.270 as an elk round

[NoWiser]

My group exclusively uses 130 ttsx for everything, including elk. Our results have given us no reason to look at using anything else.

 

[bucdoego]

Lots of Elk have been taken with 270 over a lot of seasons. I wouldn't hesitate to use a 270, just shop early for factory loads and bullet preference. My hunting group has gone lead-free, which drove my choice. Copper bullets retain their mass well, so you can select a lower grain weight and expect good performance. Others will know more than me!

I found Hornady's CX 130gr bullet loaded in Superformance for a relative's 270 a few months ago. Superformance is a little faster. The CX bullet updates and replaces the GMX. Should be good for Elk and Deer.

First he has to draw a tag.

 

[Thegreatwapiti]

The .270 is plenty fast. My boy uses 130 for whitetail deer and 150 for elk. Don't really think it matters if he can be confident with his weapon in terms of placement.

 

[wyoboypt]

I’ve killed almost all my rifle elk with 130 grain core lokts or hornady interlocks. No problems. Stay away from sst unless you like long dying times and pathetic blood trails.

 

[WYelker]

We have taken a pile of elk
With the 270
Over the years. I bounce back and forth between the interbind 130 and 140
Grains from hornady. My daughter has taken several
Elk with it, my wife has taken over 10 elk with that round and I am some place Between 25-30 elk with the the 270.

It will work great. Find any decent hunting bullet that shoots well with n the 130-150 range and limit shots to 300 or less if he can shoot that far

 

[huntnpack]

Not sure about .270. I've heard it's killed plenty of elk, but I'd go with one of those new .277 high and tights just to be sure the elk are extra dead. /s

 

[Holski]

I have taken plenty of elk with .270 130gr. Core Lokts. Love Core Lokts in every chamber they continue to be consistent.

 

[ElkHunter80]

I have taken 8 elk over the years with a .270, but have not used anything less than 150gr. All were taken with Federal Fusions from 100-350 yards away, and some passed through. Shot placement is key.

 

[jtm307]

The only big game rifle I've ever owned/used is a .270 Win. I've only ever used the cheapest 130 gr. bullet I can find and I've never taken an initial shot over 300 yards. I've filled 9 elk tags since 2015 and have never been in a scenario where I thought the bullet was inadequate.

 

[EKYHunter]

Well, sure looks to me like the .270 will kill any elk you’d care to shoot.

 

[Brad]

This is an excellent thread with lots of real-world experience - very refreshing.

So often when cartridges like the 6.5 CM, 270, 7-08 come up for use on elk, the phrase "women and kids cartridge" is used in the same sentence. I've often found this amusing given I doubt an elk has ever noticed the gender or age of its killer while dying. Why are these cartridges accpetable for women and kids but not for hairy-chested men? But of course, the answer is self evident

To the OP I have nothing of substance to add to all those that have posted before me except to say I've seen more elk taken with the 270 than any other cartridge. The vast majority of those were taken with some sort of plain-jane 130 factory load like the Federal Fusion you reference. Myself, I've only taken a couple of elk with the 270, one with a 150 Ballistic Tip, one with a 150 Partition. Really, I doubt there's a bad choice out there. Push to shove, I'd go with a 130 mono load of some sort, not because I think a mono's penetration is needed, but because in my "mature years" I've become a bit dubious about scattering lead in and around game.

 

[Kiko]

150 gr. Nosler partition or Hornady 140 gr. Interlock. Both have together have taken around 20 elk for me all one shot kills in my 270.

 

[Southern Elk]

Update: We finally got a chance to shoot the .270 and it likes the 130 gr fusions that I already have. Since I have 3 boxes of that ammo, we are going to stick with it.

 

[ImBillT]

My opinion based on experience with other cartridges is that velocity should be high enough at 130gr to exclude any of the thinner jacketed bullets and stick to something like an AB/Partition/AFrame/mono or the like. Going up to 150gr seems like a good call regardless of bullet choice, and at that weight or heavier, I would be less concerned with construction.

A Fusion likely falls into the category of bullets that would be fine at 130gr.

 

[R.K.]

Look into a monolithic, if you want the 130gr. Copper penetrates better, with controlled expansion and nearly 100% weight retention.

 

[bucdoego]

Look into a monolithic, if you want the 130gr. Copper penetrates better, with controlled expansion and nearly 100% weight retention.

Hornady markets the CX, 130gr. loaded in their Superformance line for 270WIN. The Barnes LRX and the Federal Trophy Copper would also be good options for monolithic (all copper) bullets in 130gr and loaded for 270WIN. I like your choice of the Fusion bullets, but prefer copper these days. I'd like to ensure not ingesting lead.

 

[Tjudeburton]

I've never had an issue with a 130-grain fusion bullet. Deader than dead at 300 yards.

 

[brymoore]

Hornady markets the CX, 130gr. loaded in their Superformance line for 270WIN. The Barnes LRX and the Federal Trophy Copper would also be good options for monolithic (all copper) bullets in 130gr and loaded for 270WIN. I like your choice of the Fusion bullets, but prefer copper these days. I'd like to ensure not ingesting lead.

Maybe Hornady Superperformance copper got better but my experience shooting two elk with 130gr copper was pencil hole performance. Hard to find elk, extended trail length with no blood trails.

Called Hornady and the reps response on the phone was the elk died, why call.

They’ll never see a dime of my money again.

 

[Durango Mike]

My son will be shooting a .270 this fall and this will be his first season elk hunting. What would you recommend for an elk hunting bullet? I don’t reload, so I need to find some factory ammo. I currently have some Federal 130gr fusions, but I’m thinking He might need some thing in 150gr. and maybe a different bullet than the fusions.

I have shot 6-7 elk cows with a 270 and Barnes, Nosler, and Federal Fusion bullets and never took a second shot, the range was 200-400 yards and I usually had a nice clean broadside shot. If he takes a clean shot out to 500 yards he should be fine. I am betting 1,000's of elk have been shot with 270's and if he is confident in his ability and his accuracy limitations for range he should be good with any quality bullet from 130 to 160 grain. The nice thing about all the 270's I have owned have had the ability to print various weight bullets to roughly the same POI at 100 yards making sighting in easier with several bullet options.

 

[brockel]

I’d use whatever is most accurate in the rifle. Every .277 cal bullet is designed to operate at 270 Winchester velocities. Put it where it belongs and good things will happen