What separates adequate elk cartridges from the best elk cartridges is that the latter get the job done without rattling your brain so hard that you can’t keep their bullets on target. The Creed will work on an elk, but it’s not the best elk cartridge—it’s not even the best 6.5mm elk cartridge. This means a bad bullet choice can make a solid elk capable cartridge perform poorly, and a good bullet choice can make a cartridge generally considered not powerful enough for elk work just fine.