In this case, you can' t go wrong with the Rifleman' s Rifle in 338 Win. Mag. I own one and it hits moose hard. HOWEVER, moose are hard to impress with any caliber, and I hear that elk are suppose to be tougher animals.

Though, there is nothing wrong with the tested and proven 30-06 with stout bullets, either.

If you really want more power than the 300win mag or 338win mag skip the weatherby cartridges and go to the ultramags.They provide more power without having to buy an overpriced weatherby rifle or their factory loads or brass.As the former owner of a 300weatherby fibremark and present owner of two 300 ultramags I much prefer the ultramags for performance and accuracy.I still feel however that the average hunter(non handloader) would be best served by the 300 win mag or 338 win mag due to their reduced recoil,variety of loads and reduced cost.

fl/ga hunter , i wasn' t trying to start a bolt/lever debate either buddy [&:] , i was just wondering why you didn' t want a lever action as they come in quite a few elk buster cartridges like the .450 marlin . [&:]

and the .35' s will do the job out to about , oh , i' de say 150 to 200 yards,
the ballistics for the whelen and 350 mag are as follows

.35 whelen
remington express 250 psp muzzle velocity 2400 ( fps.) and , at 100yrds 2197 (fps.) , at 200 yrds 2005 (fps.)

and energy at the muzzle 3197 ( ft-lbs.) and , at 100 yrds 2680 (ft-lbs.) and, at 200 yrds 2230 (ft-lbs. )


and for trajectory , sighted in at 150 yrds zero , the bullet will be 3.2 inches low at 200 yrds and will still have that magical 2000 plus in velocity and energy.

.350 rem. mag.
remington express 200 psp muzzle velocity 2775 (fps.) and , at 100 yrds 2471 (fps.) and, at 200 yrds 2186 (fps.)

and energy at the muzzle 3419 (ft-lbs.) and , at 100 yards 2711 (ft-lbs.) and , at 200 yrds 2122 (ft-lbs.)

and for trajectory , it can have a 200 yrd. zero , and still have that magical 2000 plus in velocity and energy.

the .358 win. would not have the 2000 plus velocity or energy levels at 200 yrds so i didn' t include it here , the loads listed above are from remington' s website and have that 2000 plus of velocities and energy that' s recommended by all of the pro' s , they are based on a 24" barrel and shouldn' t be a very great amount of difference from a 22" barrel
these are factory loads
hope that helped , what ranges are you looking to take game at with the new rifle buddy

My personal favorite, 300 Weatherby Mag in Remington 700 Classic. Shoot 180 Speer Nitrex rounds. I don' t have the pricey Weatherby gun or ammo. Mostly handload and will when I run out of the Speer ammo that came with my rifle.

KC