Although all of cartridges mentioned will kill elk if everything goes just right and have so. However, I prefer to view it in the worst light. By the time I've gotten myself in elk country, I've already got quite a bit of time and money invested. What if the only shot I have is not anywhere close to what I would prefer for a good, clean kill. That's why I always take plenty of gun to elk country. I'm talking a minimum of a 300 something mag just in case. I generally use a 300 Weatherby or a 338 Win Mag. When I hunted Vermajo back in the late 80's, if you hunted with anything less than a 300 mag of some sort and the bull ran off, that was your $7000 hunt. If you were using a 300 mag or bigger and he ran off, you got to keep hunting till you got your bull. I agree with their policy. Phil
Yup, that has pretty much been my criteria since I started elk hunting a long time ago. I didn't want to have a cartridge that would work if everything was perfect- I wanted something that worked when everything went wrong.. so far, the 338WM has pretty much filled that role just about perfectly for close and far, as well as my son's 300 Weatherby.... I'm starting to question my new direction of going with a 26 Nosler but I haven't had a chance to kill anything with it yet, so the verdict is out until I get the opportunity...
Never underestimate your ability to overestimate your ability.
