Tom, man that is really a floated bbl! Grin. As far as caliber, the 308 or any of the other calibers you have would have been just fine for Elk. But if you were going to buy a lightweight rifle and a new caliber, I would have gone with the 280Rem! LOL Don't know if you can tell, but I love my 280. GRIN I remember a old Remington article on the 280. "The 280Rem, it closes the gap between the 270 and 30-06 and out performs them both!"

Anyway, Good Luck on you Elk hunt! Can't wait to see more pictures.