Just for deer I would go with the 25-06 Rem. Personally I am no longer that fond of a 30-06 Sprng. It is a jack of all trades for sure, but it is a master of none. A 30-06 can do nothing that couldn' t be done more efficiently with a diferent cartridge. I don' t buy in to the one gun for everything concept which 30-06 fans seem to promote. Its a good cartridge, but it is not the best thing since sliced bread.