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I dont understand all those big calibers for you northern folks. Biggest magnum I own is the 7mm win mag. I only have it for shtf moments I havent ran into yet. For long range hunting, my .270 does just find and I have killed deer at 300yrds with my 30-06. Killed more deer with a 243 than anything else I have ever owned. I aint had a bear run off yet when shot with my 44mg ruger carbine or my 44mag model 29. those big 300 mag and 338 magnum are best left to those folks that shoot from mountain top to mountain top out west or across those 600 acre corn fields on elk and moose and mule deer. Hit a white tail with a 338 and you dont have nothing left to eat. Heck, most of the deer you get to shoot around here can be took with open sights and a 30-30.
 
I dont understand all those big calibers for you northern folks. Biggest magnum I own is the 7mm win mag. I only have it for shtf moments I havent ran into yet. For long range hunting, my .270 does just find and I have killed deer at 300yrds with my 30-06. Killed more deer with a 243 than anything else I have ever owned. I aint had a bear run off yet when shot with my 44mg ruger carbine or my 44mag model 29. those big 300 mag and 338 magnum are best left to those folks that shoot from mountain top to mountain top out west or across those 600 acre corn fields on elk and moose and mule deer. Hit a white tail with a 338 and you dont have nothing left to eat. Heck, most of the deer you get to shoot around here can be took with open sights and a 30-30.
Your full of it, I've killed plenty of deer with my 338. Bullet selection is important. My buck this year had minimal meat damage with the 300 mag. I've seen plenty of guys blow deer to nothing with an 06 and ballistic tip ammo. Learn to shoot you gun, and the next time I'm out at the ranch in Montana I'll remember I should have taken my 243 when were out for elk. Oh wait that will be in the safe amd I'll likely have the 338 with, again.
 
Just my thoughts:

A lot of guys use too much gun, for the wrong reasons. If a person can’t shoot accurately with a 30-30 then they have no business lugging a 300 ultra mag through the woods so they can impress their buddies.

If a (competent) hunter is shooting long distances or need a heavier caliber for large and if dangerous game, shoot the largest gun you can without recoil becoming an issue.

I personally do a lot of walking in the woods and want a shorter gun so I’m not whacking brush with my barrel. .30-06 has plenty of power for anything I’ll encounter in Minnesota. If I was in grizzly bear range, I’d carry a 300 mag at minimum. And yes I can shoot.
 
My household we use 30-06, .35whelen, 6.5 and 30-30

bullet placement is important with all three and all three will kill when the shooter knows what they’re doing
35 Whelen is on my list of calibers to acquire.

My next gun will be a 20 ga auto. Then a repeating pistol that shoots accurately.
 
I have taken more deer with my 300 Win Mag than anything else, but I currently use an 06 and it is just fine.

I bought the 300 because it was a Bicentennial Ruger M77, and hunted with it because it shot great. (5/8" groups at 100 yds)

Use a good bullet and put it behind the shoulder and you don't loose any meat at all.

Almost anything will work on a farm or other open field shooting. In heavy woods, I have had much better success with 30 cal or larger. A 30-30 is marginal power for deer, if you contact any brush/small saplings before the deer you may not get it.

I once did not get a deer with a 270 because the bullets deflected wildly on very light brush (I went back the next day and found where they went), and my brother did not get a deer with the 270 when it ran out of steam after going through some heavy brush. The bullet hit the shoulder and broke the skin, but did not penetrate. (I know because I got that deer)

I took a nice size buck with the 270 WSM, with good handloads (Barnes Bullets). The deer stayed in heavy brush and the bullet must have passed through some before hitting it. The entrance hole was large and the exit hole was very small. I went back to 30 cal after that.

If they had chambered the Ruger American Rifle in 338 Federal I would have gotten one, but it is good in 06 or 308. 300 Savage and 30-40 Krag are also very good deer cartridges.
 
It’s kind of crazy how many proprietary cartridges have been introduced in the last 20 years. Seemed like there was an arms race up to the 1960’s then almost no new cartridges till 2000. Then the short mags, ultra mags, short ultra mags, lever gun cartridges, and short action cartridges for semi auto guns just popped up everywhere.
 
A friend of mine has a 35/284 wildcat. Ballistically the same as a 35 Whalen, but short enough to use in his lever gun.

The 284 is an old "short mag" w/o the belt. The head is recessed to the same size as 308/30-06, then the cartridge gets fatter.

Another good round that never gained popularity, same as the 7mm/280 Remington.

7 mm 08 is a very good bore to case capacity match.
 
Speaking of guns from the 60’s, two cartridges that always intrigued me are the 264 and 284 Winchester. The 264WM is sort of like the 220 swift on steroids. Flattest shooting medium game cartridge around but hot loads guarantee short barrel life.
It is odd the calibers that make it and the ones that went the way of the dodo bird.
 

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