John,

As always, whenever the question of elk cartridges comes up, we have to define our terms. Over 95% of the elk killed each year are cows, calves and young bulls. The rest are "trophy bulls" of one size or another. A lot of hunters are perfectly happy using the .243 and similar rounds on "meat elk," but those are not usually used when hunting big bulls, whether when locals draw a tag or non-residents book a guided hunt.

And the big bulls are always when somebody posts something about, "So it's the last evening of your $12,000 hunt and the bull of a lifetime is heading away at 400 yards blah blah blah...."

Personally, my wife and I have never had any trouble killing elk (or moose, or African plains game) game with a .30-06 or 7x57 or .270--even some "bulls of a lifetime."

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck