[ClarkEMyers]

Better a .243 you shoot really well than a .340 Weatherby that makes you flinch.

Better a .340 Weatherby than almost anything else - for trophy hunting - if you can shoot it well - consider a muzzle brake if you haven't established a tolerance for noise and recoil.

BUT - if you want an elk with a .243 be sure you and your guide can get you close enough to smell it and a little bit closer and that you've looked at mounts and skeletons and know exactly where you are going to place your shot. Last hour of the last day of an expensive hunt with the shot of lifetime at a 7X7 at an honest 400 yards and passing on it because you have a .243 just might be a heartbreaker and taking the shot wouldn't be a good idea either.

I'd hunt elk with anything from a 7mm Remington Mag up, especially to include .30-'06 or .308 but I think a dedicated, a trophy, elk rifle begins at 8mm and runs through .375.

I'm fond of saying I could have taken as big an elk as I've ever seen with the .22mag High Standard derringer I sometimes used for slaughter - but only because he was grazing under my porch and it would have been poaching not trophy hunting.

Know your limitations and your rifle - it's more important to be in shape than to be well armed and your clothing, your boots and your binoculars may do more to make or break your trip than your rifle.