Since I live in Elk country and see them most everyday I would have to say for me anyway a big Elk would be 350 and above. As far as what I would shoot like Hillbilly say's the longer the season goes by the less my standard. Opening morning I passed a 40 yard broadside shot(Rifle) at a nice 5X5 which would have been nice by most peoples standard. This practice of passing in hopes a bigger bull almost had me eating tag soup and if not for a little unlucky calf the last day my freezer would be empty.
For the folks that live in Elk country I think the standard is a bit higher than those that don't. I also enjoy the hunt and chase aspect so it's quite easy early in the season to pass on the smaller Elk and be able to hunt the entire season in hopes of a big one. With Elk like the one pictured running around behind the house on a regular basis, it's easy to pass on the smaller one's. I would have passed on this 6 X5 1/2 (broken tine) but it was the last 7 day's of the season and 300 yards downhill from my front door.
