Some of what you say holds merit schoolcraft. I think that the problem with bad shots is confined to the magnum world, like alot of people try to pin it on, its all calibers. Too many guys, and I know a bunch from wisconsin like this, shoot maybe four rounds all year, then go out and whine, when they miss a deer at 50 yards, or they wound one, and suddenly the 308 is garbage, wont put deer down(yes I heard this from a gunshop). Then the poor shooter buys a 300 mag, and throws a cheap scope, and cheap ammo in it. Then, people jump on the bash the mags bandwagon. There isnt a thing wrong with magnums, and it seems the ones who bash them the most are either armchair gun experts, or those who are recoil intolerant. I had a crusty old man at Sportmans warehouse(employee) here in town tell me, dont need anything bigger then an '06. I laughed and told him, you dont need anything bigger then a 30/30 if you can actually shoot. He didnt like that. I still prefer my magnums, and I shoot them alot, and shoot them well. I blow ballistic tips for plinking, but stick to accubonds or partitions for hunting. IMO, if you are hunting with lower velocity standard calibers, the regular ammo is fine. When you get up in speed, then the choice of bullet becomes important. My 30/30 gets fed cheap stuff. The '06, regular bullets or ballistic tips. The 45/70 gets hornady flatpoints. The rest get better bullets. After learning about junk scopes, all I run is good glass. It may not be swaro, but its not simmons either. I once heard someone say, spend as much on glass as you do on the rifle. I wouldnt set that in stone, but I fail to see the sense in buying a $700 rifle, and throwing a $59 wally world scope on it. If you cant at least put a $400 piece of glass on it, get a cheaper gun and put better glass on it, and practice. There is sound reason why I got the cherry spots to sit, while everyone else did the deer drives thru the blackberries up north. I had a gun big enough to reach out and touch someone, I was the best shot, and everything I touched went flop.