I wonder if more elk were wounded and lost back in the day? shoot 1....don't find it, shoot a different one...
I know way back when there were essentially no fences, people just hunted everyone's property....
also didn't many guys back in the day use smaller cartridges with lesser bullets?
I do think the thing nowadays is use enough gun.....especially for the non-res going on 1 elk hunt in their lifetime, having a quartering away angle at 500yds etc....as your 1 chance to kill and bull....etc... you'd much prefer having a enough gun with a premium bullet than not....
also I could only think back in the day.....less hunters, more game....easier to get close....
but yes they're not mythical creatures at the same time.
as for scopes....I mostly use B&C type reticles....multiple cross-hairs....so I zero at 200 in most cases....so I have a cross-hair at 300, 400, 500, etc...and I match a bullet to those drops...
so for me 250,275 zero doesn't work, but if I had just 1 cross-hair perhaps I'd choose that zero.