# .270 130 grain interlocks for elk?



## colorcountrygunner

My wife and I both drew cow elk tags this year. We drew different units with different seasons and I would like for both of us to use a Savage model 110 chambered in .270 Winchester because it is the best shooting rifle we have. This thing shoots great with the Hornady American Whitetail stuff and I have a couple boxes of it. From what I understand these are loaded with the Hornady Interlock bullet which has a good reputation of being one of the tougher cup and core bullets. I'm still a little bit concerned about how a little 130 grain .270 bullet screaming out the barrel at a little over 3,000 fps might hold up against an elk at possibly close range. Johnnycake and others on this forum have me wanting to shoot a calf and try some of that legendary rocky mountain veal, so if we even shoot our elk they are likely to be about the size of a large buck. However, if things don't play out just right we may end up shooting large cows. I don't plan on taking any quartering to or raking shots. My intuition tells me that on a broadside or slightly quartering shot through the ribs I will get entirely adequate penetration and a dead elk in short order. Even a big bodied elk at shortish range. Internet chatter about nothing but magnum cartridges and bonded or monolithic bullets (of at least 200 grains!) being worthy of elk has me second guessing this choice. What do you all say? Anybody have experience tipping over elk with 130 grain soft points out of a .270 Winchester? Any stories to validate my hesitation? I can always try out a box of 150 grain partitions or some other more serious "elk bullet" if I have to, but I'd rather not mess with what I have going right now if I don't have to.


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## APD

i took my first cow elk with a .277 accubond handload in a 130gr. i have no hesitation doing so again though my last few have been 150gr ballistic tips. i avoid the shoulder shots so i can't claim to have witnessed heavy bone with a .277 but with a bonded bullet you should do fine there too. for lung shots the BT's do fine. if you're planning on bone shots then step up to a quality bonded bullet. interlocks should work just fine.


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## Loke

colorcountrygunner said:


> I don't plan on taking any quartering to or raking shots. My intuition tells me that on a broadside or slightly quartering shot through the ribs I will get entirely adequate penetration and a dead elk in short order.


I believe you have answered your own question.


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## moabxjeeper

You could kill an elk with a 22 if it was hit just right. I think your choice of caliber and bullet is perfectly adequate, even for a larger cow. You can get carried away all you want with ballistics and muzzle velocity and bullet weight, but the fact of the matter is, an elk hit in the vitals is a dead elk.


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## muleydeermaniac

I use the same bullet on just about everything I hunt. It being a 130gr. Power point. I have killed cow elk, on down to the unlucky coyote that crosses my path. When I hunt bull elk I move up to 150 gr. power point and have no problems putting them down. My dad has been shooting these ever since I can remember and he never has any problems, even with elk. The only other type of bullet I shoot is a Nosler in 150gr. but that is for Bear. The last cow elk I shot was with the 130gr. power point and at 277 yards it broke the front shoulder, hit the heart and lungs and broke the far shoulder lodging under the skin on the far side. I still have the bullet. This was on the biggest cow in the herd as she was the only one that gave me a clear shot.


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## Runter

Hey there, this is my first post to the forum, I thought I'd chime in because I've hunted cow elk with a .270 a few times. That being said I've always used 150 grain Power Point. 

The three cow elk hunts I've done went as follows:
Shot a sleeping calf at 100 yards. Dead before she could stand up.

Shot a mature mature cow at 400 yards. Took two bullets to poor her down and it was a slower kill. At the same time my brother hunting with a .270 shot at another cow 450 yards and it took a couple bullets to put her down as well. 

Shot a mature cow that was running at 250 yard and I made a poor shot that hit her between the upper shoulder and neck (I regret making the shot on a running cow). Nearly no blood to trail. I tracked her tracks in the snow for 2 miles where I found her stuck in a ravine still on her feet so I shot her in the head 50 yards away. 

