The definition of perfect ought to be universal in every application. Unfortunately, we live in an imperfect world full of different backgrounds, circumstances and requirements that preclude any chance of attaining universal perfection. That doesn’t mean we can’t and won’t still argue about it!

Throughout my life as a gun enthusiast, I’ve informally surveyed every hunter and shooter who will give me the time of day. I remember asking a hunter what he planned to use for hunting season 25 or so years ago. After informing me that he would use his favorite .270 Winchester, I dubiously asked, “What are you going to use for elk?” He smiled and said, “My .270!”

One of the first employers I had as a young man was very fond of a Marlin lever-action in .444 Marlin. He liked the way the soup can-shaped projectiles performed and claimed that it shot just as flat as anything else out to 200 yards. Beyond that it was time to throw a Hail Mary or get closer. To him, the .444 Marlin is a perfect elk rifle.

My grandfather’s cousin — let’s call him George — bought a .257 Roberts several years ago. At the time he intended to get something bigger eventually, as everyone knows a .257-caliber rifle is too small for such behemoths as elk. George liked the gun, its light recoil and performance so much that he never saw any need to “upgrade.” Yes, his seemingly marginal rifle, flinging only 117-grain bullets, worked great — even on elk. To George, the .257 Roberts is a perfect elk rifle.

How could both men be right? I mean, there’s a pretty big difference between a .257 Roberts and a .444 Marlin! Maybe the truth lies somewhere in between?

According to the late Elmer Keith, the .338 Winchester Magnum was the perfect elk rifle. Elmer had killed a lot of game in his time, and witnessed several hundred more animals bite the dust in his career as a hunting guide. Wouldn’t his opinion outweigh everyone else’s? He and contemporary gun writer Jack O’Connor were constantly butting heads on the subject.

As any of you who have read many of my articles knows, I’m a huge fan of the .30-06 Springfield. To me it is a perfect elk rifle. The bulk of my game animals have been taken with this well-proven cartridge. But diehard fan that I am, I realize that it may not be your idea of perfect, nor is it the only perfect elk rifle out there. Could it be there is more than one choice available for a perfect elk rifle?

Last year I shouldered my Browning BBR .270 Winchester loaded with 130-grain Sierra Gamekings and went elk hunting. The rifle had been my uncle’s, and to anyone’s knowledge he had never killed anything but deer with it. He was a fan of the 7mm Remington Magnum, and to him that was the perfect elk rifle. When a small herd busted across the flats, 50 yards in front of me, I took aim at a lone cow and fired. She stumbled but kept going. Cycling the action I led her a bit and squeezed off a second shot. She tumbled and hit the ground, dead.

Maybe that fella from 25 years ago was onto something. If I was to base my opinions upon a single experience I could say yes, the .270 Winchester is a perfect elk rifle. It certainly worked for me and I have no doubt that if I do my job, it would repeatedly produce the same results.

The truth is — get your hangman’s noose tied and ready — there are many perfect choices of cartridges for an elk rifle. If the gun you have at home works for you, your background, your circumstances and your requirements, nobody — but nobody — can argue with that. I wonder how many folks were poisoned over the years with hearsay or single experience-based opinions and wrote off otherwise perfect elk cartridges? I know I have. Whatever your idea of a perfect elk rifle is, based on your results, it is perfect!

I have taken elk with cartridges as small as the .243 Winchester and as large as a .338 Lapua Magnum. Some worked better than others, but they ALL worked. As I continue to add more cartridges to my “perfect” list, don’t be surprised or offended if yours is on it or not. I may just not have gotten around to trying it yet!