RE: Opinions on the Remington 700 XCR
A year ago I was in the spot you are. I was looking for a good deer gun that would also do well on elk. I bought the Remington XCR in 300 WSM. The gun shoots great and feels great. Very little recoil with the stock design and the R3 recoil pad. It would shoot 1" groups with 165gr. Hornady Interbonds and also 180gr Nosler Accubonds. I did float the barrell andglass bed the stock and it did help shrink the groups down to 1/2 inch on a couple of reloads.It will also print 1/2 inch with 168 Barnes TSX over RamshotHunter.
I shot two deer with it this last year, one at 376 yards and another at 435, both bang flop. This next year I will be taking it on an elk hunt and I know it will do the job if I do my part.
I think you would be very happy with the gun and the 06 should be just fine for the deer and elk with quality bullets.