Wow, Kirk, I guess you must have thought I was talking about you...
GIVING THE OTHER SIDE SOME CREDIT:
Nice bull. Your right, they are a " nice little ol rifle" ! I have a nice little ol Remington 700 in 270 myself that I got when I was 14. Hasn' t killed big big game for 25 years or so since I widened my ballistic horizons a little. No doubt, a 270 in skilled hands can be a capable elk killer (with the ever present standard list of limitations put into effect of course).
On the other hand, I' m sure you' ll agree as you start dropping down from 270 down to 22LR that there is a thin red line that gets crossed somewhere, yet there will be a defender standing ready at each cartridge. As long as it is legal right? At that point it is a far far cry from anything resembling " best of anything" .
NOW, GETTING BACK TO " The Best" :
I' ll grant you that it is difficult to look beyond direct personal experience when addressing such a questionas this, where it asks for " the best" and not " your best" . Limited exposure to a wide variety of rifles that are both bigger AND smaller can tend to limit one' s objectivity a little bit as it is real easy to get emotionally attached and defensive about what is in the closet.
Regarding sending you a bigger rifle (LOL), sorry, per your own words it would be a waste!
....And until I do shoot an elk with something bigger (which will never happen)....
I don' t see you growing outside your " box" anytime too soon;
How about a new category to alleviate any controversy and make everyone warm, cuddly and happy? Let' s not pursue " the best" , but rather, how about....
Most Popular?
Most Common?
Most Numerous?
Most Historical?
Most Traditional?
Lightest weight?
Most middle of the road?
Etc, Etc, Etc.
With a little imagination we can conform with the new " Politically Correct Mentality" which calls for all viewpoints to be the best and no viewpoint to be allowed to come up short.
Hmm, now about that 6mm, or perhaps I can find a state with NO legal elk rifle requirement, I' m sure I could argue for a 223 for elk and then there would be HUGE numbers of folks that would feel really good (misinformed maybe, but they' d feel good). Hey, maybe this PC thing isn' t so bad after all.
Never Go Undergunned,
EKM