ORIGINAL: 8mm/06
I think that there seems to be some mixing of facts. A 150 grain .284 bullet and a 150 grain .308 bullet are the same amount of projectile. The fact that one can create a larger ENTRY hole isn't really telling much. Bullet construction and velocity mean a heck of a lot more than the diameter, especially the minimal difference between .284 and .308. Basically we're talking about 7mm and 7.5 mm (approx).
There is such a small difference between the .280 and the 30/06 I wouldn't even bother with choosing between the 2. If there were 2 identically equipped rifles except for chamber, one being 30/06 and the other being .280 I would be happy to be carrying either afield.
There is no question though, availablility of ammo is a key consideration to those that don't handload, and therefore marketability is definitley affected.
Yes. Bullet design is very important because you can make all the energy in teh world but if it doesn't transfer into the target it's wasted. That is why we want a big game bullet that will mushroom and lodge against the opposite hide, thus expending
all it's energy inside the target.
Like I said in the beginning: all the mainstream big game calibers are pretty much the same within 300 yards. It's splitting hairs like I said.