While your .308 with 180gr bullets is effective, you might consider calibers with better bullet expansion for shorter blood trails. Look into .270 Winchester, 7mm-08 Remington, or 6.5 Creedmoor. These offer good bullet expansion at your hunting distances (100-250 yards) while remaining manageable to shoot. They also avoid the overkill of a .444 Marlin for those ranges. Before switching rifles, consider trying different bullet types for your .308, designed for better expansion at impact.