Here is what I found. If your hunting Elk in open country A very long shot is 400yrds. Beyond that the wind, bad rest, heart rate, heavy breathing, time to get on target, Elk moving all kill your ability to make a clean shot. I have a few Elk rifles. The 308, 30-06 class are fine 200yrd Elk rifles. They start lacking energy beyond that. 7mm rem Mag with 160-175gr bullets are fine for that rare 400yrd shot. Then there is what I carry most days when Elk hunting. 300 win mag loaded with 200gr Partitions at 2900fps. Good from 50yrds to 500yrds and a bit beyond if you have spent the time practicing. If you think hunting Elk is all about long shots, You need to hunt Elk more. Several times I have set up on nice Bulls at over 500yrds. Just because you can see them in your scope, Have ranged them with the range finder, doesn't mean you should shoot. Imagine you just climbed a 7000' ridge, Spot a Nice bull across the canyon or out on a spur ridge. Wind is blowing about 30mph, temp is 15deg up from zero when you started the day. You just spent 3hr hunting up the mountain. You get set up, sitting with your shooting sticks. Dig out the range finder and you keep getting reading on the bull. 535yrd then 615yrds, 585yrds, 615yrds. The deep cold and wind is screwing with the reading, your shaking from the excitement, The battery is cold. Bull is calm, has not seen you. You wait for a shot, look for a line of travel you can get closer. Longer you wait, the colder you get. The worse the sight picture looks. Wind is still gusting past 30mph. That is Elk hunting. Not some fantasy written in a hunting rag.
Sounds like you need a new range finder, fresher batteries or steadier hands. You might also want to switch loads in your .30-06 if you think they are lacking past 200 yards.
While a .300WM provides more energy and velocity than a .30-06, the difference is not nearly as great as the 300 yards you suggest. Take your .300WM/200g Partition at 2900fps. At 500 yards it is doing about 2186fps and delivers 2121fpe. A .30-06/180g AB at 2800fps is still doing 2310fps with 2133fpe at 360 yards. At 500 yards that same .30-06 load retains 2134fps and 1820fpe, which is comparable to many .30-30 loads at the muzzle. When the day comes that I can�t take an elk cleanly at 500 yards with a .30-06 the day has come for me to quit hunting them as the problem isn�t with the cartridge.
I agree elk hunting is not all about long shots. In 33 years of elk hunting I�ve never taken or seen an elk taken where a .30-06 or .308 Win would not have sufficed, and that includes my two longest kills at 400 and 487 yards. (I used a .300WM and .338WM on those shots, respectfully.) Both were standing broadside shots across to the next ridge from a sitting position. I would guess the vast majority of elk are taken at ranges well under 300 yards. Of the 13 elk I�ve taken since 2000, all but three were inside that range.
As to the weather, yes, it can be cold. It can also be short sleeve weather, depending on where and when you hunt.
