sorry but i just dont see what the 270 does that the 2506 doesnt do. Both are so close in power and the abilty to kill animals that is not worth a discusion. The differnce in damage something like a 120 partition in a 2506 at 3000 fps does and a 270 shooting a 130 at that speed or a 150 at 2800 isnt going ot add up to a hill of beans. the 25 cal will make up what it lacks in weight for pentration by the fact it has a slightly better bc and if you ever looked at the inside of a deer shot with both youd see both do plenty of damage once inside an animal. Now to really step up in power from a 2506 you need to go to a 7 or 30 mag or maybe on the bottom side of that a 180 (handloaded to its best potential) in an 06. the smaller bores like the 270 and the various other 7mm rounds just dont do that good at pushing heavy bullets. Same goes for the smaller 30s right up to 06 which even loaded to factory levels is boderline. Sure they will all kill an elk at 200 yards but if we stretch that to 300 and you want to shoot heavy bullets you need to put some ump behind them to make the really effective.
Like i said ive never killed an elk so im no expert but ive no doubt killed more deer with the 2506 and 257 wbys and roberts at longer ranges then anyone here . Ive got some definate opinions on what works and what doesnt. At 200 yards most anything works 300 is the equalizer and out past that you want all the gun you can shoot. Bullet placement is the key to all of this. If your good with your rifle and have the metal makeup to just take good shots at ranges within the effectiveness of the round your using you will do good. I doubt any elk would walk away from a 100 grain corelock out of a 243 at a 100 yards if put in his chest. If your the type that takes something like an elk at any range and any angle because your afraid youll go home without youd best skip all the standard rounds and step up to a mag. But if your out there hunting and run into some grizzly old charater in tatered hunting clothes shooting a 99 in 250 or something simular id probably not jump him and tell him his gun isnt enough because im sure hed give you 20 or 30 examples of why hes right and you should go back to surfing the web. Guns and loads like that arent for 16 year old kids or anyone inexperienced rifleman but in the right hands do just fine. Last i heard elks hides arent much thicker then a deers and there rib bones arent the size of baseball bats.
As to what some gun writter said that doesnt hold much weight for me. They just like you and i just have an opinion. Just because there good at writing a story doesnt make them one bit more of an authority on what kills then any other person thats spent his life doing it. As a matter of fact it means even less to me. Most of what they write is just crap to fill an article to sell to some crap gun rag like guns and ammo. they will say one thing this month and test a gun for some manufacture next month in about the same caliber and call it differnt. \quote author=Rock Home Isle link=topic=30904.msg1099438865#msg1099438865 date=1324944683]
Now that I'm in elk country, I'm wondering about the possibility of using my .25-06 on them if necessary. I've heard of a few guys taking elk with the .25-06, but not a lot.
So what's your experience with the .257" on elk?
Thanks!
The absolute smallest calibre that I would recommend to be reliable and effective for elk sized game under most conditions would be the .270 Winchester. I've used the .25'06 and it is completely a specialty calibre on animals the size of an elk. There is no forgiving in this round if your shot is off by much, and an elk can cover a lot of country when its wounded. The elk is a very powerful animal, and is able to absorb a lot of energy.
The .25'06 is awesome on deer sized game. Its amazing in open ground taking antelope. The calibre is lacking when it comes to taking elk reliably under most conditions.
You're going to get lots of guys saying "
sure, I've taken elk with it....no problem". But the real measure is if the .25'06 is reliable on elk sized game
under most situations....no its not. I know of no articles where a professional writer (
an expert in the field) has touted the .25'06 as any kind of elk medicine, and there's a reason....
There are other calibres that are much better....I would advise that you give the .270 Winchester a good hard look over as the very smallest elk rifle; it is a proven performer. And if you don't mind a little recoil the 7mm Mag or the .300 Mag are even better.
