There is very little that separates the 6.5 PRC and a 270 at hunting ranges. The recoil, like the 270, is between a 308 and 30-06. Your specs point toward a custom rifle, as most of the short-barreled, compact factory rifles are chambered in lighter cartridges. Also, factory rifles for 6.5 PRC...
Comparing a Leupold 1" V3, 30mm V3, and a V5 side by side at the store, I would estimate I see 80-90% of the picture benefits of the V5 in terms of brightness and field of view in the 30mm for about half the cost, and about split the difference in weight between the 1" V3 and V5. The 1" V3s...
Ruger has posted some big game calibers coming to their Gen II Predator line, but I haven't seen much discussion about this.
https://ruger.com/products/americanRiflePredatorGenII/models.html
What's everyone's thoughts on these? Cold hammer forged, threaded, and cerakoted barrel, three position...
I'll sometimes take my boots off on a stalk and put them in my pack, but it's not worth leaving anything behind. There's little worse than getting on elk but then doubling back for gear when it didn't all go to plan.
If you're for sure focusing on pre-rut, the bulls will not have cows with them yet and you may be able to get more solo encounters with them, especially larger bulls that will have more eyes and ears around them as the rut gets going.
If your schedule is still flexible to you, I did my first...