The ideal elk cartridges are those you can shoot well and accurately and delivers enough velocity and energy at POI to get the job done cleanly. There isn't just "one".
My hunting buddy has diabetes-related shoulder problems and heavy recoiling loads, while possibly "ideal" for others, are not for him. I saw a huge bull hanging that was shot by a young lady I think was all of 12 years old. She used a .25-06 and a 117g bullet. I'm pretty sure a 378WBY would have been a less acceptable choice for her.
A lot of people way overthink this. Most shots taken are well within the effective range of most legal cartridges.
But heck, elk season is a long ways off. Gotta talk about something.
Coyote Hunter - NRA Patriot Life, NRA Whittington Center Life, GOA, DAD - and I VOTE!
No, I'm not a Ruger bigot - just an unabashed fan of their revolvers, M77's and #1's.
