Best rifle caliber for western hunting?

[elkguide]

In my years guiding, I was always happier to see a hunter come into camp with a beat up .270, .30-06 or some rifle/caliber that they had spent a lot of time with and were very good friends. The hunters that came into camp with their brand new, shiny, super whiz bang rifles/caliber kings made me say, "Oh boy. Here we go again!"

Now when someone asks me how many rifles I need, the answer is always, "just one more." I have followed that philosophy and might have more than one rifle in my go to caliber, the .300 Win Mag. However, even with more than one .300 WM, I always seem to grab my Cooper as I've gotten so comfortable with it that it seems like everything that I point at just falls over.

Pick the rifle that fits you the best in the caliber that you want and get out there and shoot it and then shoot it some more and go tip something over and make it leak!

 

[Sunshine19]

Everyone has an opinion, but I decided to built a 300 Norma and a 6 UM for hunting and a 6.5 creed for NRL / field matches.

 

[Kodiak06]

It's all preference but I have killed animals from FL to AK with my 7mm mag and Ruger 10-22 so no need for another gun

 

[tstowater]

I really should go back to my safe queen, a 700BDL in 280 Remington. I like guns. At this point, it's rolling the dice as to what to use: 7 PRC, 300 WSM or 300 Win Mag. Not sure I can play the 22 or 6mm game yet.

 

[Airdiggy]

Well that doesn’t really help scratch the itch I have but thank you for the insight!

6.8 western

 

[kcm2]

A 270 with premium bullets is good for elk out to 519 yards in my experience. About half of my elk have been dropped between 300-400 yards watching an escape trail across a draw. I now use the Hornady 130gr CX bullet in their Superformance ammo, which has worked out to 300 on elk so far. 500 yds is a long ways. I'm not suggesting you avoid buying a new rifle and scope, that's always a good idea. But your 270 is plenty for elk out to 500, just spend money shooting at distance and getting really good at a 400 yard shot. And buy a new knife to help you when you drop one.