Man if I had a 50cal bmg, I would hunt the poo out of that thing!
Just to clerify, we decided on the 7mag because he mainly hunts deer and it's a great deer round with recoil only slightly more than the 06. And Jim's brother gave him one free .

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

kirk1
Thanks for the response! Sorry if I hit a nerve, congrats on making do with the 270. Lets see here....
(1) It is important to read the words in the post! I didn't use the word magnum once in my previous post but you sure did. Let's see, 30-06 is not a magnum, 338-06 is not a magnum, etc. etc. but all are great elk rounds.
(2) Regarding the "nonsense" as I read it that was between the newbie and the master mechanic over the practice of tackling a big job under tooled.
(3) Regarding recoil/recoil-shy. If you only have a .270Win where for comes your opinions on recoil? Borrowing guns? Trading a few rounds here and there at the rifle range? Shop/Thread talk? First or second hand experience on that one? When I fire a shot hunting I don't feel any recoil nor hear any report in the normal sense - I'm focusing on the kill at that point.
(4) Regarding recoil, I noticed you failed to address the 16 year olds that are ripping of 3 fast rounds of 3 1/2 inch 12 gauge magnums with heavy waterfowl loads out of a light pump shotgun. I don't see them running home to mama to bandage their shoulders.
(5) Toughness versus recoil versus elk hunting, I'll stand by that one! Ever play football? Ever box? Karate? Some very worthwhile things involve risking some amount of pain or abuse. Elk hunting is definitely one of them, assuming there is no "road hunting" in this discussion then you know what I mean: fatigue, soreness, blisters, cold, discomfort. Sometimes you just got to "cowboy up" as a friend of mine says. Some rifle recoil (equal to a 3 1/2 12 gauge) is a small price to pay to be geared up in proportion to the animal you hunt - this "ain't" Bambi we're talking about here.
(6) 50 BMG? Getting a little bit out of the envelope on that one, comparable to me talking about using a 22 short on your end, but since we've sunk to that level.... When they can get a 50 BMG rifle setup that kicks like a 3 1/2 inch 12 gauge with heavy loads (so it is managable), and they get the weight down to 10 pounds (so its practical in the field), then I will probably be hard after one! Technology might take a while on that one so you're right it might be our kids using them.
(7) Bias, when a 270 is all you got and you've made it work you are going to defend it, but that doesn't necessarily make it bad a$$ed elk killer (elk whacker). So to get away from the bias, how about we hear from some folks who have a selection of rifles both larger and smaller than 270Win and see what they grab when it is time to go to the elk woods?

Edited by - eagle338 on 12/27/2002 00:37:29

270 is a great elk gun. Just because it isn't the best or there are other better choices, doesn't make it NOT a great elk gun.

The gun is just the tool. It's not the size of the boat, but the motion of the ocean if you know what I mean.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

223, 6MM, 270 (my 1st rifle), 30-30 (my dad's 1st/only rifle), .308, 30-06, 338 (2), 375HH, 45-70, 12ga (3), 10ga (2).

When we head to elk country I use the 375HH with 300gr partitions, my two twin boys (20 yrs and 165 pounds) use the two 338's with 250gr partitions and we take the 30-06 with 180gr partitions as the camp/back up rifle. I started them out with the 270 and the 308. Soon, they came to me asking for the 338's! No muzzle breaks. Recoil? "Dad its just not a problem!"

EKM

Good judgment comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!

Eagle, your the man, im not going to get into a pissing match, ive shot magnums and i turkey hunt and i wouldnt want to sit there and site in a rifle that kicks like a turkey gun and i dont see to many kids shooting 3 1/2 inch turkey loads at ducks. And ya i played football and wrestled from age 8 till graduation so i know a little about that. So eagle do your thing and ill do mine. you shoot your gun and ill keep getting the job done with my 270. And ya im going to defend it just like your defending (not using) it cause its to light. Everytime i see someone bashing it ill be right there throwing in my .02 cents.

Have a good day Eagle

http://members.aol.com/kleuenberg/hunting.html

I've already thrown in my cents on the 270 however I read where someone said that the 7mm mag isn't much better. This info is all on the Federal ammo website so you can check it out. Compare a 150gr partition bullet for a 270 to a 160gr partition bullet for a 7mm mag. If you use 1800 ft-lbs as a rule to take elk then the 270's range is 250 maybe 275yds for elk. The 7mm mag has 1800 ft-lbs out to 400yds. This means you have 150 more yds of range and thats a pretty big difference and you are using a heavier bullet while doing it. The 7mm may not be the best but it is a lot better than the 270. I think your friend will be very happy with the 7mm mag. I like it because it will kill elk out as far as you want and you can shoot deer with it without making him hamburger right on the spot.

kirk1
You bring up a valid point. Sighting in the scope on a big bore can take a real toll at the target range and requires some techniques to avoid developing a fear of the weapon in the process. I've found that one gets kicked more and harder at the target range than anywhere else, even a 270 or 3006 can get really tiresome and sore if you find yourself working on your second box of shells to chase down the zero-in. Too much time to sit there and think about what is about to happen when you pull that trigger - fortunately, not a problem when hunting.

I'm bumping this thread up to the front since we are currently embroiled in a "is a 30-30 a elk whacker" discussion (just kidding). Anyway questions have come up regarding my reference to an elk being shot by a 270 and running off. So instead of re-inventing the wheel since its all been said before - enjoy!

EKM

Good judgment comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!

just a few questions since this has been brought back up.
Which would be better, a 30-06 or 7mag? The 7mag has more velocity while the 06 has more weight and bullet diameter.

"Hey ya'll, watch this"

We've whipped this dog before!
7MM Mag vs 30-06: personal preferance equal arguments going both ways, either one beats a 270 and for sure beats a 30-30!

If you want to bust elk from any angle and be able to take 'em through the shoulder (and then into the vitals) so they can't run off and just generally bring LETHAL, OVERWHELMING FORCE to the hunt use a 338, it beats both the 7Mag and 30-06.

Never undergunned,

EKM

Good judgment comes from bad experience! Half of elk hunting is knowing what NOT to do!

Edited by - ELKampMaster on 01/25/2003 08:24:22