My friend wants to borrow my .270 for elk this year. For deer I shoot 140gr Nosler Ballistic tips. These loads are too lightly built for elk,so I'm wondering what you guys that shoot .270's or 30-06's shoot for elk loads. My elk rifle is a .338 Win mag and I shoot 225gr trophy bonded from Federal. I want the heaviest bullet possible for the .270 and am leaning towards the Federal 150gr Nosler Partition load. What do you all think?

Well in my opinion .270 is not a good elk cartridge. I shoot a .06 at 180 or better grain in partition gold, which have massive killing power with great accuracy and range. If your friend is forced to go with your .270 I would suggest he pumps out at least 165 grain with a high quality hollow point such as the partition. I have seen guys nock down a elk with one well placed shot. I have also seen the majority of lighter loaded gun shoot track their elk 5 miles and 5 shots later to take their animal down. But nothing to say it can't be down. Hope you all have luck on the big game season this year. Remember special permits are due the 23rd, get them in.
Gamehunter

The 150 partition has killed a lot of elk and with a well placed shot your friend will have no trouble downing his animal. I spent the first 5 years of my elk hunting career using a .243 and never tracked an elk more than 100 yds. Your friend is just going to have to be ethical about his shot and not try and shoot cross country with the .270. my 2 cents

Shot placement is the key on elk. Look for a bullet that can deliver at least 1500 ft lbs at 100 yds. The Nosler partitions are great bullets, but also look at the other well built bullets like the Swift A-frame, Winchester fail-safe and partition gold, and my favorite the Barnes X copper hp.

Of course, you could always use blackpowder or a shotgun with sabot slugs. Those have worked for me on my 4 elk, and none of them required a second shot.

I have no concern with my buddy being ethical..he is a die hard bow hunter that knows the need for a well placed shot. I've watched thru bino's as he stalked a deer for over an hour. He comes back to the truck without firing a shot,I asked him what happened, he says " It was only a 15yd shot but I didn't get the angle I wanted ". As I said he is one of the most ethical hunters I've ever known.

Gamehunter...In the Cabela's shooting catalog I looked thru 7 major manufactures listings and found only 1 weight over 150gr, it was a 160gr round nose. If all we hunted was timber it would be a great choice,but I want a spitzer style.
You said a quality hollow point like the Partition? The partition isn't a hollow point.

I know alot of you are gonna say the .270 isn't enough for elk,And I would agree, it's not my first choice either. My friend has already told me he has no intention of shooting more then about 200yds,in most cases that is a pretty far shot for most hunters to take. Anyways...The .270 within it's limits will be enough,and my friend won't have to buy a rifle to use once every few yrs.

thanks again.

HBP
I second Dogfishes comments. I am a archery hunter in Oregon but use a rife in other states. The 270 is a sweetheart to shoot and is a deadly elk round in the hands of an experienced hunter.
Long ago a writer by the name of Jack O'Conner was a champion of the 270. He took elk in two and in some years three different states, for over three decades, most where with the .270. For years(50's,60's & 70's) the great debate was over which was the best allround rife, the 06 or the 270. Once in a while the 7x57 would sneak into the arguement. For what it's worth one of my duck club members shoots an 06 in Africa each year on Lion. He likes it because its what he can shoot well(an understatement)and there is ammo any where he goes. Does that tell you how good that round is regarded in Africa? I own both and it is my opinion the elk never had the slightest idea which one killed him with just that one shot. Dogfish tells it like it is, shot placement! Shooting 500 yards at a moving elk is not my idea of sport. I like to HUNT. There is nothing wrong with using bigger stuff on up to .375. Its a matter of what you can handle well. If your friend is able to place the bullet where it belongs , it isn't going to make any difference. For what its worth I use the 130 gr. without a problem. I will say up front I don't hunt in areas where there are as many hunters as elk. I am not a good off-hand shot and use a tree, bush or anything else for a rest, and I use a scope.
I'm sorry for being long winded but your friend should have confidence in what he is hunting with.

