I got my kids a 7-08 youth rifle last year. Settled on a 120gr Barnes TTSX. Picked 120gr over 140gr because I happened to have a bunch of them. Considered it adequate for elk. Then we took it hunting last fall
My oldest daughter killed a regular sized cow, at 190 yards she got a pass through. My youngest killed a mule deer sized calf, it throttled that deer-sized elk at like 100 yards
My niece killed a big old cow elk with the factory offering 7-08 120gr TTSX. 80 yards, she short it twice in the lungs. One pass through and one beautiful Barnes mushroom under the hide
I’d absolutely let them shoot bulls with this cartridge with confidence, super impressed. I could make a case that the 7-08 is totally “overgunned” for deer especially whitetail doe which is a huge section of big game animals killed every year. Maybe the most big game animals killed in the US annually are whitetail does? With modern bullets and loadings, a lot of guys are crushing deer with 223 and good bullets
But. Am I gonna make it a point to use a 7-08 for bull elk as a statement as a perfect elk cartridge? No. Give me the horsepower. Wild animals are tough, elk are big, I can handle a bit of recoil. It’s not bravado or pride, I just like to hurdle big stuff at elk because I’ve seen them take a beating and I’m colorblind and can’t track blood. I have to shoot them with something, bigger is just free insurance to me
And, I’ve shot 90lb coues deer with my 300WSM 180gr Accubond. Past 200 yards they don’t catch a bullet and meat damage is minimal. I could make a case the 300WSM with a tough bullet is a perfect long range coues cartridge. Which would be silly case to make, but, the results speak for themselves
My point on this rant is that a lot of opinions are formed about cartridges we’ve never shot animals with. We just extrapolate incorrectly because of what we’ve used personally