So all in all, 4 examples 4 dead elk with 150 grain .270. If I was you I'd use a .150 grain. It would only require a day at the range to make the adjustments which you should do anyway before the hunt to make sure your sights are on but the 130 grain will work.

That being said I'm switching bullets this year to the Partitions because I'm going to hunt bull and cow elk and in all 4 examples the Power Points just didn't seam to have good penetration.


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## wyogoob

Runter said:


> Hey there, this is my first post to the forum, I thought I'd chime in because I've hunted cow elk with a .270 a few times. That being said I've always used 150 grain Power Point.
> 
> The three cow elk hunts I've done went as follows:
> Shot a sleeping calf at 100 yards. Dead before she could stand up.
> 
> Shot a mature mature cow at 400 yards. Took two bullets to poor her down and it was a slower kill. At the same time my brother hunting with a .270 shot at another cow 450 yards and it took a couple bullets to put her down as well.
> 
> Shot a mature cow that was running at 250 yard and I made a poor shot that hit her between the upper shoulder and neck (I regret making the shot on a running cow). Nearly no blood to trail. I tracked her tracks in the snow for 2 miles where I found her stuck in a ravine still on her feet so I shot her in the head 50 yards away.
> 
> So all in all, 4 examples 4 dead elk with 150 grain .270. If I was you I'd use a .150 grain. It would only require a day at the range to make the adjustments which you should do anyway before the hunt to make sure your sights are on but the 130 grain will work.
> 
> That being said I'm switching bullets this year to the Partitions because I'm going to hunt bull and cow elk and in all 4 examples the Power Points just didn't seam to have good penetration.


Welcome to the forum. A 270 with a 150 grain bullet is a great round for elk.

.


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## LostLouisianian

wyogoob said:


> Welcome to the forum. A 270 with a 150 grain bullet is a great round for elk.
> 
> .


Unless your name is Karl then you need a howitzer.


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## wyogoob

*I'm not making this up*



LostLouisianian said:


> Unless your name is Karl then you need a howitzer.


Hey, I have a lot of friends that use a 270 for everything. Most use a 150 gr bullet for elk. A buddy of mine and a family member use 270 150gr round nose bullets.

It's true, I'm not making this up, I have friends.

.


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## paddlehead

I've killed several elk from 100 to 450 yards with a 140 grain Hornady. Great hunting caliber. All were clean, one shot kills. I have a friend that has killed 4 big bulls out to 350 yards with a 130 grain bullet. Magnums are great to help kill on a less than ideal shot, but a good shot with a 270 will do the job fine!

My Grandpa shot everything with a .257 Roberts. He always said, "You cant kill a rabbit with an Elephant gun if you can't hit them."


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## Azar

The Interlock is an excellent cup & core bullet (my favorite). I have not personally used the 130g Interlock in a 270 Winchester on elk, but neither would I hesitate to do so.

Bring a sharp knife and some coolers with ice. ;-)


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## Seven

Between me and my boy 3 cow elk have fallen to my AR15 in 6.8spc using the .270/6.8 120 gr Hornady SST. all have be broadside shots ranging from 100 to 300 yards. all have ran about 30 yards before piling up. Granted my 6.8 is shooting a smaller bullet slower than your 270 will launch your 130 grain so I would say you should be fine if you take good shots.


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## CPAjeff

I go through this debate of "will it work" every now and again. Then, I think about the amount of North American animals these two have harvested in history. You will be fine shooting 130 grains out of your 270!


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## Kevin D

Honestly, 30 or 40 years ago there would not even have been a debate whether your .270 shooting 130 Hornady Interlock bullets was enough medicine for a cow elk....it was a universally understood truth.


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## wyogoob

I been wonderin'.

I've shot a lot of elk. But only a couple over 100 yards. Should I back up some?

Nevermind, I'm a little off topic.


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## LostLouisianian

wyogoob said:


> I been wonderin'.
> 
> I've shot a lot of elk. But only a couple over 100 yards. Should I back up some?
> 
> Nevermind, I'm a little off topic.


