I prefer:

280 Remington
280 Ackley Improved
300 WSM

Go get REALKILLER, he knows how to do this right,just ask him.

Cause you can. I killed them with a 22-250, because my cousin had already grabbed the 25-06.

Once I was hunting mule deer and the Elk came across. Twice was on purpose, both were cows. 243 puts them down with a good heart lung shot.

But there is a difference in shooting a cow elk and a bull, no?

I'll shoot a doe all day long in the body with my .22-250 but don't really wanna do that on a mature buck

why would there be a difference

Leaning towards New Mexico for the hunt and largest caliber I own is a 308. I'm really leaning towards 30.06 vs. a 7 mag or 300 win mag.

To keep it as a all purpose rifle I would go .270 shooting 150 grains in a proven bullet.

You can always get ammo at a reasonable price, which can't be said of many calibers being mentioned. You can step up and down on bullet grains and cover a very broad spectrum.

That's a load that won't punish you at the range. For most elk hunts your success is going boil down to your efficiency shooting the rifle at multiple distances.

+1, if you are not 100% comfortable shooting a shoulder buster, its almost a guarantee that you will miss or make a bad shot.

If you get a 30.06 with a nice recoil pad, it will be real close to what you are used to
with the 308. I would stay away from a heavy rifle, most Elk hunts are on foot I believe.
So recoil pad and if you go 300 Win Mag, add a muzzle brake to that and you should be golden.

on my trip thats not happening now i was taking two rifles, either of which i have full faith and confidence out to 500yrds past that the wsm owns.....

7mm08 w 168gr bergers

300wsm w 185 bergers

Nothing wrong with a 308 Win for elk. Know hunters in Montana that use them every year for elk. Others that use 7mm-08 with good success.

Part of the reason I usually use a longer range rig with more power is just in case the shot is long, I am ready for it. When you get a 6 day hunt for elk and that is it sometimes you might have to stretch the shot out a little more than I want to with the 308 or 7mm08 which I feel fine on elk out to 350 yards with when using a good bullet. That said I have never killed an elk at over 250 yards. Most have been inside 200 yards

I've killed at least a dozen Elk with my old 300WM. If your keeping the shots from 300yards in then anything from a 270 up would be fine if you place your round where it belongs. If your going to be shooting 3-6 hundred yards then at least get a 30 caliber. Baker

If I'm spending time and money to go on an elk hunt I would bring appropriate gear

I wouldn't bring less than a .270 to be on the safe side.

I wouldn't shoot a wounded jackrabbit with a .243

The only reason I used the shorter range 350 Remington Magnum on the hunt I did was due to a dead Leupold scope on the main rifle a 7mmSTW. But when you get to camp and the #1 rifle has a scope that does not hold zero then the backup that does is very nice to have. Got my elk that trip at 200 yards first evening of the hunt and a nice 5X5 mulie at 75yards the next morning.

Will say a good backup rifle is very nice to have on a hunt

good friend of mine was a guide for many years... In fact many on this forum have hunted with him in the past. He has loaned/handed his 308 rifle over a bunch of times to clients and friends that had issues with big mags.

It's very capable. If you feel your under gunned and can handle more then move up, but if you feel very comfortable with that 308. Rock it and don't thank about it again.

Fixed it

a wise man once told me your second line gear better be as good as your first line gear! 2 is 1, 1 is none

Very true, have full confidence in any rifle I take to the field be it primary or backup. Sometimes unforseen things happen and a backup is needed, when that happens the backup just became the primary rifle.

I wouldn't replace a 308 with a 3006

What 6.5 creedmoor bullet would be best for elk?

When talking elk bullets the Nosler Partition is hard to beat for about any caliber. If using a Creedmoor for elk I would go with a 140gr Partition. In the interest of enough thump I would also get within 300 yards.

The old 6.5s made their reputation as killers of larger game with heavy long cup and core bullets, 160 Woodleigh would get the nod if going that route, just know their stellar reputation was made at not the long range that is all the rage these days.

If I'm able to drive my vehicle to the hunting area, I will usually have a back-up rifle with me. However, if I'm flying, airline weight limitations make a second rifle an expensive proposition. This is where a back-up scope comes in handy. The scope has rings attached and is previously sighted in for the primary rifle. And if your gun is fitted with a picatinny or Weaver base, you can swap scopes in the field with confidence that the back-up scope will be within 1-2 MOA. That said, a practice shot or two is a good idea.

In over a half-century of hunting, I've never had a rifle or scope failure. But the confidence that a back-up scope or gun inspires is reassuring.

just get a 45-70 and be done with worrying about not having enough power

I've killed 7 or 8 elk. All with my Eddystone 30-06. It has never failed me and I've never felt under gunned.