yorec, I'd bet a lot of folks from the eastern US who go out west for elk-hunting for the first time have the idea they need a super cannon and a 20X scope, to deal with shots of mostly 500 yards.
Also, those "hunters" who lumber around in some noisy fashion, or who just park and pray in their vehicle, might never see an elk inside of 500 yards. You can imagine the stories they spread.
, Art