It will be an elk gun and either one would be an improvement over what I used this year. Seeing how the Montana is only 6 pounds 13 Oz the .300 might be better from a recoil point. I plan to shoot both if I can find someone with a gun to try. My 06 is only a 6 pounder with a 22" thin barrel and I was using the hopped up Federal 2880 Ft per second 180 gr load so it kicks pretty well.