Just turn your scope around and they'll seem farther than they are so you'll think your shooting them further than 100 yards. Problem solved.


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## colorcountrygunner

Kevin D said:


> Honestly, 30 or 40 years ago there would not even have been a debate whether your .270 shooting 130 Hornady Interlock bullets was enough medicine for a cow elk....it was a universally understood truth.


When you put it that way I almost feel silly asking the question.  I guess I need to spend more time hunting and less time interneting. The only problem is you can only hunt so many weeks out of the year, and you can obsess, debate and pontificate on bullets, broadheads, and other gear 24/7/365!


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## Mtngoat690

I haven't personally used the Hornady 130's, but I have used the 130 Remington core-lokt's on a few elk and many deer, they performed well. Last November I witnessed a cow elk taken with the Hornady whitetail ammo in the 6.5 creed, at 237 yards made it completely through 
on a slight quartering away shot. She made it about 15 yards and went down. Not the cartridge you mentioned but I would expect similar results from the 270 win. 

If they shoot well I say stick with them!


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## wyogoob

*What were we talking about?*



wyogoob said:


> I been wonderin'.
> 
> I've shot a lot of elk. But only a couple over 100 yards. Should I back up some?
> 
> Nevermind, I'm a little off topic.


I've killed 2 elk over 100 yards. One with a 12 gauge slug and another with a 30-06.

Pretty cool I think, although it has little to do with the original topic.

.


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## colorcountrygunner

wyogoob said:


> I've killed 2 elk over 100 yards. One with a 12 gauge slug and another with a 30-06.
> 
> Pretty cool I think, although it has little to do with the original topic.
> 
> .


And who says the .30-06 isn't a good long range round? Sounds like the 12 gauge has some pretty good long range capabilities as well.

I've killed one elk over 100 yards myself that was also with a .30-06.


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## silentstalker

Your current bullet combo will work just fine. Elk are not the Sherman tanks we are led to believe. 
A good shot in the vitals will put them down cleanly. A poor shot will not, regardless of caliber. 
If you are inclined to try something new I would recommend the 150 gr. Partition or Ballistic tip. I have had great results in my .270 with both. 
Good luck!


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## KineKilla

I have to agree with most on here regarding the .270 for Elk (or for anything else, really) I have 3 of those rifles in my safe and love all of them.

I have shot a cow with 130gr from my .270 but they were factory loaded Accubonds and the shot was within 50 yards...probably closer to 25. I'm not sure how a shoulder bone shot with an un-bonded bullet would have performed at that close range but the bonded AB worked fine.

I've seen everything from cows to large bucks to a 3 point bull dropped in its tracks with a .270 shooting 130gr Core-Lokts or Federal Soft Points.

Personally, I now use my 7mm when hunting elk and my .270 when hunting deer. It's not a matter of which rifle will do the job, it's just a matter of spreading the love around my gun safe.


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## caddis8

I shot a cow last year with .270 150gr Federal Fusion. I tried and Tried Hornady Superformance but couldn't get a good group out of my gun with it. I think it was too fast for the old girl. Slowed it down and it grouped better. 1 Shot, Cow didn't act hit, stood there, and tipped over within 30 seconds where it stood. Behind the front shoulder, through the heart, missed the bone and tucked nicely in the hide on the other side. Worked great. A little further back in the lungs would have went clean through. There was a fist sized hole in the heart. Couldn't have kept that heart if I wanted to to eat.


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## derekp1999

I really like the Hornady Interlocks... they shoot very well out of my .30-06. I have exclusively used the 180gr Interlocks for a couple years now. These are older bullets that my grandfather bought many years ago and I inherited them with some handloading equipment, they are flat base & not the boattail design. I worked up a load that shoots 1" at 200 yards with 59.5gr H4831 and I've killed a couple cow elk and even a handful of doe pronghorn with this load. 

