Don’t know as I would use a .223 for elk, but I knew an old man in my youth with an entire garage wall full of deer skulls, each with a hole from a .22 rimfire through the temple. Which was the impetus for my several whitetail kills with a rimfire. Ruger 77/22. All less than 25 yards and all dropped at the shot. Knew several old men who learned to shoot in the Depression by getting an ass whipping if they brought home fewer carcasses than they left with shells for. They would laugh at a lot of the posters here. Would I hunt elk with a .223? Not if I could help it. But if that is what I had and I was hungry, elk would be supper. Likely via headshot from close range. Meat tastes better when you just flip the light switch.
I notice some folks talking down to folks who are saying it can be done have the word magnum or something indicating their preference for the magnums in their handle. Figures. I base my opinion of a hunter on his ability to put game in the truck reliably and with a minimum of fuss. What he uses to do that is his choice, and I could care less. We end up tracking game more than seldom, there is a problem. With the hunter, not the equipment.
