Holy cow, guy! You can kill an elk with a .22 rifle. As for accuracy, you almost can't miss an elk at 300 yards! Now the problem out here is that all big game hunting requires that you be drawn for a tag. I've been here 20 years and have hunted about half of those years because I can't get drawn. It has been 4 years since I was drawn for deer. This year, all I got was Spring Javelina. Fortunately, we have plenty of coyotes and other non-game creatures that provide entertainment, or, for most of us, all we'd get to shoot is paper. Paper is, by the way, the most commonly shot creature in this State. In answer to your question though, you can pick up a used .308 in a model 700 Remington, or even an older 721 Remington, for lessthan $300, and it will be more than potent and accurate enough for elk at 300 yards, or 500 yards if you wanted to try it. Also, yes, you can hunt with semi-auto weapons, but your magazine cannot be capable of holding more than 5 shots. Good luck.