Aaaaaaaand GO

What do you have currently that is close to either of these calibers?

What kind of setup is this going to be? i.e. General hunting rifle, treestand gun, lightweight setup, long-range rifle, etc?

I want magnum caliber rifle.....I have ZERO use for one - I already have a .308 and a .30-06 and the most I will be shooting on a regular basis is a couple hundred yds at deer/pigs - but I just want one, maybe a 7mmRM.

Between those, I'd 30/06.

I have always hunted with a .270 Win Browning A-Bolt that my dad handed down to me. I'm wanting to retire it to be kept for a hopeful son one day, or at least in the family.

Looking to shoot a little bigger caliber with more punch in my next rifle.

It would be used for deer hunting in general.

If you want more punch, try a 338 Winchester magnum or a 375 H&H magnum. They work great on deer.

If you have a .270 I would not go 30-06 just because you could probably debate for hours which one of those two are better than the other. There is a reason they are two of the most popular North American cartridges. They both work for about anything and work well.

I'd probably do the 300 win mag. Don't need the extra burned powder or recoil to kill a deer but if you want something bigger.....

.338 Federal.(.308 necked to .338) Or .300H&H mag.

7mm mag

.358 Win

Only reason anyone ever chambered a rifle in 338 Federal instead of .358 is they would have to step up the barrel contour and it would no longer work in the same stock. No reason otherwise and a poor excuse IMO.

7mm Mag is also another possibility I've been looking at.

I've heard a few stories of that round not expanding, anyone had that experience?

If a bullet didn't expand that would that would be on the bullet manufacturer, not the caliber.

Unless long range Elk are on the agenda,and I mean more than a distant possibility,30-06 is plenty. Actually 30-06 is plenty for anything in NA but the 300 has a little more horsepower ,especially at longer range.

For just deer hunting no need to burn that much powder. Even the 30-06 is more than necessary. 7mm-08 is excellent as are any of the 6.5's, 270 etc.

That's what I thought too, thanks.

I agree, '06 should do it.

My 300WM and 300WSM are interesting and have a nice kill list. No such thing as too much dead.

I have hunted with a browning a bolt 300 win mag for more than 30 yrs. I use cheap 150 grain core locks that shoot great and cost 25 bucks a box. Love it. No need to change. No need to track the game. They drop in their tracks. Rarely ever had one run very far.

.243

Here is a nice article by John Barness
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbthreads/ubbthreads.php/topics/12360417/3

I wouldn't tote a big ol' long, heavy, over kill magnum for little ol whitetail deer if you gave me the gun.

Well, you asked.

You never mentioned what ranges you would be shooting but my choice between
Those 2 it would be the 06. More than enough out to 300 or so yards provided you understand ballistics.
My choice in caliber after 20+ years of trying everything is the .257 Weatherby
300 yards is the max i will even try to hit a deer and with the 257 i can hold dead on from 0-300. No ranging/thinking/clicking/bullet drop scope crap. Just aim and shoot. The only negatives to me would be dealing with the 26�� barrel in a shooting house and the high cost of ammo. Just my 2 cents.