My first elk

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ChefJeff1

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Hi, I shot my first cow elk on Tuesday. After weeks of hiking up to 9500' and seeing a ton of animals it finally all came together. I was in beautiful Sun Valley, Idaho. The gun was my Ruger M77 .270 with a federal premium 140 grain nosler accubond bullet. It couldn't have been a more perfect day, snowing like crazy and pretty chilly. Thanks for looking, Jeff
 

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Nicely done! From reading some posts on this thread I thought the 270 wasn't an elk killer :) Please provide more details when you get a chance.
 
Congrats, I can't wait to go elk hunting. Deer season starts tomorrow, I am so ready. Guess this is proof that the old .270 does kill elk eh? Good job, she'll be delicious.
 
It kills em alright. I did have to take a finishing shot though. She was high on a ridge about 250 yards away and when I shot her she crumpled and slid at least 500 feet in elevation down the hill. That bullet is quite a thumper!
 
Congrats. Im envious since we dont have any elk here in Virginia. Infact most of our deer arent even much bigger than my dogs. Glad to see that the .270 can bring down such a large animal. I have loved my Rem 700 in .270 but I never thought I could drop something that size with it. I guess its all about shot placement. Someday I hope to try it for my self.
 
I got laughed at when I bought my CZ 550 FS .270 and told the guys at my local shop that I planned to use it elk hunting. I'll have to show them your post.

Nice cow elk!
 
^^^^ I was just about to mention Jack O'Connor. The .270 is just fine for elk, and with its flat trajectory, and light weight, I would say its almost perfect. Elk hunting can be ALOT of work, and hauling a huge rifle around isn't always the way to go.
 
My Father-in-Law (God rest his gentle soul) from my first marriage harvested 39 elk in 39 years in Montana before he had to quit elk hunting . . . not a bad track record. None lost, most didn't travel more than a few yards, all dead . . . and every one with his venerable .270. Wonderful man, wonderful gun, reliable caliber.
 
Shawnee, you're right. Unfortunately I was a little off my shot placement but if I did my part it would have been only 1 shot for sure. I was thinking of getting a new rifle in a bigger caliber but I'll be sticking with my trusty .270 for now. I plan to shoot it alot between now and next hunting season to better "learn it".
 
Nice slab of meat there! Congrats

270 is plety of rifle for elk, i killed my first 5 with one, farthest any went was about 80 yards straight down hill, but dead when it finally went over.

Still waiting for the opportunity to test out the new 25-06 on a cow this year and see if it is truely what i think it is on an elk.
 
Chef',
Nice cow! My first cow elk was also taken with a 270 Win (Tikka T3) with 150 grain Nosler Partitions.
Just curious about the unit # you were hunting in?

Regards from a fellow Idahoan.
 
Nice job!

I actually took my first Elk last week as well :)

270 is plenty of gun for Elk. That's what most old timers I know carry for Elk. The big calibers buy you more effective range, they don't buy you more killing power..
 
Congrats. Im envious since we dont have any elk here in Virginia. Infact most of our deer arent even much bigger than my dogs. Glad to see that the .270 can bring down such a large animal. I have loved my Rem 700 in .270 but I never thought I could drop something that size with it. I guess its all about shot placement. Someday I hope to try it for my self.

WISE County Virginia (Maybe not full of Elk, but they are there) As another person already said, you can take them on a regular deer tag. Whatever rules apply to deer apply to Elk. I think the only thing you cannot do is check them over the phone.

Also the comment about the most of the deer not being bigger than dogs is not really true. I am from OHIO so I relize that Virginia deer don't really live up to standards realized in other parts of the country; however, I shot a little button buck a couple of weeks ago that was larger than "most" dogs.

I have taken 2 doe this year as well, and they were both over 100lbs. Also one of my hunting buddies shot an 11 pointer that was over 200lbs. If you really want to see small whitetail deer hang out the Southwest. That whole dog statement will take on a new meaning to you. I have seen antlered whitetail so small that it left me amazed.
 
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