I used one for quite a while back in the day as I was climbing the cartridge latter. It's a very capable cartridge for elk though I took more deer with it than anything else and, of course, it was and is a very good long range deer cartridge. Of course, you don't "need" it for deer.
I think the comparison with the '06 as far as recoil is concerned is probably a good one though in the day before LRFs I appreciated that it shot a bit flatter. With a +2.5" at a 100, zero at 225-250, - 4-6" at 300, and a - 15" or so at 400, you were - 30-36" at 500 yards, depending on specific loads. This way you could hold on deer hair to 350 and knowing the size of deer made 400 yard broadside shots very doable; that is, if you were a good range estimator. Of course it was even easier with elk.
Any bullet from a 150-gr premiums to 175's will work well with elk and you can normally reach 2900-3000 fps with 175's and good hand loads.
Despite the plethora of new cartridges, particularly the short-fats, it is still a good choice.
