without good shot placment there would be alot of wounded critters and coyote bait. This is what hunter education is about being an ethical hunter. Man this could go on for ever but what was asked was simple question.
Lets take a little time and see where we should be shooting and be a more resposible hunter.
Check out
http://www.nbef.org/elk_java.html
Lets take a little time and see where we should be shooting and be a more resposible hunter.
Check out
http://www.nbef.org/elk_java.html
12-05-2002, 10:44 PM
#28
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado
Posts: 1,964
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
Buck, given your "in the field - elk in the crosshairs", experience I'd feel pretty good about having you in camp and knowing I DIDN'T have to worry about you wounding and losing an elk shooting that .270 of yours. Of course, sounds like you shoot a lot, have hunted a lot and you have some "rings under your bark" as I've heard someone say. Problem is what is it that the "newer" hunter described in the first post has really done with a deer or two under his belt?"
1. Odds are he was hunting close to home.
2. Odds are he wasn't taking a week or two off to do it.
3. Odds are he came across his deer fairly easy, since most deer spend most their life in a very small area and when disturbed run 100 to 150 yards stop turn broadside and look at you (except the old big ones).
4. Odds are he wasn't spending $2,000/$3,000 for a two week elk hunting vacation (not for outfitting - just cash out or lost wages).
5. Odds are that the same .270 shot that might have been a bit off and still dropped his deer WON'T drop an elk if it's off similarly (especially if the guide don't get him closer than 300 yards!)
Now lets take the same "newer hunter" on a wapiti hunt with a outfitter that sounds a bit shakey and all of a sudden it's a "command performance."
1. He's been gone from home 3 days already.
2. He may be intimidated by the other hunters in the outfitters camp and the talk of 300 to 400 yard shots.
3. He may not even seen an elk the first day or the elk he saw may not have given him that nice "curious deer standing broadside" and he lost them when he had them.
4. He may be thinking about getting home and hearing, "That elk hunt cost you how much AND you irritated the wife by going AND you came back with nothing, not even a shot?"
5. Now he gets a second chance and all of a sudden the hunter education, hunter ethics, and "do the right thing" go right out the window and he lays a shot on an elk that you would have passed on - less than ideal - near the vitals, maybe even clipped them - at that point bigger is better = more damage, more shock, more penetration (bone smashing).
I've got a young lad in the family from Washington that I haven't met who is wanting to join us next year with 1 deer under his belt and a .270 in his hand. I'm excited he's interested yet I'm a bit worried. I want to get him out in the elk woods, but will probably try to talk him into using my .30-06 "camp gun" with Federal's High Energy 180gr. partitions just to give both him and the elk a little insurance.
Just an observation: those elk hunters that have a choice of rifles don't leave the bigger bores at home in favor of the smaller ones unless they're having trouble carrying the heavier rifle.
EKM
Good judgement comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!
Edited by - ELKampMaster on 12/05/2002 23:56:02
1. Odds are he was hunting close to home.
2. Odds are he wasn't taking a week or two off to do it.
3. Odds are he came across his deer fairly easy, since most deer spend most their life in a very small area and when disturbed run 100 to 150 yards stop turn broadside and look at you (except the old big ones).
4. Odds are he wasn't spending $2,000/$3,000 for a two week elk hunting vacation (not for outfitting - just cash out or lost wages).
5. Odds are that the same .270 shot that might have been a bit off and still dropped his deer WON'T drop an elk if it's off similarly (especially if the guide don't get him closer than 300 yards!)
Now lets take the same "newer hunter" on a wapiti hunt with a outfitter that sounds a bit shakey and all of a sudden it's a "command performance."
1. He's been gone from home 3 days already.
2. He may be intimidated by the other hunters in the outfitters camp and the talk of 300 to 400 yard shots.
3. He may not even seen an elk the first day or the elk he saw may not have given him that nice "curious deer standing broadside" and he lost them when he had them.
4. He may be thinking about getting home and hearing, "That elk hunt cost you how much AND you irritated the wife by going AND you came back with nothing, not even a shot?"
5. Now he gets a second chance and all of a sudden the hunter education, hunter ethics, and "do the right thing" go right out the window and he lays a shot on an elk that you would have passed on - less than ideal - near the vitals, maybe even clipped them - at that point bigger is better = more damage, more shock, more penetration (bone smashing).
I've got a young lad in the family from Washington that I haven't met who is wanting to join us next year with 1 deer under his belt and a .270 in his hand. I'm excited he's interested yet I'm a bit worried. I want to get him out in the elk woods, but will probably try to talk him into using my .30-06 "camp gun" with Federal's High Energy 180gr. partitions just to give both him and the elk a little insurance.
Just an observation: those elk hunters that have a choice of rifles don't leave the bigger bores at home in favor of the smaller ones unless they're having trouble carrying the heavier rifle.
EKM
Good judgement comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!
Edited by - ELKampMaster on 12/05/2002 23:56:02
12-05-2002, 11:21 PM
#29
Nontypical Buck
Thread Starter
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Gleason, TN
Posts: 1,327
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
Elkamp, you speak words of wisdom. Very intuitive of you. I've known this hunter for a few years, he's a great guy. But your typical Georgia hunter. Lots of deer, easy to get a few every year if you can wait a while. But he doesn't know nothing about elk. Or his gun. He found a setup that worked years ago and stuck with it. When I explained to him how tough an elk is, I overheard him talking to a few of his buddies about how he may take his 12ga. to have more "shocking" power (he may have been joking)... Good luck on long range shots with that. I explained how he would be much better off to use his 270 and to leave the 12ga at home.
I'm tring to talk him into buying a larger gun for this hunt. Tring to make it sound cool like having a "safari" type rifle. One used for big hunts and the like. "You spend thousands of dollars for a guided hunt and your gonna use your plain old deer gun?!? A hunt of this caliber deserves something more special than that." I'm warming him up for it though.
I know he wants an elk bad, I just don't want him to have a heartbreak. Any suggestions on a better elk caliber and/or new outfitter? I've been scammed on elk hunts before i.e. like them having only one elk on the property, hidden charges etc. Something just sounds fishy about this guy.
"Hey ya'll, watch this"
I'm tring to talk him into buying a larger gun for this hunt. Tring to make it sound cool like having a "safari" type rifle. One used for big hunts and the like. "You spend thousands of dollars for a guided hunt and your gonna use your plain old deer gun?!? A hunt of this caliber deserves something more special than that." I'm warming him up for it though.
I know he wants an elk bad, I just don't want him to have a heartbreak. Any suggestions on a better elk caliber and/or new outfitter? I've been scammed on elk hunts before i.e. like them having only one elk on the property, hidden charges etc. Something just sounds fishy about this guy.
"Hey ya'll, watch this"
12-06-2002, 05:50 AM
#30
Join Date: Feb 2003
Location: Glen MT USA
Posts: 72
RE: is the 270 a elk whacker?
EKM very well said I like it much. Its just thats the gun I grew up with and have confidence in but since my father has past away I am going to shoot his 300HH next season for a change and it has great nock down ability. I do think the 30-06 is probly a better choice for this guy to take.