I have a 280 Rem. and a 308 Win. to mention a few! I really like the 280 Rem. as a "all rounder" and it will do anything and everything I'll ever need it to do. Having said that, if your friend wants to buy one rifle for the game you mentioned I would recommend a 30-06 Spr. If I was starting over I would probably get a 30-06 instead of the 280. The main reason I say this is because I don't reload and don't know if I ever will. You can get factory loaded ammo from 55 gr. &110 gr. all the way up to 220 gr. for the 30-06.I love my 280, do think I'll ever part with it, but the ought-six is extremely tough to beat as a "all rounder". The 270 Win. is no slouch either!

I use afast handling rifle/carbine when I hunt in the woods. Right now my woods rifle is my Marlin 336CS in 35 Rem. I also use a bolt action when longer shots might be on the table, right now its my 280 Rem. Like I said if I was starting over I would use eithera Remington model 7400 Carbine or a 7600 Carbine in 30-06 as my woods rifle and a Remington model 700 CDL in 30-06 as my long range rifle, and we could have a nice little birthday party for the 30-06 next year!!!