pinto,

Using different size tools for different size jobs and conditions--- good concept.

Difficult for most folks to grasp but a good concept.

if you are a 7mm man ,, why not look at the 7mmwsm ???? shoots a little flatter than the 207wsm and has more energey???????????,, me I own 2 - 270win, and a 270wsm, along with a 300wsm, and I use all on whitetail, and the wsm shoot great, and preform even better. the wsm have deffenty here to stay with more and more bullets being made, so I feel its a good thing,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,

I've seen John Barsness write that the 270WSM with comparable bullets and shot placement kills like the 300 WSM but with less recoil. I thought that was kinda funny and probally right on the money.

I have to agree.For elk and moose the 7mm bullets are a better choice.

Yeah, the 270 WSM is the first gun I would buy if I had money to burn on yet another rifle. But, if you handload (i do) you can get really good performance out of a standard issue 270. A great round no matter what size brass you push it from! EJ

HuntElk4Fun
I may have misunderstood, but are you seriously considering starting your 12 year old son on a 7mm Magnum? I have a son that is 12, and he shoots a 270 which is all he wants in recoil. My son is a big boy for 12 and without a Simms pad his 270 is pretty stiff. I shoot a 300WSM whichmy son can shoot just fine, BUT it has a full bull barrel and weighs almost 12 lbs. I would hate to see you start your son on such a hard recoiling caliber that might discourage him from wanting to shoot. At that age, it needs to be fun and not painful.

I love to hear of Dads that want their sons to hunt with them. Good luck with whatever you decide.

270 WSM is my favorite round.....I have 243, 260, 7mm-08, 308 ,45-70, 357 Max, and 460 S&W

I personally started out shooting a 7mm at age 12. We have some very good light loads for the rifle, when combined with good butt pads, etc. Wish we had these fancy butt pads when I was a kid! Also, we had a 270 featherweight in the house as well and it kick the worst. I have thought of these things and he has shot my 7mm before as well. He is a very big kid and his brother is even bigger (only 10!). Both the 270 WSM and 7mm are very similiar when you look at recoil tables, etc.

With this all in mind and everyone's opinions (thanks)I think I'm going to get the 270 WSM for him. A little less kick, little lower loads, etc. All of it adds up to a gun I think he can handle, yet, drop an Elk when needs be.

I wonder how a 270 WSM would fit a 12 year old kid as a first rifle. The WSMs don't really weigh much less than a standard magnum due to the need for the 24" barrel. I would buy the youngster a compact 7mm08 like a model 7 or Browning Micro. When he gets physically bigger then get him a standard size magnum for elk but my guess is he will never part with the 7mm08 as a deer rifle and it would serve as backup for elk.