I used to hunt elk with a .338 Magnum and 275 gr. Speer RN bullets, since I no longer hunt elk I sold the .338 and now use a .35 Whelen as my whitetail rifle. After much load development and range testing I found the 225gr. Sierra or Nosler over IMR 4064 to be the load my rifle prefers. Agreed that a 250 gr. bullet at 2500-2700 would really anchor an elk or moose and would be noticeable as far as recoil.
I feel ya bro.... I built my whelen to fill the larder, with bigger critters, it ain’t gonna be at the range much, but it’ll hammer shiit when need be
