.308 is going to do more damage than a .30-06, it's just not as fast. It's nice because it's a short action, but I prefer my flat shooting .30-06 over my girlfriends .308 mauser any day. If you can find someone to handload your shells with light bullets, a .30-06 won't do as much damage as your deer shells are on varmints. IMHO I don't think that a person could ever consider the .308 better than a .30-06, cuz some day you're going to see that monster out at 300 yrds, and what would you rather be shooting, I'd pick my .30-06.