I’ve never shot an elk but I think we as hunters place to much emphasis on “lights out groups.”
Correct. Even at 4-500 yards, a 1.5MOA rifle is capable of guaranteeing you a it in the vitals from most angles. There is an advantage to reduced wind drift and thus reduced sensitivity to wind call error though. For a single shot in the mountain valleys, it's extremely difficult to get an accurate wind call because the shot passes so far above the ground and there's no wind flags up there. There are rules of thumb, but they are frequently wrong.
The first most important thing when choosing a projectile for elk is that it will reliably expand or starts out very wide and gives sufficient penetration depth to at least reach the back lung, but it's very good to get an exit. Repurposed match bullets guarantee neither.