Ok everyone I was merely making a observation that I do think has enough validity to be brought up. Of course you can hunt elk with a .270 but when going for such big game A larger caliber does make since, and of course your friend does not have this option so he must be aware of the need for a well placed shot. I could kill a elk with a .22 if it were legal with one shot also. But as we all know when hunting and dealing with wild animals our shots sometimes can be slightly missed placed, and when that every once in a while comes into play it is nice to have a little more knocking power. I can see there are allot of .270 fans here and I am not trashing the rifle I think its a great flat shooting cartridge and has it's place. And as far as the partition goes Its not techinically a hollow point I suppose I don't know what you would call it and do not have the time to look it up. But I used such a term because I beilive the design is imposed on a hollow core principle well retaining the solid core perfomance. And I do not shot partition in my .270 but thought they made such a grain for it but I am sure the 160 simi spitzer is readly availble. And would shoot such a animal if I was going with the .270 for a elk round.
But what do I know.
GameHunter

Gamehunter,
I use a 7mm Rem mag, and my partner uses a .270. I handload for both of them. If this isn't an option for you then I would go with the 140 to 150 grain bulet in the .270. I think you lose to much if you go any more than that, I personally think that the 150 is possibly to heavy. That rifle was made to shoot lighter bullets. You might consider looking at the Hornady light magnum loads in the 140 grn category. You are saying that most of the shots wil be 200 yards or less. That is not a problem for the .270, I would say you could stretch it to the 300 yard range max. I do think that the noslers are probably the better bullet choice for this gun. For my buddy I load the Hornady btsp 140 grn bullets, and his gun has over 1500ftlbs of energy at 300 yards. The minimum most people say for elk. I hope this helps.
Buck

I took another look thru the Cabela's catalog. I see that Federal is also making a high energy load for the .270. It's a 140gr trophy bonded bear claw bullet,which is one of my favorites. I'll have to look around town to see if I can find some.

Go to www.remington.com and click on ammunition then ballistics, and compare the .270 to the 30-06 (one of the more popular calibers and you won't see much difference. I handload and found that testing different loads in different guns bring out different results. Your buddy needs to shoot a round that is accurate in his gun. They'll all kill if they hit the spot. I have no doubt your friend will drop his elk with the first shot no matter what caliber he's using if he has confindence in it. Most of the negative talk you're hearing is stemmed from hearsay. I want to hear someone tell us that they lost an elk with a .270 that they honestly thought was an ethical shot. won't happen

HBP, I think thatload sounds like a good one for the .270 for elk. I have found that in the .270 if you go any heavier than the 140 grn you lose velocity and energy. At first the energy in the 150 will bo better but the 14 will catch it and then surpass it. It basically comes down the the balistic coeficient of the bullets, Most of the 140 grn bullets in the .270 cal have a better BC than the hevier bullets. Which in turn gives them better down range energy and speed. I still believe that you need the most out of a gun as possible when you are going after elk. I have been luck and have shot 4 elk with my 7mm rem mag and two aout of the 4 only tookone shot the other 2 were dead they just didn't know it, so I put another round into them. Bottom line is elk are tough. But I think that 140 grn trophy bonded bear claw should perform very good, that is if it shoots good out of your rifle. That is a lot of what it comes down to, an accurate rifle with a good bullet with unough energy to do the job.
Buck

Hey Buck...I hear you on the toughness of an elk.Did you see what I carry for elk now a .338. The first bull I got was when I was 14. It was standing broadside at about 75 yds,I was shooting my dads 30-06,I put 2 shots in the lungs and it still managed to get about 225yds downhill before going down for good. When we gutted it there was virtually no lung tissue in-tact. People that have never hunted elk just don't get how friggen' tough they are . Anyways...about my .270,It's a very accurate rifle with almost every brand or weight of bullet. I settled on the ballastic tips for deer, they expand quickly,and I get 3 shot groups I can cover with a quarter. It's almost unbelievable!

