There are some places in elk country where longish ranges are likely, but most of elk country is not. For every elk standing out in the open and posing long enough to heft the 10x50 bino's, set up the 80mm spotter, untangle the bipod, warm up the rangefinder, range, consult the trignometry book taped to the stock, twirl, lick our finger and test the wind, there are 10--maybe a 100--more elk hanging out in the timber.
And for every nimrod who goes through your procedure above, there are probably two or three guys who could throw their pack down, get behind it, range and twist the knob and be ready to shoot in just about the time it took to type this..........
edited to add: And for every guy who can successfully stalk elk in black timber, there are 10 who bumble along, make too much noise, get winded, and blow the elk out of their bedding areas and into the next basin......
