i do not think a .257 whole in a elk is big enough. now yes, if it is in the right spot, it is as dead as if shot with a .375 H&H. the limitations of a .25-06 are far to great to carry that gun when there are many other "better" calibers. when i shoot an elk, i wanna leave as big a whole as i can. my elk gun is a .30-06 or maybe my 7mag. either way, with either of those guns i shoot heavy ass bullets to leave a big whole! (180's in 30-06 and 160's in 7mag) elk are big, strong critters and my grandpa put 6 wholes in one before it died on year. not all 6 of the wholes from his 30-06 were perfect, but 3 of them hit the vitals and the rest hit near there. ifhe was shooting a 25-06, would he have killed that elk? if he hits it in the lungs/heart yes. but, and this is the nice thing about carrying a bigger gun, if you do make a bad shot and hit it in the guts, the bigger gun is going to leave a bigger whole and deliever more shock to the body, hopefully causing a quicker death. a 25-06 bullet in the gut might/probably wouldnt kill an elk. dont go with the bar minimum, step it up a notch and go with the biggest gun you can shot well