I'm with you on 180 grs 308 at 2800 for elk, but your statement was that "6.5mm isn't even in the same league". That simply is not true. It doesn't mean you have to love it, use it, or endorse it. But suggesting that the 264 Win Mag isn't suitable for elk, especially when you have suggested that 223 is suitable for deer (different thread), is simply a failure of logic. As a fellow believer that shot placement is paramount, how can 160 grs delivered by a flat shooting, low recoiling cartridge with a very high sectional density bullet not deliver when used by a competent shooter? For the vast majority of elk hunters 264 Win Mag is probably the largest magnum they can shoot and a far better choice than any of the 30 cal + magna. In fact, I hunted last Fall with a chap using 7mm Mag and it was just too much for him, as would have been 30-06. Many so-called hunters put in minimal trigger time and are barely adequate shots who would be far better served with "lesser" cartridges and being much closer to their quarry.
What we haven't discussed is how good the 7mm-08 is! I had my first introduction to the 7mm-08 last year just ahead of elk season and I was extremely impressed. It is, in my opinion, better than its parent cartridge as a hunting round and really optimizes the 308 Win case. But alas, another thread...