As long as you are not looking to down animals larger than a whitetail, a 243 will do the job. A 22-250 is also a decient calb.. Many people will say the 22-250 is a little small of a bullet. It has its good and bad points. What you lose in size you gain in accuracy. I have shot lots of deer with a 22-250 and never lost one. I personally like the 30-06 best of all. But it can pop you sometimes. Have you tried different ammo. I know winchesters tend to be less punishing than remington core locks.