Sadly, I'm running low on these 180gr bullets but included in the supplies I inherited from my grandfather were several boxes of 150gr Interlocks (also the old school flat base design instead of the boattail). I have worked up a load that consistently goes sub-.5MOA on paper at 100 yards. I used up half of my unlimited text messages in a conversation with a friend begging him to convince me that the 150gr bullets would be ok on elk. I compared ballistics tables, compared my own targets, read anectodal stories of others successfully using a 150gr bullet... then used up the other half of my unlimited text messages a couple days later again begging him to tell me it would be ok to use the 150gr bullets... for some reason, in my mind these 150gr bullets are perfectly adequate for pronghorn & deer but woefully inadequate for elk. It's dumb what the internet gets you to believe.

CCG... I know what you're going through...


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## colorcountrygunner

derekp1999 said:


> I really like the Hornady Interlocks... they shoot very well out of my .30-06. I have exclusively used the 180gr Interlocks for a couple years now. These are older bullets that my grandfather bought many years ago and I inherited them with some handloading equipment, they are flat base & not the boattail design. I worked up a load that shoots 1" at 200 yards with 59.5gr H4831 and I've killed a couple cow elk and even a handful of doe pronghorn with this load.
> 
> Sadly, I'm running low on these 180gr bullets but included in the supplies I inherited from my grandfather were several boxes of 150gr Interlocks (also the old school flat base design instead of the boattail). I have worked up a load that consistently goes sub-.5MOA on paper at 100 yards. I used up half of my unlimited text messages in a conversation with a friend begging him to convince me that the 150gr bullets would be ok on elk. I compared ballistics tables, compared my own targets, read anectodal stories of others successfully using a 150gr bullet... then used up the other half of my unlimited text messages a couple days later again begging him to tell me it would be ok to use the 150gr bullets... for some reason, in my mind these 150gr bullets are perfectly adequate for pronghorn & deer but woefully inadequate for elk. It's dumb what the internet gets you to believe.
> 
> CCC... I know what you're going through...


It's like the premium ammo manufacturers have paid schills who get online and make up stories about bullet failure with cheap soft points all day. I did have a 180 grain Winchester Power Point from a .300 win mag lose its guts on a close neck shot on a 5 point bull once. Honestly, I didn't care. Close range, spine shot, and .300 win mag velocity made this kind of unsurprising. However, the jacket made it all the way to the far side hide and the bull fell to the ground like he had a rug jerked out from under him. IMO a bang flop is a much better measure of a bullets performance than a pass through, or a textbook mushroom balled up under the hide with nearly 100% weight retention.


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## johnnycake

Honestly, 130 grains in a .270 will wreak havoc on pretty much any elk under 300-400 yards. Been there, done that, lots of blood on those t-shirts. I actually prefer the 150 grain bullet so that it isn't so fast, as I find the bullets don't explode as much on entry thereby minimizing the amount of bloodshot insta-burger I have to deal with. Either size bullet when you take a head shot at that calf under 50 yards will either leave it bug-eyed and jelly brained or darn near rip its head clean off depending on if you go for the between the eyes or base of the ear shot.


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## BPturkeys

Bigger, heavier bullets mean nothing. That's why you see all those guys hunting Grizzly, lions, Cape Buff, etc with their .223 AR's. I notice all these pop-gun lovers on here always (and wisely I must say) preface their recommendations with the classic line "a well placed shot...blah, blah, blah".
It's not always a matter of killing the animal, most shot animals die from their wounds, but boy, an elk can run a long ways packin lead and it seems as though they always head for some remote spot before they keel over. My advise, if you have a larger rifle, use it. 'Cause simply put, *hit happens in real life. 
Good luck and enjoy your hunt.


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## colorcountrygunner

BPturkeys said:


> Bigger, heavier bullets mean nothing. That's why you see all those guys hunting Grizzly, lions, Cape Buff, etc with their .223 AR's. I notice all these pop-gun lovers on here always (and wisely I must say) preface their recommendations with the classic line "a well placed shot...blah, blah, blah".
> It's not always a matter of killing the animal, most shot animals die from their wounds, but boy, an elk can run a long ways packin lead and it seems as though they always head for some remote spot before they keel over. My advise, if you have a larger rifle, use it. 'Cause simply put, *hit happens in real life.
> Good luck and enjoy your hunt.


