Across the country .223 is the BARE minimum caliber for whitetail. In some states it's .243. The average deer weighs 150-175 pounds, the average elk around 600-650 pounds.
Yes of course it will kill them, but who knows how long it could take. It could be instant or the elk may run off and die from infection even worse... coyotes, wolves or bears catch up to it since it is too weak to run off.
Simply put, you need to respect the animal your after.
Case in point, humans aren't as tough as big game animals when shot. The 5.56 has been used in the military since Vietnam, BUT ask most combat vets if they wish they had more killing power, frontal area, etc. and the answer would be a resounding YES. Think about it... the 6.8 SPC was designed from the ground up to compete with and beat ballistically the 7.62x39 cartridge because of the lack of knockdown power the 5.56 had.
I'm elk hunting for the first time this year and nothing smaller than a 260 will go with me. More than likely it'll be my 350 Rem Mag.
Drink and be merry for soldiers die for your freedoms.
