I have a good friend who grew up elk hunting here in MT. He started with the 7-08. In the hands of himself, his sister and a couple cousins, the 7-08 accounted for nearly 20 elk. I asked him what he currently is using - answer, "300 ultra Mag." Next I asked him if he or any of his family ever had any problem with the 7-08 on elk - answer, "no."
I looked over at his jacked-up monster truck and absorbed this reality...
I think this partially fits me. I have alot of rifles and take them all elk hunting cause I want to, not because I think most any of them will sweep elk off their feet. I like rifles and cartridges and trying different things. I have ran a 270 up to a 375 Improved. I know there hasn't been an elk I have personally killed or been in on the hunting of the 270 Winchester wouldn't have worked fine, with all of the other disclaimers about using a decent bullet and knowing the trajectory, etc. I will say in my jaded way that I like how well the 338 Win with 210 Swifts and the 7 Mashburn with 175 Bitterroots has worked on a handful of elk a piece. They didn't do backflips or nothing like that but they also didn't wander anywhere except for one I shot on the move with the Mashburn. I think his momentum carried him the 30 yards or so it took to nosedive.
So yeah, I might just have to load up my little 7-08 with the 132/140 Bitterroots I have and see if I can find a mangy old elk with it
Beretzs, I've done the exact same thing as I enjoy rifles (or did). When I moved here to Montana I had read enough to know elk were armor-plated, so I started with a 22" bbl'd 338 WM loaded w/210 Partitions. It worked admirably on several bulls, but I noticed my friends who grew up here typically used something like a 270 or 30-06. I started going backwards in cartridges, using the 30-06, and when it appeared in the early 2000's, the 300 WSM. No surprise, they killed elk just fine. Then I went in reverse even more to the 270, and my favorite, the 308 Win. I also used the 7-08 on one bull. Of course, what I "discovered" was the right bullet in the right place does the job, and as I got older (now 60) I found I enjoyed less recoil. Or maybe I never liked recoil all that much and just finally admitted it to myself. Probably a mixture of both
If anyone asks me what the "best" elk rifle is, I tell them a 22" bbl'd 338 WM loaded with 210 Partitions. Problem is I don't want to carry or shoot the "best" elk rifle, so I'm entirely happy with a lightweight 308 Win (or 270, 7-08, 6.5 CM, etc.).
