Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

So I' ve got the .270 I' ve had since I was 12, and I know that gun better than the back of my hand - with bigger cartridges, would you have a problem taking it to the top of a mountain looking for elk? Or ' should' I invest in a nice .300 or .338?

Let the debate begin! :D

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

If you are comfortable shooting the 270 and can put a bullet where you want it then I think it would be a better choice than something you may not shoot as well. Bigger isn' t always better.

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

Hehe. Trust me, I' ll shoot it just as well... I' ve shot plenty of stuff that size, just not full-time. If it came down to it and I ' should' move up a few sizes, I' d be plenty practiced up before I hit the mountains, doncha worry about that. :)

Simple: would you be comfortable with a .270 shooting the biggest elk in the world?

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

Placement is key ;), enough said [:-]

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

From your wording this sounds like a theoretical question.....

What state and GMU are you hunting elk in this year?
If you don' t have a tag, and you aren' t making the trip, then it just don' t matter.
It is just that simple.

Never Go Undergunned

EKM

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

LOL. Fair enough. Sorry, I' ve got aspirations for one of those ' once in a lifetime' hunts in 2004 or 2005, so I' m doing a lot of thinking.

And I plan to hunt elk or bigger at least every other year for the remainder of my life, so... wouldn' t hurt to get proficient with the new, bigger gun now, right? :D

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

FL/GA Hunter,

I know what you mean I have been thinking about hunting elk and looking at elk rifles, shootin (hunting buddys) elk rifles. Since about 1994, keep putting it off, always seems like my elk hunt $$$$$ ends up elsewhere. I still think about huntin elk. But I will buy elk rifle next weekend. I am going for .338 win mag. Why. Simple. I have several .308,.270,35 whelen class rifles. These would kill a elk stone dead for a lot of situations. You pay a lot of $$$$$ for an outfitter, elk tag, airline tickets, exspense money, taxidermy, etc. A new rifle and good scope is fairly cheap compared to these. Any way with my luck the only shot I will get at an elk will probably be at 350 yds or something at an odd angle. After investing in such a hunt and I do mean investing I want to KILL the elk not watch him walk away. Plus I want him not to go very far.

And if I don' t ever kill an elk:([X(] That .338 win mag should work very nice on Kudo and Eland in South Africa.:)

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

FL/GA Hunter,

Don' t be sorry. Nothing wrong with aspirations. Nothing wrong with planning, acquiring, and getting ready. " Elk or bigger every other year for the rest of my life...." you are going to be in the top 1% of USA hunters if you get onto that track --- good, I like that. Everyone is going to offer you advice, and if you bump into my posts you' ll know I lean toward the big calibers and similarly there will be plenty of folks with heart felt convictions to the contrary. Ultimately you will have to decide.

I don' t know how deep your pocket book is, I assume it is not unlimited, so I' ll take a chance and recommend the following. Use your 270 for your first trip. Go heavy for caliber on the bullets 150gr if you buy your ammunition and 160gr if you reload it. No plain jane bullets -- go for Noslers at a minimum. The reason I say pass on the new rifle is because your first trip for elk will be your most expensive (not counting possible outfitter fees) because in the two months before you go you will buy more stuff than you would imagine. Why? You' ll need to " gear up" Plus, unlike a day trip to the local deer patch, there is " too much on the line" when you do a 2 week multi thousand dollar elk hunt. While you are on the hunt in strange, new, and wonderful country and in camp with hunters equipped with a multitude of othercalibers/cartridges you will form your opinions about what you will need later AND you won' t need to rely on others for your answers. Trip #2 won' t require so many " prep" purchases -- so you can work the rifle in then, if YOU feel it is necessary.

With that said, I would point out that many hunters find a big, new, out of the ordinary hunt is as good of an excuse as any to buy a new rifle. :D
--------------------------------------

In answer to your question, " ..... comfortable taking the biggest elk in the world with a 270......"

-- No, given that GOLDEN of an opportunity of encountering such a majestic animal, I could not count on the elk, in that magic 15 second window of opportunity, to present me with a " no bones" clean boiler room shot that a 270 favors -- I' d hate to have to pass on such an animal because my rifle dictated that I couldn' t take a less than favorable shot. I prefer a rifle that gives me the latitude to " nail" them from absolutely any angle offered: through the shoulders, square on, quartering raking shot-- I don' t want those limitations.

Here is a quote from Craig Boddington (more than 20 African safaris & mucho NA game) and author of " Safari Rifles" ..... " Whoever started the rumor that African game is tougher than North American game haven' t hunted elk. They are tough like Cape Buffalo are tough and if they only had the same temperment there would be little discussion over which calibers were sufficient, only the largest would be considered....." He then goes on to describe the punishment he was witnessed elk take before going down.

Okay, that is a theoretical quote by ole Craig; however, if what you are used to hunting is Georgia/Florida deer like your handle would imply, then one of the biggest favors I can do for you is to convince you that e-l-k a-r-e d-i-f-f-e-r-e-n-t! They might kind of look like deer but that is where the similarity ends.

If you are going to hunt that wide of an array of big game as you aspirations would indicate, then I put forth the logic that it makes sense to acquire a worthy set of " tools" to get the job done. It don' t take a very big tool box fortunately:

22LR for practice
223/22-250/243 for varmits
270/7mmMag/3006 for deer, antelope, etc
338 or so for the tough/big/dangerous stuff

Best Regards,
EKM

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

Now there' s an answer! Thanks, EKM. :)

So it' s sorta like what I was thinking - you wouldn' t have a problem using the .270 with the heavies in it, but if you were going to make a habit of it, move on up. Thanks for the encouragement to take my left arm (read .270 Winchester Remington Model 700 ;)) with me on that first trip. You' re probably right, that no matter how much I try to convince myself with the new gun, the .270 will always be the right answer in stressful situations.

Sorta like if I said to myself - ' Who would you rather throw a football to, if a million dollars were on the line? Your best friend, who you' ve thrown a million footballs to, or a highly-trained athlete you just met?' You go with what you know.

It' s also refreshing to hear that from Boddington; you read enough of these forums and you start thinking .243s killing grizzlies is the norm. :)

RE: Another ' enough gun' question - elk?
 

I have used a .270 since I started hunting elk and it works every time. Granted I have not been face to face with a 400" 1000 pound elk but would feel comfortable taking that elk inside of 300 yards. With todays bullets I feel just a comfortable elk hunting with a .270 as I would have with the bullets available 30 years ago for the 300 or 338. But, Like EKM said If you are going to be hunting elk and larger at least every other year then you might want to step up your rifle. Believe it or not the 400 yard shot on an elk is pretty rare with Arizona and New Mexico maybe being the exceptions.

In other words, you .270 is up to the task so don' t be afraid to use it.