Mule Deer, of sorry I did not know we were talking about cull operations. Also I'm not talking about high volume shooting. I have seen so many kids and women take elk and deer with my friends 7mm RUM he loans to his clients when I get to tag along. It recoils more than my 300 Win mag because it is lightweight. How many shots do you take on an elk? 1, 2, maybe 3? Did you feel the recoil on those shots with any cartridge? I doubt it!
Never hunted Elk and the only magnum I have is a 17 HMR but I have shot many. However I have taken a lot of kids and new hunters out for whitetails. They always get familiar with the firearm they will be using before they go out hunting. I wonder how their accuracy would suffer had they shot those magnums before the hunt. In fact I am surprised the kids/women don't have a scope ring on their eye after shooting the 7mm RUM. I have been married for 34 years and taught my wife to shoot and she is really good with a rifle ( sucks with a shotgun ) she doesn't hunt but really enjoys shooting. Hell, she hates the recoil from a 30-06 with a 150 SGK.
Alcohol, Tobacco & Firearms should be a convenience store; not a government agency.
