Before he died, I had a correspondence with George Hoffman, African PH and developer of the 416 Hoffman (which Remington later modified and released as the 416 Rem Mag). Mr. Hoffman (like myself) was not averse to Magnums, but told me he didn't necessarily see the need for them on elk-sized game, and that all 50+ elk he'd taken in his life had been with the 270 Win.
One thing I will say is that just because someones experience may be long (or short) it may also be incredibly narrow. Sort of like the guy that may have killed a pile of elk, but never ventured beyond magnums. How would he know smaller cartridges might work well? His confirmation bias apparently didn't allow that kind of thinking.
For my part I read all the 1980's stuff by the likes of Boddington, so when I eventually moved to Montana one of the rounds in my battery was the 338 WM. I used it on the first few elk I killed, including a dandy 6pt I tracked to his bed and shot at 50 yards. No surprise it worked. But what I noticed was many of my friends who grew up here used stuff like the 243 and 270 - cartridges they knew well and had used since childhood. As I killed more elk and saw more elk killed I started changing my thinking. That evolution led me to cartridges more fun to shoot, like the 6.5 CM, 7-08, 308 and 270. I've seen more elk killed with the 270/130 combo than any other cartridge. It works because it's fun to shoot, but still has a nice reserve of power. I think the same can be said of the 6.5CM, 7-08 and 308. They're truly "all around" big game rounds.
I've tried to keep an open mind, and as a result have given a variety of cartridges a try. What I found - and what I've often said - is "cartridges are more alike than different." Punch the lungs with a decent expanding bullet and it's light's out. Hit around the edges and you've got a rodeo on your hands, no matter what you hit the animal with.
Threads like this do remind me that testosterone and ego is a more powerful force than logic or experience... and also that those with the most testosterone and/or least experience are often the loudest voice in the room.
Happy New Year all...
Also a great post. My experiential trajectory has been very similar, and the evolution of my opinion on a wide variety of cartridges on game is much the same.
