I use to hang out with an old rancher that lived in North West Montana. While I knew him in the 70's and 80's Pass on in '88. He would collect his elk and every thing else with an old 243 that he bought new sometime around 1960. He told me something that had stuck with me and my shooting ever since, No matter how far the game is close the distance by half before you shoot. As for bullets its easier on them when all you have to do is punch a hole in the ribs, put a hole in the lungs or the heart and it don't matter a wit what you shot it with. I never shot an elk with a 6mm but I did collect a couple with a 6.5 x 55 and a 7 x 57. These days I shoot a 7mm RM mostly do to the rifle I bought some years back. We tend to go with much bigger cartridges these days, this is due to a couple of things, hunting seasons are short, and we don't have the time to be picky about distance and shot angles, like in the past. And well its tough just getting a shot these days due to the wisdom of re introducing wolves. No a 6 mmm would not be my go to rifle for elk, I would hunt with a 6.5 mm, just because I like just a bit more bullet weight than what you get with a 6mm. There is always going to be a trade off on this, Smaller Cartridges can be housed in lighter guns that are reasonable in the recoil and shootablity for most. The heavier cartridges, need heavier guns to keep recoil with in reason. Since 1980 my rife of choice for elk and moose has been a 338 winchester, I am 30 years older now, and I rather carry a lighter rifle, so a 7.5 lb 7mm RM works for me. a 338 housed in that light a rifle would be a hand full to shoot well. At least that is how it is with me. In the end, we end up with either a 270 or a 30-06 performance and recoil. Somethings never change.
