I am not going to get into the caliber debate, but I will say that if you are young, and / orof small to medium stature, or just a bit recoil conscious, that Remington and Federal both make a mild recoil ( Remington ) or low recoil ( Federal ) round for the .308 and 30.06. The rounds are both good out to 200+ yards, and are accurate. They will cleanly take deerfrom0 to 200+ yards and have the recoil of a .243 round. I would suggest a bolt action gun, if you useeither of these rounds,becausewith the reduced powder charge, they will not completely cycle a semi-automatic andfully eject at spent case.But for a bolt action rifle they are great. And if or when you decide to shoot full charge rounds, you have a gun that is ready to take them. It is the best of both worlds.

I got some of both and tried them in my wifes 30.06 and was very pleased with both brands. As have been others here on this site.

Good luck and God Bless.