I've either guided or shot most of the cartridges in this thread, and agree with much of what has been said.
If one of the guys I'm guiding shows up with a big mag, that is great, but I'm going to find out immediately if he can hit the broadside of a barn with it at 200 yards.
If not, he's getting one of my 30.06 that I know will shoot out to 300. And he won't get a longer shot.
As a matter of fact, even guys who seem to shoot well won't get a longer shot unless I know he can make the shot consistently. Most people just don't shoot enough to hit anything smaller than a five gallon bucket beyond 200 and when you add fatigue (especially after multiple days), excitement, shot angles (specifically gradients of more than 15 degrees), and movement, you have a whole plethora of varibles that makes shooting an elk problematic.
Elk are big targets and I've seen bad shots drop them and cows without lungs run forever in nasty country. Wild animals are interesting and just like no one rifle is the perfect caliber for everyone, no two elk respond the same (necessarily).
Personally, after shooting and looking at a lot of rifles over the years, I'm a big fan of my .300 Wby. I love that gun, but I love all my guns and a bunch that I don't even own yet.
