Nikon's Fieldscope line with ED glass is consistantly rated as having image quality better than most anything out there, and it's ~$800. That makes me believe their "cheaper" models are a pretty good bang for the buck, too.
Personally, I'd get good binos for elk hunting, unless you're going to be glassing out of the truck. You'll want to reduce weight as much as possible, if you walk any amount.
I'd think with 45X you could spot hits out to 500 yards, minimum.