Take some time and money and find a premium bullet that works for you. This year I plan to use a .308 with 165 nosler acubonds.
I shot a cow elk two years ago with a .338 RCM 200g SST Hornaday load at 2950 fps muzzle. The range was 380 yards, according to the ballistic tables at impact it was 2400fps.
The bullet ended up shedding about half its weight with what ended up being a near side shoulder shot. Fortunately there was enough residual weight to continue through the vitals. The remaining bullet base was 95 grains.
The sst bullets are my favorite deer bullet and I use them in a 7 mauser, .280, .300 sav, and .308 with great results, but something stronger is needed for elk.
