All-around .270

[270man]

Tater,

I've used the 270 for years and have no complaints. Everyone has opinions on the "best" caliber for a given species of big game, but very few people have enough experience to back up their claims with meaningful statistics. Here's some stuff I know and some other stuff I've read that might be helpful:

Most of our elk (wife and me) have been shot with the 270 using either 130gr or 150gr Nosler partition bullets. No problems with either, but not enough data points for good statistics.

Jack O'Connor shot some 18 elk with the 270, mostly with 130gr bullets. He doesn't say what bullet, but many of them were probably the old Winchester SilverTips. Source is O'Connor's book, "The Hunting Rifle".

Jim Carmichael, Outdoor Life Shooting Editor, says the 270 stops being its real self when bullet weight gets up to 150gr. He prefers the 130gr for its higher velocity, but says the Nosler 140gr Partition might be just right for elk.

A local guide out here in Arizona says he prefers Remington Core-Lokts for elk (didn't say what weight, but Remington only sells them in 130gr and 150gr). This guy also has a lot of experience with elk kills.

I intend to try the 140gr Nosler Partitions in the future and see how they work -- assuming I can get an elk permit, of course.

Good luck,

270man