1_Pointer, my go to rifle is my custom .358 Griffin & Howe Imp. which is the same as the .358 STA. My backup elk rifle is a custom 9.3 Dakota. Both are excellent elk cartridge's!
It would have to be my Remington 700 in .300 Wthby. It's good to go for just about anything, and I have one load - 82.0 gr of IMR-7828, Rem cases, Fed Gold Medal Mag primers, and a 180 gr Nosler Partition.
OBS-That Dakota sounds like a thumper for sure!!! If I ever shoot out the bbl on my .338 or opt for another I may go with one of their chamberings. Lots of mojo in a 2.5" case! You shoot 286gr bullets in that beast?
1_pointer, no 286's yet. Only 250 Northforks: 91gr. of RL19 gave me 3050fps and groups that measure .242 When he gets the 286 Northforks out i might try some. I feel i have a pretty good combination now. I would like to get my hands on some 320 Woodleighs
I've got a 7mag with a shotout barrel that i'm thinking about rebarreling to 7mm Dakota or .270 Dakota
Then I have another 2nd favorite...that would be my Savage .308 both are great rifles. But when it comes down to gettign a deer I'll take my .30-.30 out and one shot is all it takes.
That would be my semi-custom Win. Mod. 70 in .375AI. In fact, it's the only rifle I've hunted with since 1989. If I'm forced to a back-up rifle, I'll use my wife's .338 Win. Mag. While the stock is too short, it'll work "in a pinch"! -memtb
For elk, the only thing I've ever used is my .338, Ruger MK II in a Rimrock stock.
For deer & other critters under 300 lbs, I don't really have a "go to". I have four or five rifles that have anywhere from two to fifteen kill each. What ever the situation calls for.
Sounds a lot like mine, QuickDraw. Except mine has a nice reddish-walnut stock on it with a Tasco 3-9 scope. It handles like a .22 rifle and with the box magazine, I load 125-150 gr spitzer bullets in it for deer. It has shot several groups close to 1/2-inch at 100 yards.
For elk, I shoot a custom Mauser in 8X62 Durham Magnum. Pushes a 200 grain Partition bullet at 3250 fps and shoots 1/2 inch groups from the bench. I'm quite pleased with the results this rifle has yielded.