A 30-06 is plenty for elk, heck its plenty for Eland, and those weigh in at about a ton. The Average Rocky Mt Elk Bull might go 500 to 700 lbs on the hoof. Spend your money on shooting. Now if its keeping you awake at night, I would look at a 338 Winchester Mag. 7mm Remington or the 300 WSM don't give you a whole lot more than a .30-06, most of it is just on paper. I shoot a 7mm RM most of the time these days, along with a 338 Winchester. When its all said and done, a 30-06 would serve me just as well. All you need to do is put a good bullet in the right spot. Also for low lander like me, a rifle that weights a couple of pounds less makes a lot of sense. The hard part of elk hunting is not what you shoot, is finding one to shoot, followed by packing it out. Unlike Eastern Deer hunting, its huge land area's you can walk for miles and then some. You might luck out and catch a bull in the open, more like it you will be in the Lodge Poles and a long shot might be 60 yards.
