Check every bolt. I had that problem last year and the one holding the ramp was loose. A little time with my allen wrench and all was well. Well, except that the elk were elusive again this year. Ugh
A friend of mine's late father killed over 40 elk with a 250-3000 Savage. His bullet of choice was the 87 grain soft point. Some good 6x6 bulls, too. If he can do it, your 25-06 certainly can. Shot placement with good bullets is everything on elk.
Update: My cataract surgery was in 2010. Late last year, I was having trouble seeing my pins. The best description is that it was like someone smeared vasoline over my eye. The eye doctor told me that the lens is in a little bag, and the bag had become more opaque. Scheduled the surgery...
I can't possibly tell you what the best is, as I only know what works for me. The chief guide Three Forks Ranch told me "partitions, Barnes or Swift A-Frames" many years ago.
My experience, 130 or 150 partition, no difference out to at least 400. The 130 penetrated on an accidental quartering...
Use a good bullet, hit the lungs and get our your knives.
Elk are not hard to kill if hit well. Hit poorly, they will run for miles. Marksmanship is important with tenacious survivors.
Isn't the first question how you hunt and then, the rifle choice will make itself clear. If your shots are 400 yds or less, or you do a lot of spot and stalk..................
I'd get some 8x30 or 8x32 binos. My 10x42 Kahles binos work for me farther than I typically want to walk. it's one thing to see them there, it's quite another to get there on foot before they've moved to another zip code......particularly on public land hunting.
I can't say best. I can say a properly adjusted Kifaru frame is very, very, very good to take out as much as half an elk in one trip. I say that with some certainty, having used exclusively Kifaru since 1998. YMMV .
Used Nikon 8x23 Venturers for $35 or so on Ebay. Excellent definition, low price. I have 2 pair for my 4x4s in the glovebox for both. I bought a pair for a young kid who was beginning to hunt. Used a similar pair for years.
I use straps with a rectangular piece of fleece that covers the eyepiece or a Bino Bandit for the eyepiece. That works well enough, adds no noise and if any lenses get wet, I have a cleaning cloth with me as well. I don't like the bulk bino boxes that are popular now. And they can be hot in...