Looking at CRS's post I have little to add, but for the one other cartridge you may consider. The 9.3X62.
I have owned and used the 30-06 the 338/06 and the 9.3X62 .
I sold my 338/06s but for the life of me I can't see why I did.
I still have three 30-06s and one 9.3X62 and the 9.3 with Nosler partitions seems to hit elk as well as my 375H&H and puts them down FAST!
The 30-06 is the all American standard and I have no complaints about it at all, as long as I have fired bullet that didn't break up too badly. I have nothing but praise for how well it works on elk. In my lever action Browning M95 I usually use a 220 grain, and I use the same bullet with a charge of 3031 in my M-1 Garand to give me the port pressure that the M1 should have. I have killed elk with both, and can't say a single bad thing about either rifle and the 220 grain bullets (Nosler Sierra and Hornady) all seem to work as well for elk killing, as I could ask for.
I have made about twenty 35 Whelens and 100% of the customers who got them loved them, so I doubt you can go wrong with any of them. My friend Don from Carson City Nevada dropped 2 elk with 2 shots in the last 2 seasons using a Remington I re-barreled for him to 35 Whelen, and says it's the best elk gun he's ever owned.
As far as "need" goes.........forget it. Need is not important at all.
Sure, all the cartridges are overlapping as elk shells, and all will do the job. The 30-06 is the one with the easiest brass to get and the least expensive. But you are not a game department employee being issued a rifle for your needs. You buy what you WANT because it makes you happy and that is BY FAR the most important reason to get one.
Last edited by szihn; 01/28/20.
