Depends on how and who looks at it and their perspective on what’s excessive for the game hunted. But I could have been one of those guys having used a 340 Wby over a quarter of a century for elk.
But I shot it a lot, could control it, and really liked the cartridge, and just as importantly, I liked the rifle I had had built on a Rem 700 action.
Also, unlike the reports of many here, I took some 80% of my elk at between 350 and 500 yards without any apparent way to cut the distance at the time of each opportunity. These were all one-shot kills and I had great confidence in the rifle and the cartridge.
Three or four were taken between 100 and about 150 yards.
I always realized that the 340 wasn’t necessary to take elk and never would have said so, but it wasn’t until I got older and didn’t like the 8.5 lb (which really isn’t all that heavy considering the medium magnums) ready-to-go weight while climbing mountains and carrying some sort of pack that I gave it up.
And honestly, as you get older recoil doesn’t get any dearer either. I did take two bulls, one with a 30/06 and another with a 284 Win and both did fine, the former at 400 yds again, and the latter at about a hundred.
