Yeah. That's why I narrowed it down to the 300wm. I've owned a RUM and 30-378 and wouldn't go there again. I have a 300h&h now so was thinking that a 300wm is pretty close and the 300 Norma is a step above.
The max range for elk would only be around 400-500yds. Mule deer might be a bit more.
At 400-500 yds, in 30 cal that's well within 308 territory.
I have a friend whose LR Elk rifle was a 300 RUM for a few seasons. It served him well with one shot kills at 1000yd+. When it came time to order it's 3rd barrel in 3 years, there wasn't enough time to get it together, so I gave him a Win 270 WSM I had picked up as a donor action.
I didn't know of any really good .270 LR bullets available at the time, but he managed to find one and ended up taking an Elk at 950 yards...one shot.
After taking various game he said it hits just as hard as his 300RUM and he couldn't tell any difference, except for 1/3 the recoil and an 8# lighter rifle. He ended up ordering a 270 WSM barrel and that rifle will never again be a 300 RUM.
But there are many better choices right now. At 500 yards, 300 H&H is excellent at that range, or at longer ranges that the other rounds would be useful for.
400-500 yards is where LR barely starts and isn't a challenge for 243 on up. Another friend's large game rifle is 6BR to 600 yards, and deer and varmints much farther.
With today's bullet technology, building a rifle around a chamber doesn't make sense, but building around a good bullet does. That's why the Creedmore is so popular.
Accuracy, high BC, good brass, barrel life... I think caliber doesn't make it on the list.
