Kind of a trick question BB, I like the Weatherby .308 for elk in a blued finish with a Leopold scope. As previously mentioned, elk have keen eyesight so make good use of cover in the field. Technically there is no such cartridge as a ".308" Weatherby, only a .308 Winchester, interchangeable with the 7.62 NATO. Once upon a time, Weatherby only made rifles in unique Weatherby cartridge calibers, eg. .300 Weatherby, .378 Weatherby, .460 Weatherby, etc. Now Weatherby makes rifles in many non-Weatherby cartridge calibers, including the .308 Winchester. Do not confuse a rifle manufacturer with the company name that may have introduced the cartridge in which the rifle may be chambered. To further get your head spinning, many cartridge companies make cartridges (all equivalent) in the .308 Winchester caliber including Winchester, Remington, Federal, Norma, and multiple European companies.
My personal experience is that as long as your marksmanship skills are sound and you know your weapon well you can make the weapon do what you need it to do more often than not. That means a lot of time on the gun getting to know how you and your weapon interact and tuning your skills. From there you will need some time in the field, scout your pray in the pre-season and get a good feel for where they are at various times of the day. Knowing the anatomy of the animal is key, make sure you know where to shoot and which shots will be most effective. A quick and clean kill is your objective, a hit in the wrong place on the animal spoils meat and make the animal suffer.
When it comes down to it, make sure you are going to be able to make the shot before you take it. Nothing is more frustrating than seeing a buck out in the open, rushing the shot and missing the shot because you didn't take the time to assess the situation from the beginning. Knowing the range of various features around the area will help you with windage and elevation, it's worth the time it takes to jot this information down and carry it with you in a small note book so you have some references to work with from various firing positions you may discover during your scouting trips before the season.
From my own experience bagging an elk has more to do with what the man does in the field with the weapon he has than the weapon itself.
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." - Henry Ford
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges; When the Republic is at its most corrupt the laws are most numerous. - Publius Cornelius Tacitus
160 to 180 grain, 30-06, single bolt action, don't want the round to go though, if not necessary.
I prefer the old wooden stock, (can't remember brand) to my chrome honeycomb stock Ruger.
BB, sounds like you got a lot of reward and return on your investments!
I can explain it to you but I can't understand it for you.
"Any man who thinks he can be happy and prosperous by letting the Government take care of him; better take a closer look at the American Indian." - Henry Ford
Corruptissima re publica plurimae leges; When the Republic is at its most corrupt the laws are most numerous. - Publius Cornelius Tacitus
I use a M1A semi-auto in .308, I try to keep my shots around 200 yards but have taken down a large cow Elk at 375. I just grew up with semi-auto .22's and feel more comfortable that way,
but of your choices above, all are good and my first Elk rifle was a sporterized Springfield. And I have heard great things about those Savage accu-triggers. I do prefer a 3-9 scope and have both Leopold and Burris.
The expensive ammo Ruger? Don't totally take it out of consideration. I know a lot of Elk hunters who are lucky to shoot only one box every few years. It will be the least of your expenses Elk hunting once you get sighted in. The only downside to obscure loads is you will not be able to find a lot of choices in bullet weight and if you run out, Wal-Mart doesn't stock it.
Stainless steel? Where I hunt, most of the shots tend to be long and I doubt the shiny steel scares many.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
