Id get the 30-06 and be done with it. I have a Rem. 700 and flat out love it. The 06 is one of the most versatile cartridges in the world u can get anything from a 55 grain bullet in a sabot that pushes 4000 fps to a 220 grain round nose for big stuff like moose bear elk. And if u hand load its even more versatile. It won't cause an extreme amount of meat damage unless u hit them right on the front shoulder but if u do your own processing u can do some trimming and save some meat off a bloodshot shoulder. A 300 Win. Mag. from what I've seen its overkill on whitetails under 200 yards. 300 is good if u plan on shootin from a long distance. But in my experience most deer are killed under 100 yards. Not all but most.