I agree with what you are saying to a certain extent, but in my ever so humble opinion I place the .270 among the ranks of serious elk rifles. Yes, it is probably on the lower end of the spectrum for a legitimate elk rifle, but I still feel confident with it.


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## longbow

wyogoob said:


> I've killed 2 elk over 100 yards. One with a 12 gauge slug and another with a 30-06.
> 
> Pretty cool I think, although it has little to do with the original topic.
> 
> .


I've never shot an elk with a gun. I've tried but Nooooo, they won't hold still. I have a tag so maybe this year.


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## BRL1

.270 is my only big game caliber, two rifles chambered for it. One Winchester model 70 and a Savage 110.
By my own preference I do not hunt bulls but have shot a couple dozen cows over the years. Mainly using Remington cor-lokt 130 grain, a couple using really cheap PMC 150 grain soft points, can't even buy them anymore especially at $3.00 a box like I was,
My longest shot has been 434 yards. All have dropped where they were, never had to track one.
I contribute that to shot placement from shooting the lighter caliber and not developing a flinch like a lot of people shooting magnums do.


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## wyogoob

*I'm voting 150 grain for elk*

I was messin around with 270s last year trying to decide which firearm to take on my physically, mentally, and financially exhausting once-in-a-lifetime WY bighorn sheep hunt. The 270s had been sitting around since the wife n kids used them regularly in the 80s. I quit using 270s when I moved out west and, oddly, when I used a 270 before that in the Midwest and Canada I normally had 150 grain round nose bullets. They were accurate and hard hitting and generally didn't kick as hard as the 30-06.

I remember the first time we hunted antelope in Wyoming the wife and I were with a couple born n raised in southwest Wyoming. The guy seen the wife's big ole round nose 270 bullets and said "...those kinda defeat the purpose of a 270, don't they?" Some sense can be made out of his statement I guess but at the time it took me back. The 270 is versatile so use it to suite your style, your skill level whether it's your shooting skills or your outdoor skills. Round nose bullets in a 270 elk rifle suite my style and the combo is on my list of weapons for an elk hunt before I get old...uh, I better get on it. 

I made these 270s up last April, from back to front:
150 gr RN with factory crimp
140 gr AB 0.010" off lands
140 gr AB recommended max OACL
150 gr RN with roll crimp


Gawd, I wonder how old these bullets are:


Jeepers, I need to get out to the range.


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## Springville Shooter

You started off right by choosing the best shooting gun you have. Where that bullet gets put is way more important than how it will act once it gets there. I'm sure you'll have no problem. Good luck!-----SS


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## Winglish

I shot a cow elk the year before last with Hornady's American Whitetail 130 grain bullet in .270 Win. A funny thing happened when I shot her with that bullet- She died. 

I went ahead and ate her anyway.


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## wyogoob

*Who said I was using a scope?*



LostLouisianian said:


> Just turn your scope around and they'll seem farther than they are so you'll think your shooting them further than 100 yards. Problem solved.


Scope?

.


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## Springville Shooter

Hey Goob, did you ever notice that the three most important letters in scope are P,O, and S? Maybe it's just a coincidence?------SS


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## wyogoob

*What were we talking about?*



Springville Shooter said:


> Hey Goob, did you ever notice that the three most important letters in scope are P,O, and S? Maybe it's just a coincidence?------SS


That's a goodun.

I bought an expensive pellet rifle with a scope on it. Both rifle and scope are P O S. Never could get it sighted in, finally the cross hairs broke. So I put a nice Leupold 4x on it and destroyed the scope. That night I flipped out in the bathroom and tried to kill myself....uh went to brush my teeth, grabbed my toothpaste and it was SCOPE. So Mrs Goob has me on suicide watch.

