I like the howa rifles for the weight on the magnum cartridges.
I like to shoot as often as i can.
Practice, practice, practice, is not fun with a light rifle.
And the thin contour barrels walk after not a lot of shots from over heating.
If you can shoot well with the recoil of a 300 win mag then you will never regret owning one.
But i do love my 6.5 PRC more and more.
That being said, i will always have my .300 win mag with me if i think i may need to shoot far or i am hunting elk only.
The 6.5 PRC is a great all around...
Tuff hunt.
Hard to glass area, most elk stay in the timber.
Roughest terrain holds most of the elk.
But if you are determined and in good shape to pack you, your gear, and an elk, then you may get a bull worth the work.
I would look at a map.
Then i would look where a group of cows may feel safe near the spot you saw those bulls.
A canyon, thick area of trees in a depression maybe.
I have seem to find elk almost always in places most would not want to carry one out of.
My largest bear was pushing 400# and dropped after 30-40yrds after one shot from a 25-06 at 260yrds.
30-30 and 180gr bullets took many threw the years.
I personally dont think black bears are hard to kill.
But i can say they go down like they were struck by lightning with a .338 win mag and 200+...
You may find you hunt more often with the 6.5 prc.
I love my .300 win mag, but unless i think im hunting elk at longer distances than 400-500yrds, i really prefer my 6.5 prc.
You can get a used press on ebay for 60-70 bucks.....
The rest can be had for another 100 dollars or so. It doesnt need to be complicated or fancy equipment.
A Lee 3 or 4 hole turret press makes loading multiple cartridges easy for a beginner, i think.