Drizzt
Member
Dentry: Popular rifle primes high-caliber dispute
October 18, 2005
The argument echoes on. Many shooters recoiled at the notion, shared by some, that the .270-caliber rifle might not be enough gun for elk hunting.
Those weren't my words in Wednesday's column, but quotes from an outfitter who has had awful experiences tracking elk his clients wounded with a bullet fired from the relatively lightweight rifle.
Some champions of the .270, and there are many, questioned outfitter Gary Hubbell's testimony, as if those experiences never happened to him. Other readers merely suggested flogging the messenger for quoting him.
Here's the quote: "A .270 is not an adequate elk rifle. Of all the elk that my clients have shot and not recovered, most were hit in the vitals with a .270. The minimum caliber for elk is a .30.06."
Fair enough: a personal opinion from someone who has witnessed poor performance among a group of hunters, most of whom happened to have been shooting the same caliber rifle.
Every reader who defended the .270 cited the experience of one hunter - themselves. Their tales were impressive, however.
"The .270 has worked for me," Jeff Dyche, of Evergreen, said. "It took 13 elk, and I never lost one. It all depends on shot placement."
Dave Bauer e-mailed that he has hunted with a .270 all his life.
"It has never failed me, or maybe I should say I have never failed when I have been lucky and skillful enough to take a shot," he wrote. "The key is shot placement, knowing the limitations of you and your firearm."
Thomas Payne wrote, "I have killed 9-10 elk with my .270, and I have never wounded one that got away."
It's an old campfire controversy - this quarrel between advocates of high-velocity rounds and heavy, slower ones. When Mark Cousins heard about the squabble and agreed to referee, he invoked one of the best-known names in shooting history.
"Jack O'Connor is rolling over in his grave," said Cousins, who directs the Division of Wildlife's hunter education program.
O'Connor, one of the most famous American gun writers, espoused the use of high velocity, flat-trajectory bullets. He was the .270's biggest torch bearer.
On the other hand, his contemporary, the equally famous, no-nonsense, cowboy-hat-wearing gun writer Elmer Keith, took no stock in lightweights. He liked his big-game guns and loads big and heavy.
For the record, Colorado hunting law includes the .270 among calibers that might be used to shoot elk legally. In fact, the law allows smaller 6 mm rifles.
"I've seen elk killed with the 6 mm," Cousins said. "But it isn't very forgiving."
Cousins spent more than 17 years in the field as a wildlife officer. He said he also has seen elk horribly wounded by large caliber bullets.
For him, the controversy boils down not to the caliber, but to the shooter.
"Our mission with hunter education is, whatever caliber a person chooses to use, use a gun you can handle," he said.
He agreed with defenders of the .270 who insisted that correct shot placement is everything.
"Bullet selection and shot placement is the most important thing. That, and knowing your abilities and being able to estimate range and make a good shot," Cousins said.
"One of the best things you can do when you're hiking or scouting is to use a range finder and learn how topography can change your perception of distance. We do that with our officers."
Beyond all else, he said, hunters must do enough target shooting to become intimate with their rifle's performance and limitations.
"Caliber designation is no substitute for practice," he said. "Know your ballistics. That comes from practice. Somebody knowing their limitations and hunting elk with a .270, that's fine.
"You need to know your equipment. Know your (animal) anatomy. Know your bullet drop, and shoot a gun you are comfortable with."
Cousins said only then will you know when not to shoot. Any ethical hunter should recognize restraint as more important than rushing a shot or accepting a bad target angle in the heat of the moment.
"Be willing to smile and appreciate that moment in nature and not worry about taking a shot that is beyond your limitations," he said.
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/recreation_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_85_4166405,00.html
October 18, 2005
The argument echoes on. Many shooters recoiled at the notion, shared by some, that the .270-caliber rifle might not be enough gun for elk hunting.
Those weren't my words in Wednesday's column, but quotes from an outfitter who has had awful experiences tracking elk his clients wounded with a bullet fired from the relatively lightweight rifle.
Some champions of the .270, and there are many, questioned outfitter Gary Hubbell's testimony, as if those experiences never happened to him. Other readers merely suggested flogging the messenger for quoting him.
Here's the quote: "A .270 is not an adequate elk rifle. Of all the elk that my clients have shot and not recovered, most were hit in the vitals with a .270. The minimum caliber for elk is a .30.06."
Fair enough: a personal opinion from someone who has witnessed poor performance among a group of hunters, most of whom happened to have been shooting the same caliber rifle.
Every reader who defended the .270 cited the experience of one hunter - themselves. Their tales were impressive, however.
"The .270 has worked for me," Jeff Dyche, of Evergreen, said. "It took 13 elk, and I never lost one. It all depends on shot placement."
Dave Bauer e-mailed that he has hunted with a .270 all his life.
"It has never failed me, or maybe I should say I have never failed when I have been lucky and skillful enough to take a shot," he wrote. "The key is shot placement, knowing the limitations of you and your firearm."
Thomas Payne wrote, "I have killed 9-10 elk with my .270, and I have never wounded one that got away."
It's an old campfire controversy - this quarrel between advocates of high-velocity rounds and heavy, slower ones. When Mark Cousins heard about the squabble and agreed to referee, he invoked one of the best-known names in shooting history.
"Jack O'Connor is rolling over in his grave," said Cousins, who directs the Division of Wildlife's hunter education program.
O'Connor, one of the most famous American gun writers, espoused the use of high velocity, flat-trajectory bullets. He was the .270's biggest torch bearer.
On the other hand, his contemporary, the equally famous, no-nonsense, cowboy-hat-wearing gun writer Elmer Keith, took no stock in lightweights. He liked his big-game guns and loads big and heavy.
For the record, Colorado hunting law includes the .270 among calibers that might be used to shoot elk legally. In fact, the law allows smaller 6 mm rifles.
"I've seen elk killed with the 6 mm," Cousins said. "But it isn't very forgiving."
Cousins spent more than 17 years in the field as a wildlife officer. He said he also has seen elk horribly wounded by large caliber bullets.
For him, the controversy boils down not to the caliber, but to the shooter.
"Our mission with hunter education is, whatever caliber a person chooses to use, use a gun you can handle," he said.
He agreed with defenders of the .270 who insisted that correct shot placement is everything.
"Bullet selection and shot placement is the most important thing. That, and knowing your abilities and being able to estimate range and make a good shot," Cousins said.
"One of the best things you can do when you're hiking or scouting is to use a range finder and learn how topography can change your perception of distance. We do that with our officers."
Beyond all else, he said, hunters must do enough target shooting to become intimate with their rifle's performance and limitations.
"Caliber designation is no substitute for practice," he said. "Know your ballistics. That comes from practice. Somebody knowing their limitations and hunting elk with a .270, that's fine.
"You need to know your equipment. Know your (animal) anatomy. Know your bullet drop, and shoot a gun you are comfortable with."
Cousins said only then will you know when not to shoot. Any ethical hunter should recognize restraint as more important than rushing a shot or accepting a bad target angle in the heat of the moment.
"Be willing to smile and appreciate that moment in nature and not worry about taking a shot that is beyond your limitations," he said.
http://rockymountainnews.com/drmn/recreation_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_85_4166405,00.html
