Is a 270 WSM an adequate elk round?

[1raggedhole]

I have taken 5 cows and a 5 point bull with a 270 wsm.
Absolutely it will kill elk.
1st cow elk was hit on a hard quartering shot at less than 100 yards. I can't remember the bullet weight but was a federal fusion either with 130 or 140 grain.
Bullet impacted behind front shoulder and clipped the top of her stomach which was full of hay from farmers field.
Enormous amount of tissue and blood shot meat I was pulling out clumps of hay under the skin from the rear leg bullet was a pass thru.
I ended up putting a faster twist barrel on it to keep up with the 6.8 western. That hasn't been working out so well for me because of the barrel maker not because of anything else.
As of this years elk hunt I shot the 5x5 bull elk in front of the shoulder and hit the neck it went maybe 4 yards spun around and hit the dirt. Shot was standing at 200 yards with a 165 gr Accu bond long range
Bullet going 2800 fps very little meat damage but still enough energy to fracture the scapula and break the spine with the bullet passing by it and not directly impacting the spine.
Furthest shot was at 400 yards on a cow elk with 140 gr interlock hit high shoulder passed through and again massive tissue damage and blood shot meat

ROTTEN, What are YOU doing?? Didn't anybody tell you that you can't shoot an elk under 800 yards anymore because it's not "Sporting"??

 

[Rotten]

ROTTEN, What are YOU doing?? Didn't anybody tell you that you can't shoot an elk under 800 yards anymore because it's not "Sporting"??

I'm sorry I forgot only the cool people kill elk past 500 with super duper magnums.
If I shot a elk passed 600 yrds it would probably start to swell up by the time I got to it and back out of the hell hole it decided to die in. Like my father used to say " son you shoot one down there you better bring a skillet with you.
Because that's where you're going to be eating it"

 

[GSP814]

Thanks guys! Just to clarify, I have killed 17 elk (15 bulls and 2 cows), most of the bulls are Colorado raghorns shot just south of Craig in Hamilton. Most of those elk were shot with a 300 Weatherby! I have killed elk with a 7mm RM, 7mm Weatherby, 6.5 GAP 4S and the 270 WSM (a raghorn at 300 yards using 150 grain Paritions out of my Sako Tecomate). Two pass throughs and the bull kind of stood there for about 20 seconds and fell over!

I regularly shoot to 1200 yards at Thunder Valley in Ohio and 1000 yards at Mifflin County Sportsman's in Pennsylvania, I live in western New Jersey. I limit my shots to 500 yards, would prefer to shoot them at 150 yards! My closest kill is 176 yards and I've killed three bull elk at 500 yards (512, 500 and 489 yards), all first shot hits. I practice a lot.

I own a bunch of custom rifles, the last two being a Lane Precision in 280 AI and a GA Precision in 300 WSM, they are both topped with Nightforce scopes, they just about shoot one hole but weight about 10 lbs. scoped and not including an Atlas bipod. Just looking to lighten my load without my wife giving the stink-eye for ordering another custom.

My father killed a whole bunch of elk and deer out west with a Browning A-Bolt in 270 Winchester, shots were always under 300 yards. All my shots seem to be over 400 yards with the elk moving.

I appreciate all your help and information! Now to decide what scope goes on the CA Summit, it currently wears a Leupold VX-5 3-15. I had a 3-15 Nightforce on it and it made the rifle really heavy. I do like Nightforce scopes! Thanks again, be safe and shoot straight!

 

[HRM Johnny]

Nah, it'll bounce off. You probably need to step up to something more powerful like a 6.5 Creedmoor.


/s

Excellent job, sir.

 

[DMP25-06]

Thanks guys! Just to clarify, I have killed 17 elk (15 bulls and 2 cows), most of the bulls are Colorado raghorns shot just south of Craig in Hamilton. Most of those elk were shot with a 300 Weatherby! I have killed elk with a 7mm RM, 7mm Weatherby, 6.5 GAP 4S and the 270 WSM (a raghorn at 300 yards using 150 grain Paritions out of my Sako Tecomate). Two pass throughs and the bull kind of stood there for about 20 seconds and fell over!

I regularly shoot to 1200 yards at Thunder Valley in Ohio and 1000 yards at Mifflin County Sportsman's in Pennsylvania, I live in western New Jersey. I limit my shots to 500 yards, would prefer to shoot them at 150 yards! My closest kill is 176 yards and I've killed three bull elk at 500 yards (512, 500 and 489 yards), all first shot hits. I practice a lot.

I own a bunch of custom rifles, the last two being a Lane Precision in 280 AI and a GA Precision in 300 WSM, they are both topped with Nightforce scopes, they just about shoot one hole but weight about 10 lbs. scoped and not including an Atlas bipod. Just looking to lighten my load without my wife giving the stink-eye for ordering another custom.

My father killed a whole bunch of elk and deer out west with a Browning A-Bolt in 270 Winchester, shots were always under 300 yards. All my shots seem to be over 400 yards with the elk moving.

I appreciate all your help and information! Now to decide what scope goes on the CA Summit, it currently wears a Leupold VX-5 3-15. I had a 3-15 Nightforce on it and it made the rifle really heavy. I do like Nightforce scopes! Thanks again, be safe and shoot straight!

I think that you should leave the Leupold VX5 3x15 on it .
Great optics in lighter weight package .

 

[VarmintBob]

Depends primarily on bullet choice, barrel length and distance to target. With all that considered, the answer is yes.

 

[bigngreen]

I appreciate all your help and information! Now to decide what scope goes on the CA Summit, it currently wears a Leupold VX-5 3-15. I had a 3-15 Nightforce on it and it made the rifle really heavy. I do like Nightforce scopes! Thanks again, be safe and shoot straight!

I really wish NF would make a hunting weight optic! Don't understand their hang up!

 

[Calvin45]

I've done the same. Of the two measured…..one was a .277 and one was a .243.

These were back before the mono bullets became available, both bullets showed full expansion, appeared to have substantial weight loss (a guestimate on my part), both had minimal penetration, both were encased in what appeared mass of gristle.

It helped confirm my desire for larger caliber, and better constructed bullets. memtb

Can't argue with real results.

I will say that obviously a mountain of elk moose and other critters have fallen to a 270 with basic 130 soft points but you certainly would be wise to stick to broadside long shots behind the shoulder.

For my own purposes I'd never feel undergunned with my 270 but do tend to leave it in the safe in favour of my .300 win mag. There is a notable difference in how animals react when hit, that I've observed, between these two. The bigger bullet still going fast is more insurance. And my elk this year wasn't with a mono or a controlled expansion bullet . A match bullet! I forgot that those won't kill things and so did the elk. Of course, that match bullet is a 225 grain 30 cal eld m, not a 130 Berger in a 6.5 or something like that, again I really do feel like the fast .30 calibers are on a different tier of performance than any 7mm, 270 or 6.5 but I'm biased haha. The 7mms with heavy formcaliber bullets sure are hard to beat but I just don't care, I don't want one! . I'm a .30 cal guy and to my grave I suspect I'll always feel that a magnum .30 cal of some flavour is the king of versatile do it all rifles for everything that isn't varminting or dangerous game hunting. For those extremes the .223 and .450 Ackley have my needs covered…as if I'll ever "need" the elephant gun…