I’ve killed dozens of elk and seen a lot killed. I think lots of things come into play including where and how you hunt, and how well you shoot. My shots have nearly all been greater than 300yds hence it was important to to have a cartridge with reach. I’m badly color blind so not having to blood trail was important. Similarly, I want to be able to tell I’ve hit an animal. If you can shoot them, I prefer the large bullets at speed so I was drawn to the 338 and 340 shooting 210 partitions. I’ve never shot an elk that wasn’t visibly rocked with these bullets, and never had one not drop in sight.
I’ve killed them with various 300 mags, a 7STW and an 06, and seen them shot and (usually) killed with a number of lesser rounds.
For where and how I hunt, the 300mags with quality 165 to 200grain bullets are proven killers, and I’d be comfortable hunting with them if I didn’t have my 338/340. For a new elk hunter, I’d encourage them to bring what ever big game rifle they shot best (assuming it’s at least 270/308 or bigger and is loaded with appropriate bullets). I’d then plead with them to shoot regularly from hunting positions using improvised rests to figure out their proficiency at range.
