Can I hunt Elk, Mule Deer, and Oryx in New Mexico with .270 rifle? Or do I need something with more power?

yes .24 caliber is the smallest caliber for elk and you meet that category

Neither. I live in Alaska and own several 308's. The 308 is more powerful than a 270 - but - still is not capable of doing a quartering shot. Quartering shot is when the animal is only presenting a quarter - and you need to shoot though the quarter to anchor or stop the animal - the bullet must pass though the fat, meat, and get into vital organs. An elk is too big for a 308 to reliably pass though the quarters and get into vital organs. Most all states have laws that require you to finish the job once you shoot and injure an animal - called 'want and waste'. You hurt that elk and it runs 27 miles into the nastiest place on earth - the state expects you to be right behind it to finish the job and pack out all the meat. And if it takes you 2-3 days to track down the injured elk and a week to pack out the rotting, rancid meat - you are gonna pack the rotted rancid meat out on your back and be happy about it. Or face a $15,000 to $45,000 fine and jail time. You can't just go 'shucks, it got away' with your bullet in it. They do not make one rifle that does it all - otherwise my wife would have bought me one and sold all the others. For elk and moose - you need a rifle with 7mm Rem Mag or 300 Win Mag like power or more - with more being better. Elk have a nasty habbit of running into places to die that will make your life a living hell. You need a very powerful rifle to anchor it and finish the job in one shot if possible. If you are too cheap to invest in the right tool for the right job - then you are risking having a terrible, terrible hunting trip that could end up with you in court the next few years. Hope this helps

I've been hunting for 40yrs. Deer, elk, turkey, duck, geese, and just about any other varmint out there. I know more than one person hunting successful with a .270, but a .30 caliber is suggested! Even more important though is the shot. That's the Sport in Hunting! Military and Law Enforcement Snipers prefer .308 caliber. I have for 40 years. Winchester .308 Model 88 Lever Action short throw, 5 shot clip, pre-64. Collectors item. Buy one on-line $1200. Post-64 $600.

Congratulations!! on picking an outstanding caliber for hunting. I tried em all many years ago, but starting almost 30 years ago, I read all of Jack O'Connors books about the .270 and was so impressed that I switched over to it. I have never regretted that choice. I have harvested many many mule deer, elk, black bear, antelope and wild hogs with it. Most of the time it is a one shot kill. I would not hesitate to recomend it to anyone for anything except the big bears of alaska or other afircan dangerous game. But I hope some day to use it for plainsgame in Africa. I shoot a 150 grain sierra BTSP load that closely follows Jack's original load. I do drop down to a 130 grain load for antelope. But again, it closely follows Jack's load.

The two classic "Do anything in North America" cartridges are the .270 and the 30-06, so you made a great choice.

the 270 will do absolutely wonderful on Ornyx and deer. It will also do a fine job on elk, but there you will need to select as heavy of a bullet as you can find, and one that is made to the highest quality, a preimum line bullet.

I would prefer the 30-06 myself.* It an the 30-30 & 32 Winchester Special have harvested more game than any of the other calibers.* It will cleanly harvest any game in North America.* My favorite bullet weights for the 30-06 are 165, 180 and 220 grain.*

Oryx Deer

Power isn't a problem. You do want to pick a bullet with good construction and adequate sectional density for the job at hand, though. Many people choose overpowered magnum cartridges because they don't understand terminal ballistics or how to choose the proper bullet.

.30 caliber at the minimum..while bullet placement is more important than bullet size,there are limits..maybe a 300 WSM or an 06

all the mule deer i've shot have been w/a 22/250 . i wouldn't go any smaller than that, but anything bigger would be fine