LoweDown,

I grew up reading Jack O'Conner. Yes I recall the 270 Win, but have only seen them (like most guns and calibers) but never fired them. I haven't been hunting in well over 30 years, since I discovered fly fishing. Only guns I ever had were a .22 rifle and revolver, 30-30 Win, and a shotgun, Stevens I think. I used to want one of those military surplus Swedish or Italian 6.5 mm carbines, cuz several writers suggested that they were built on good actions and made excellent sporterized deer rifles. A neighbor kid down the road got into gunsmithing, and I went off to college and discovered fly fishing and unintentionally stopped hunting. Every now and again I get the urge, but then I read a story like Keith's elk hunt and remember that every time you get an animal on the ground, hunting becomes a lot like work. Fooling trout with a fly and then letting them go is morally reprehensible to some people, but it sure is a lot tidier, and if I do keep a couple, they're not too heavy to carry home.

Sg