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Jo Hunter

.270 for ELK

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im looking to consolodate some assests to buy a new all arund riffle and im wondering what everyones thoughts are on the .270.... i know its ok for AZ deer but what about ELK?

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It will do the job.

 

Lot's of bullets will generally work, but picking the right elk bullet is probably more important than picking an elk cartridge.

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Ya its perfect for elk everyone likes how flat it shoots, but if you don't like tracking elk id say 3-06 way to go you can use 165 orr 180 gr. For elk then use 150 or even 125 for deer that's what I do and have no problems

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It's on the low end for me but I would have no issues with it. Love my 270! Nosler Partition or equivalen. Lots of great bullets for the 270. And as with any caliber shot placement is everything!

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270 is a fine round just stick with the 140 or 150 gr bullets.Its kills just as well as the bigger stuff a gut shot elk will go a long ay i dont care what its shot with.The accubond bullets work very well as do the barnes.

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A .270 was my first "modern" hunting rifle. With it, I shot seven of the Arizona Big Ten species in the late 1950s and early 1960s -- a half dozen Coues deer, a javelina every year, 3-4 mule deer, a couple of turkeys, an antelope, a buffalo and two elk, including my best-ever bull.

 

I chose 130-grain bullets for everything because that's what everyone (especially my hero, Jack O'Connor) shot in their .270s in those days. I don't remember anyone feeling under-gunned because he didn't use 150-grain bullets.

 

There were no "premium" bullets then, and I probably couldn't have afforded them if there had been. I bought "cull" (blemished) 130-grain .270 bullets by the pound for ridiculously low prices from the Arizona Bullet Company in Tucson, neck-sized my cases with a Lyman tong tool, and had no problems at all.

 

As best as I can remember, those bullets were comparable to the boat-tail hunting bullets Speer sells today.

 

If the @#$%@*&%! burglars who stole my guns in September had left me just one of my two .270s, I'd buy 130-grain Nosler Partitions and feel confident I could take anything that walks in North America if I put them where they should go.

 

Bill Quimby

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This is the only round I have ever shot an elk with, all 3 of mine died after being shot. I was shooting Grand Slams back in those days.

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Shot my first elk with a 270. I also recommend a 7mm-08 or a 30-06. Both excellent rifles for elk, deer, etc. I recently purchased a Tikka T3 7mm-08 for my wife and soon to be old enough to hunt son to use for elk and deer. It has a good size bullet (7mm/.284) but a fairly light recoil.

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There's nothing wrong using a 270 for elk. Yes, there are much bigger guns but a 270 will do the job like Bill said. I like shooting my dad's 270 over my 7mm mag. because of the recoil so that is something you should consider as well. I don't own a 30-06 but the range of bullet weights is amazing. :)

 

TJ

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I just bought a new to me mod. 70 in 270. My all time favorite cartridge. Yeah, it'll kill Elk real dead with a well placed shot.

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Work up a load or buy Premium Ammunition with Barnes TSX 140 or 150 grain bullets and never look back. I would be happy to share load data with you.

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I think Wayne Van Zwoll said that saying the 270 wasn't good for elk was like saying mom's sweet rolls needed more suger.

 

I agree and tht's what I mostly hunt with. I'll be hunting late bull with mine this year.

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A few years back I sold by ruger .243, ruger 7mm, and 2 bushnell elite scopes to buy one tikka t3 .270, a zeiss conquest, and reloading gear. My goal was to get one rifle and one bullet that I could shoot really well, and use it for all of my hunts. I shoot a 130 grain barness ttx bullet. So far I have taken 2 coues and 1 elk with no problems. I am more confident of making a clean shot with my new setup, and it is a heck of a lot more fun to shoot than the 7mm mag.

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