No, the .25-06 is not an elk cartridge.

One could argue it's all semantics, but the bottom line is that this cartridge is at the marginal end of the spectrumfor quickly andhumanely harvesting an elk in the majority of circumstancesone encounters such an animal.

I used the Geo Metro example earlier, so let's try this one. Sears makesthe Craftsman riding lawn tractor. It's got an engine, a deck, a transmission, tires, etc., and it looks like a tractor. It will, without a doubt, cut grass. How many professional lawn maintenance companies use Sears Craftsman mowers? Virtually none. Such folks use Scag, Exmark, Walker, et. al. - equipment with more power and more steel. Equipment that was designed from the ground-up to cut grass of nearly any length, in any weather conditions, on any terrain, at a very high rate of production. Equipment designed to keep these guys working. So while one could say that the Sears Craftsman is adequate to mow grass,itcannot reasonably be calledacommercial lawnmower.

The .25-06 is a great cartridge. It's an impressive cartridge. It shoots flat, hits hard, and is easily manageable by almost any shooter. But it is not a cartridge one very often finds being carried by hunters who are booked on an elk hunt.

Go ahead & get the .25-06, & drop those GA whitetails season after season. If an elk hunt presents itself, however, borrow something at the .270 level or higher, & practice with it plenty before you head out West. It's just the prudent thing to do.

FC