Like Clint Eastwood once said "A man has to know his limitations."
That is true with people and firearms. As has been posted, a .30-30 will kill an elk, so will a .22 LR if the bullet is put in the right place.
I have killed enough elk that I would rather see an elk walk away than to wound and loose one with a marginal shot or marginal caliber.
My favorite elk rifle now is my .300 Weatherby and it shoots moa out to the 400 meter (440 yd) backstop at our range where I practice with it just about weekly.
The last elk that I shot was a bull that I spotted at about 300 yds, then I snuck to within 100 yds where I made an almost instant kill shot with my .300 Weatherby.
It seems to be "in vogue" on many outdoor hunting shows to make long range shots on big game animals. Today's rifles and scopes certainly have the ability to make those shots, but most shooters can't. I've seen too many deer, elk, and antelope that were wounded and lost by hunters making poor shots at whatever range for me to advocate long range hunting.
So like Muley and Bullcamp posted, I see plenty of game at long ranges, but I'd rather shoot them at close ranges.