Originally Posted by
BlackLab
For kicks take a look at a 6.5 Grendel.
Might also look at the 6.5mm Creedmoor or the .260 Remington.
A little on the light side for elk, but if I had a nickel for everyone here who wants to hunt elk but lacks the geography to do it....
This day and age, ammunition being scarce as it is, you're going to have fun hunting for ammunition for something unique like the Grendel, Creedmoor, .260, or .308 (anything "military" for that matter). Good luck finding empty brass for anything. Lately, about the only calibers I CONSISTENTLY see on the shelves are .243, .270, .30-06, and .300 WSM. Of those four, the one I see chambered most often in a "long range" rifle is - surprisingly - the .243.
If you're not reloading, you're going to be even more subject to ammunition availability - and there's one thing that's certain here: Long-range shooting DEMANDS a solid foundation of shooting fundamentals and disciplined practice which consumes ammunition.
My "go to" deer rifle started out as the "puny" .243 before transitioning to heavier chamberings, but experience with them over the years has led me right back to the .243. A tremendously versatile cartridge, varmints through anything deer-sized. If, some day, you have the geography and will or the funds to hire an elk hunt, you'd want something heavier. Don't base your selection today on something that may never materialize. Excepting places like Bremerton, the Navy typically doesn't tend to station people where elk live.