MW, the "pointless" adjective was the one that got me confused (grin). For sure the area's elk hunting has changed but there are bulls to be had.
Fellow I work with's Dad guided on elk back in the early 50's... he often killed the clients bulls as they were too hung over or too worn out to keep hunting. He shot a pile with the 25-35, then later switched to a "big gun"... 300 Savage M99. Shot another pile with it.
Funny how time has changed our perspective as to what is "big"...