First of all I'm extremely jealous, I'd love to be able to hunt elk but it's not much of a possibility for me right now. Maybe once the boys are a bit older we'll get the chance. Congratulations on a great hunt by the way. When I read your post I couldn't help but think to myself "man, 130gr seems little light for a critter the size of an elk", obviously that combination works for you though so who am I to criticize? Sounds like that bullet did exactly what it was supposed to do although I would prefer an exit hole too just in case I need to follow a blood trail. Personally I would opt for a 150gr bullet but I generally like a heavier bullet. Hell I use a 140gr SPBT on whitetails in my 6.5x55.
The recommendation of a .280 Rem for elk would be a solid one except that there aren't very many new rifles chambered in the cartridge and as much as I like the .280, I don't think there's a whole lot it'll do that a .270 won't. The .280 Rem really shines if you handload, but otherwise the .270 Win has the edge for availability of rifles chambered for it and availability of ammunition. There's not many gun shops in this country that don't carry .270 Win ammo. It didn't sound to me like you were looking for a rifle recommendation but since someone offered one I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in for anyone that might be on the fence about the 2 cartridges.
-Infidel
The recommendation of a .280 Rem for elk would be a solid one except that there aren't very many new rifles chambered in the cartridge and as much as I like the .280, I don't think there's a whole lot it'll do that a .270 won't. The .280 Rem really shines if you handload, but otherwise the .270 Win has the edge for availability of rifles chambered for it and availability of ammunition. There's not many gun shops in this country that don't carry .270 Win ammo. It didn't sound to me like you were looking for a rifle recommendation but since someone offered one I thought I'd throw my 2 cents in for anyone that might be on the fence about the 2 cartridges.
-Infidel
