338 WINCHESTER. GOOD WYOMING ELK MEDICINE
I enjoy your website. It's refreshing to read what I regard to be honest appraisals of various cartridges. At one time, before I knew any different, I thought the 270 Winchester could do just about anything. The writings of Jack O'Connor were before my time as an adult, but they sure have stuck with the modern hunter. Using a 270 on elk in Colorado, where I thought and was told that most shots are at 150 yards or less, left me unprepared for a 260-yard shot at a magnificent bull. I hit him alright. We could hear the impact, and the guide watched through binoculars. It was a good shot. I can even tell you that it was 150-grain factory loads that had been recommended for elk.
Due to the terrain and undergrowth, it took a couple of minutes to get to where he was. The last my guide saw was the bull striding away at a fast pace. We found blood, and the guide was able to track it for something like a mile by reading disturbed ground and brush. It was an early morning shot, and we gave up at dusk. The next day he employed another local who had a team of dogs. We called off the search at a little after noon, having been unable to relocate the trail. Today, a GPS would be of considerable value. I lost a fine elk, that died in agony in an unknown place. That has stuck with me very clearly for these past almost 30 years, and I still regret trying to use a deer and sheep rifle on a 650-pound elk.
In more recent years, I decided to try for an elk again. I had already purchased a 338 Winchester Magnum in a 700 Remington XCR, and became accustomed to its recoil and trajectory. I had travelled Wyoming in the winter for recreation with my family in recent years, and have been impressed with the elk herd that gathers at Jackson every winter. Convinced that Wyoming has many fine elk, I called two outfitters in that general area. Both of them, early in our conversations, asked what I planned to use for a rifle, and punctuated their question with s statement that they don't allow anything less than a 300 magnum. I contracted one of these outfitters, and went on a successful hunt the following year. I saw first hand what a 338 Winchester Magnum can do at nearly 300 yards, and can tell you that the 270 is a pop-gun in comparison. I never felt the recoil, and didn't get smacked in the forehead by the scope, much to the chagrin of the hecklers back home who made a ritual out of warning me about the "cannon" I would be using.
In visits with the guide about elk rifles, he assured me that the 338 spoils less meat than a 270 even when used on mule deer, and he personally recommends nothing less than 180-grain bullets in a 30-06 for elk. Better still are 180s out of a 300 magnum, as they hit quite a bit harder at any distance. He was very pleased to see me with the 338, and after handling the rifle to look it over for a moment, handed it back and said it looked like I knew what I was doing. From there he watched as I shot at a target at both 100 and 200 yards, and then questioned if I knew what the drop was if I had to take a shot at up tp 300 yards. I did.
The success of this hunt was 180 degrees from the disappointment of my first elk hunt. Besides, even though this was a fine trophy bull, the meat was excellent. I guess the only thing I could suggest for improvement is that next time I hope I get a little smaller horse.
Robert, Nebraska
A great story; thank you for passing it along. If you ever get out as far as Salmon, please stop at Northwest Magnum. This is Elmer Keith country and he had a somewhat different take on the 270, regarding it to be okay for coyotes. Elmer was known to stretch a comment to make a point, so you have to be in a position to appreciate his dry attempts at humor rather than use them as fodder for arguments. But, as a small man who probably didn't relish tracking over the sometimes shale-covered slopes of Salmon River country, there's no doubt that he developed an appreciation for cartridges capable of anchoring game on the spot.
JDC