It's so close to a .308 win it doesn't matter to the game.Yes you can shoot deer,moose ,elk and black bears.Here in Canada it was carried and used on grizzly as well.The recoil is user friendly not much different than a 30-30.Also very accurate.Not sure if you want to handload but it livens things up considerably over factory stuff.42gr Win 748/150gr bullet/ Win cases,41grWin748/165gr bullet/Win cases and 40grWin748/180gr bullet/Win cases all with lrg rifle primers.All shot 1-1.5 MOA in my Sav99 300Sav.....................Harold