I'm not making this up, I'm still married.

.


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## Longgun

colorcountrygunner said:


> My wife and I both drew cow elk tags this year. We drew different units with different seasons and I would like for both of us to use a Savage model 110 chambered in .270 Winchester because it is the best shooting rifle we have. This thing shoots great with the Hornady American Whitetail stuff and I have a couple boxes of it. From what I understand these are loaded with the Hornady Interlock bullet which has a good reputation of being one of the tougher cup and core bullets. I'm still a little bit concerned about how a little 130 grain .270 bullet screaming out the barrel at a little over 3,000 fps might hold up against an elk at possibly close range. Johnnycake and others on this forum have me wanting to shoot a calf and try some of that legendary rocky mountain veal, so if we even shoot our elk they are likely to be about the size of a large buck. However, if things don't play out just right we may end up shooting large cows. I don't plan on taking any quartering to or raking shots. My intuition tells me that on a broadside or slightly quartering shot through the ribs I will get entirely adequate penetration and a dead elk in short order. Even a big bodied elk at shortish range. Internet chatter about nothing but magnum cartridges and bonded or monolithic bullets (of at least 200 grains!) being worthy of elk has me second guessing this choice. What do you all say? Anybody have experience tipping over elk with 130 grain soft points out of a .270 Winchester? Any stories to validate my hesitation? I can always try out a box of 150 grain partitions or some other more serious "elk bullet" if I have to, but I'd rather not mess with what I have going right now if I don't have to.


(if this hasn't already been mentioned) ... Dude... Quit over thinking it, its just an elk. Wait for a good angle, punch it through both lungs and maybe clip the pumper in the process then watch it fall over.


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## CPAjeff

Longgun said:


> (if this hasn't already been mentioned) ... Dude... Quit over thinking it, its just an elk. Wait for a good angle, punch it through both lungs and maybe clip the pumper in the process then watch it fall over.


Nailed it! I was went shooting on Saturday and the _only_ other person at the range came over and asked me what the caliber was, bullet weight, and what I was planning on hunting - I told him the information he asked for, and he then proceeded to tell me that a 150 grain bullet out of a 7mm was way too small for a cow elk...

My response, "Karl?"


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## wyogoob

CPAjeff said:


> Nailed it! I was went shooting on Saturday and the _only_ other person at the range came over and asked me what the caliber was, bullet weight, and what I was planning on hunting - I told him the information he asked for, and he then proceeded to tell me that a 150 grain bullet out of a 7mm was way too small for a cow elk...
> 
> My response, "Karl?"


I'll go in place of Karl.

I wouldn't purposely use a 150 grain bullet out of a 7mm Mag when I could use something bigger and with better sectional density. Same goes for the 270; I would never intentionally use a 130 grain .270 bullet for elk. I don't subscribe to the "it's all about bullet placement" or "my brother-in-law uses a .223 on elk, and he's kilt 2 elk now with it" stuff although all that type of rhetoric keeps many an outdoor forum alive.

I have no reason or inclination to shoot at an elk from a long distance. Instead I will use my outdoor skills to get closer. Uh...my outdoor skills are a lot better than my shooting skills if ya know what I mean. 

.


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## LostLouisianian

I personally would use my .567 ultra super special remington browning tikka winchester mega magnum with 487 grain depleted uranium heat seeking projectiles.


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## wyogoob

LostLouisianian said:


> I personally would use my .567 ultra super special remington browning tikka winchester mega magnum with 487 grain depleted uranium heat seeking projectiles.


Boy, I'd like ta have a nickel for every time I heard that.

Top of da page baby.

.


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## Springville Shooter

I love shooting elk with 270's, 280's, 300's, 338's, and most of all my 35 Whelen. I even shot one with a 257 once but don't tell my wife. Guess what? Every elk I ever shot died and man were they delicious. 

I had a block party elk BBQ on Halloween once with an elk killed by a 270. I didn't feel guilty for a minute.------SS


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