RE: .308 or .243
Who says a 243 won't kill an elk? And I know plenty of people that think hunting moose with a 308 would be retarded. Then again I know people that think the 30-06 is a minimum for deer, where I think it's overkill.
In my opinion a .308 would make a poor round for varmints, the 243 is almost too big. For a true varmint gun you want a fast light flat shooting bullet, but you can make a good compromise with the .243.
The truth is the .243 is a great deer round and works fairly well on varmints as well because of the ammo choices available and the flat shooting characteristics of the round. Maybe if the guy wants to hunt Elk and Moose he will just get another rifle more suited to those endeavors, like a 7mm mag or a 300 win mag.
And for that matter why would you waste your time on a .308 when the 30-06 is far superior and just as popular if not more so. I personally don't see the need for the .308 myself, it's a bit outdated really.
My point is you can argue this any way you want really, it boils down to a matter of opinion in the end.
Paul