Good elk tags are much harder to get, and good elk are much harder to find, than they are to shoot/kill. A .260 will absolutely kill an elk. But you won't see me carrying mine on any hunt that matters much to me. I've had only two premium bull tags in my career, and both hunts were more than a fair bit of work. I do everything I can to maximize my prospects for success, and carrying my .260 would not be consistent with that approach.
A ranchland hunt for cows--sure. A hunt where I am covering multiple miles and multiple 1000s of feet of elevation in a day, to MAYBE get one shot--no way am I carrying a .260.
That sums it up pretty good right there. These aren't the "good ole days" for most of us. I would never advocate one of my elk hunting clients bring a 260 Remington as their primary rifle unless they had physical limitations that limited their choices somewhat. This year, other than archery bulls, I had 7mm Rem mag, 300 Winny and a 338-378 WBY. All were more than adequate, however, all took more than one shot!
