If you are paying alot of money to travel and kill an elk get a rifle that will do it easily like some sort of 300 magnum. I've killed elk with a 44 mag handgun and everything from the 25-06 to a 338. With the lighter calibers you just don't have the option of penetrating 2 to 3 feet of elk and killing them and having to pass on a good bull at a bad angle because you are using a light rifle is going to be more than some people can bear. Besides it's a good reason to get a new rifle.