I'm not going to sit here and tell you that I've killed tons of Elk with a recurve.
But I have killed more than a few with recurves between 50 and 60 Lbs. These days I shoot two blades for Elk, and I would go back to the Magnus Stinger 4 blades without hesitation if I had too (but the werewolf double bevel 150 is super badass) I think if Eclipse made a Werewolf with a bleeder blade that still weighed 150, it'd be my new most favorite head ever
The problem that us Montana boys have is that we have an "archery general" season for Deer AND Elk, and Fall Bear runs concurrent with that. I've always hedged my bets towards penetration for Elk, but I really like a 4 blade on deer and bears. I stick with ONE setup all fall. Once it turns into August, all I shoot is my 60 pound limbs and broadheads.
The one Elk that I shot with a 3 blade wasn't a pass thru and I felt it should have been. It was my worst tracking job. Elk have a lot of desire to live, and big lungs.