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Ourayguy:
Welcome to the board. I've learned quite a bit from listening to the folks here.
My two buddies hunt with .30-06's and I currently go out with a .308.
You can take a gamble and get a military surplus rifle... a German K98 Mauser or Russian Mosin-Nagant 91/30 will drop an elk just fine. Problem with some of these rifles is that while inexpensive, it is possible to get a lemon that can't hit a VW Bug at 100 yards.
With your budget, I'd suggest you find something with iron sights on it. Forget the scope for this year, save up for next year. Folks have been hunting with irons for quite some time, and many still do. Find an NEF handi-rifle for about $100 or so... it's a single shot rifle that comes with iron sights. Spend the rest of your money on ammunition. Buy at least 200 rounds of the same ammo you will use to hunt for practice, and get some fun reactive targets. Water bottles, soup cans, soda cans. Oranges, Canteloupes. Things like that. Don't shoot from a bench unless you suspect that there is something wrong with your rifle's sight alignment... practice shooting while standing or kneeling since that's the position you will end up in.
Learn to judge distance, and get a feel for how your rifle reacts to 100 yards versus 200 yards shots.
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