Great caliber for deer, elk, sheep, goat, antelope, black bear, moose; just about any big game that you can hunt, it is capable of killing. As stated, I'd stay away from the big brown bears with it, although I would suspect some have been taken with it. It has a good selection of bullet weights to choose from, with the 150-165 grain a good choice for deer. Chambered in many bolt guns, auto-loaders, pumps, lever actions. Good choice for what you want.