As you can tell from the other posts, there is no perfect deer round. I always say the best round is the one you are shooting at the time. I have shot deer with .257's, .270's ,7mm's, 30's and 35's. I have been with people who were shooting from .22 cal. thru .45 cal, they all kill deer. I have seen deer drop in their tracks when hit with a 100gr. bullet out of a .257 Roberts, yet I have had deer run 40 yds. when hit with a 180gr. bullet out of a 300 Wby. That just proves to me that its not the "caliber" that kills, its a properly constructed bullet placed in the vitals that kills. Im not saying that you wont have a deer run after being hit with a leathal shot because it does happen, but if you place the bullet right they will just be moving on adrenalin. I have shot deer that were calm and they will usually drop on the spot, but if they are worked up from something they sometimes will make a mad dash after being hit. As far as meat damage goes any bullet will tear up some meat. Some people like to hit them in the shoulder, some in the neck, and others behind the shoulder. To each there own, I aim for the area that best presents itself at the time. If I had to have only one gun for deer hunting here in Pa. I would go with a .308, 30-06 or one of the 30 cal. magnums. My reason would be that the 30 cal. has a very wide range of bullet weights available, from 110 grs. up to 250 grs. I would stay in the 150gr. to 180gr. range for deer. Because of this I feel it is more verasatile than other calibers, just in case you go after bear or elk in the future. I also lean toward the magnums because I feel you cant "overkill" something. I really think some of the new short mags are the way to go, almost the same power as the full size magnums in a short action gun. The magnums will kick more than the .308 or 30-06 but they are not that bad, I am 5-6, 140 lbs. and dont have a problem shooting my .300 Wby. accurately. Top your gun off with a good quality (Leupold) variable power(3 to 9) scope and you are good to go.