HBP, The balistic tips are good bullets in that cal. for deer. I have noticed that .270's seem to be an acurate rifle. Like I said I shoot a 7mm rem mag. When I first got that I thought I would try the premium bulets by remington, needles to say I could hardly hold a group on an 8.5x11 piece of paper. That is when I started reloading. I now shoot nosler partitions in 175grn, and they are extremely acurate and hit very hard also. So hopefully the trophy bonded bear claws will shoot good out of your rifle.
Buck

If he is a reloader the nosler 160 gr. part. semi spitzer is a great bullet. My 1980 ruger m-77 .270 will put 3 shots @ 100 yards into well under 1" My load is 52.0 gr imr-4831 rem brass cci-250 primer. Mv out of a 22" bbl. = 2750 fps

Hi HBP

I've been reloading for roughly 12 years now, and for the money the 7MM Mag is your best choice. I have worked up a load for this caliber that is fantastic! I use a 162 gr.BTSP from either Serria and/or Hornady, Remington brass, CCI Magnum Primers, and AA8700 and or Reloader22. Muzzle velocity 3200fps (24in barrel) The 7MM Mag has more knockdown power than a 30-06, with less recoil. If you were going to purchase a rifle, I would highly suggest the 7MM Mag.

I personaly feel as the majority here, that your .270 will do the job, shot placement is the key!!

Hey Warlock...
I had a 7mm mag I bought new a few yrs back,and I sold it to my brother. I shoot a .270 for deer and a .338 for elk,so I really didn't need another rifle. I used the 7mm for one season and shot one deer with it,the 7mm didn't kill the deer any better than the .270,so down the road she went.

My Dad shoots a 7mm for all the hunting he does...actually it's my Moms,but she doesn't hunt anymore so she doesn't care. If I could only own one rifle it wouldn't be a 7mm or an 06'. It would be a .300 mag,I think it's better than either of those for bigger game than deer.

Anyways...my friend is gonna use my .270 for elk this year,he is a bowhunter and wants to hunt with us this year,no sense in him buying a riflr to use every few years.

HBP if you have a trajectory & energy chart available to you I would suggest you check the stats for yourself.

The 7MM Magnum on an all around average (ft.lbs of energy at any distance with a comparitable grain projectile) has the .30-06,.270,& 300 Mag beat. You can use whichever caliber you want, I was just trying to inform you of (in my mind)
that the 7MM magnum is your best buy for the buck!

Warlock,
Are you sure you have your facts correct? I just looked at the ballistic charts on Remington's sight,and your info seems incorrect. The 7mm Rem. mag has less velocity and energy than a .300 Win mag all the way to 500 yards. At 500 yrds they are very close in numbers,because of the better sectional density of the .284 caliber.

I plugged in a 175gr pointed core-lokt for the 7mm and a 180gr pointed core-lokt for the .300. The .300 starts a heavier bullet faster by 100fps and stays ahead to 500yds. The .300 has 323 ft lbs more energy at the muzzle and stays ahead to 500yds. Again the 7mm gets very close at very long range and may jump ahead past 500yds,but who shoots at elk or deer that far anyways.

As far as trajectory goes the .300 shoots flatter to 300yds by about 2". As far as your claim about the 7mm being a very versatile cartridge...you are correct it's a great round. If you handload as you do it will probably be possible to beat the .300's numbers.

Oh well... we all have our opinions.

Like most have said before the .270 is fine as long as you pick your shots. That was all my Dad hunted with and killed plenty of elk with it. All he ever shot were 130 grain handloads. His best bull was a 7x7 Rosevelt on the upper Kalama. Huge elk and one shot. I use a .280 for all of my hunting, I hand load Nosler partitions for it and I have no doubt that when I finally get a decent shot at an Elk it will more than do the job. One of these days I will look at something in the .300 to .338 range but that is more for just wanting another gun