Bill, when I first came to Montana in 1992 I'd read all the scribblings guys like Boddington had recorded about elk in the various gunrags through the 1980's. I was fairly convinced a small howitzer was necessary for elk. I'll never forget one fall evening I was driving South through Bridger Canyon when I picked up a hitchkiker sporting blaze orange and a rifle. He'd just come out of the mountains and needed a lift to his truck. I asked what he was packing, his reply was "308." I remember thinking to myself, "that seems kinda small" but kept my mouth shut. I'd always been a 308 fan, but just couldn't see its place on elk. Then in the early 2000's I started packing one, and eventually found it worked just fine. And, of course, ditto all the other "lesser" rounds like the 270 and 7-08!
I think a lot of guys are still influenced by those 1980's writers, many of whom had thin resumes with elk. I also think in all American males there's an element of machismo that requires a "big/bad" remedy. Add peer pressure, group think, ego/insecurity and viola, the Remington Ultra Mag!
As someone once said, "experience can be very long but very narrow."
I'd also add, there's a definite "confirmation bias" of many magnum shooters that guides them to only seek out those sources that confirm their pre-existing biases, while ignoring all others in contradiction. I had those same biases, I was just flexible enough to learn something new. There's often a better way.
I'm glad I did listen...
