Elk are not mythical or armor plated. Any rifle chambered in a cartridge between .264 and .338 is fine if you shoot it well. That even includes .308 based cartridges. Honestly, a decent sporter-weight 30-06 makes a great elk rifle from the timber to open meadows and canyons. 400 yards is a long way for most hunters to shoot at any game and the 30-06 with a good bullet will handle that easily.
