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Wyosmith · November 15, 2012, 11:06 AM

Look hard at the 270 Win and the 280 Rem.
I would take either one of them instead of a belted Mag or short mag for most purposes.
Speaking from a lot of experience I can say I don't see any cartridge out there between a 30-06 and a 9.3X62 or 375H&H that does a lot more then the 270-30-06 range of shells.

If you use a good bullet they all kill elk and moose about the same from 270 to 300 mags.

(Sacrilege say some, but those that do have probably not seen over 100 elk killed with various calibers. I have! I have hunted them and guided hunts for them now for nearly 40 years)

Proper bullets matched to the game you hunt is a lot more important than the “powder bottle” that holds the fuel to launch them.

A 270 Winchester with 150 grain round nosed “Core-Lok” bullets penetrated WAY more and kills WAY better on elk than a 300 Weatherby loaded with about any 150 grain bullet (except the solid copper ones.)
Why?
The 270 “Cor-Lok”expands and hold together so it punches right through leaving a good would channel
The 300 Weatherby with the 150 grain bullets will hit going so fast that the bullet breaks up in the first 3 inches of penetration and in MOST cases the largest piece you will find will weigh less than 40 grains. 40 gain and lighter fragments don’t retain their velocity well in meat and organs, and they DON’T go very deep.

Now if you use a bullet that won’t blow up like a bonded or a Barnes X the whole scenario changes in favor of the 300.

Guys, bullets don’t kill. Shells don’t kill. Rifles don’t kill.
BULLET WOUNDS KILL!

If the wound is large and shallow it may (and often does) leave one lung working on an elk or moose. And unless you have followed them for years I bet most hunters have no idea how far an elk can go on one lung. Trust me, it’s a LONG way and without a good exit wound, they are NOT easy to follow especially if they are in a herd of other elk.

I have never lost a wounded one yet (thank God) but I have followed them for hours before I was able to get back on them.

Anyway, back to the 1st point.
If you go with a 270 or a 280 I believe you will be happier.
You get less recoil, much better barrel life, more magazine capacity (if that matters) and less expensive ammo with either factory loads or hand loads.

To get better kills on big game than a 270 will give you, you do need to go bigger, but not just 10%-20%. I DO see a marked improvement with a 375H&H over my 270 on moose and buffalo. But on elk and moose I have yet to see a 300 mag that seemed to do much better than a good 270,280 or 30-06.

I know this kind of talk doesn’t sell the “new and improved” stuff we see in magazines, but I am telling you the truth here.

Faster makes the guns shoot flatter. That’s true, but even a 308 is flat enough for 400 yard shots with no problem at all if you can judge the range. If you can’t judge the range you should not shoot………with anything.

Well…….let the readers respond.

November 15, 2012, 11:06 AM	#10
Wyosmith Senior Member Join Date: December 29, 2010 Location: Shoshoni Wyoming Posts: 2,713	Look hard at the 270 Win and the 280 Rem. I would take either one of them instead of a belted Mag or short mag for most purposes. Speaking from a lot of experience I can say I don't see any cartridge out there between a 30-06 and a 9.3X62 or 375H&H that does a lot more then the 270-30-06 range of shells. If you use a good bullet they all kill elk and moose about the same from 270 to 300 mags. (Sacrilege say some, but those that do have probably not seen over 100 elk killed with various calibers. I have! I have hunted them and guided hunts for them now for nearly 40 years) Proper bullets matched to the game you hunt is a lot more important than the “powder bottle” that holds the fuel to launch them. A 270 Winchester with 150 grain round nosed “Core-Lok” bullets penetrated WAY more and kills WAY better on elk than a 300 Weatherby loaded with about any 150 grain bullet (except the solid copper ones.) Why? The 270 “Cor-Lok”expands and hold together so it punches right through leaving a good would channel The 300 Weatherby with the 150 grain bullets will hit going so fast that the bullet breaks up in the first 3 inches of penetration and in MOST cases the largest piece you will find will weigh less than 40 grains. 40 gain and lighter fragments don’t retain their velocity well in meat and organs, and they DON’T go very deep. Now if you use a bullet that won’t blow up like a bonded or a Barnes X the whole scenario changes in favor of the 300. Guys, bullets don’t kill. Shells don’t kill. Rifles don’t kill. BULLET WOUNDS KILL! If the wound is large and shallow it may (and often does) leave one lung working on an elk or moose. And unless you have followed them for years I bet most hunters have no idea how far an elk can go on one lung. Trust me, it’s a LONG way and without a good exit wound, they are NOT easy to follow especially if they are in a herd of other elk. I have never lost a wounded one yet (thank God) but I have followed them for hours before I was able to get back on them. Anyway, back to the 1st point. If you go with a 270 or a 280 I believe you will be happier. You get less recoil, much better barrel life, more magazine capacity (if that matters) and less expensive ammo with either factory loads or hand loads. To get better kills on big game than a 270 will give you, you do need to go bigger, but not just 10%-20%. I DO see a marked improvement with a 375H&H over my 270 on moose and buffalo. But on elk and moose I have yet to see a 300 mag that seemed to do much better than a good 270,280 or 30-06. I know this kind of talk doesn’t sell the “new and improved” stuff we see in magazines, but I am telling you the truth here. Faster makes the guns shoot flatter. That’s true, but even a 308 is flat enough for 400 yard shots with no problem at all if you can judge the range. If you can’t judge the range you should not shoot………with anything. Well…….let the readers respond.