My father, brother and I all bought .303's as our first rifles. They cost $7.00 each and were still in wooden crates packed in cosmoline. Between the 3 of us we took over 20 whitetails with them. I wish I would have kept my Fathers as it just seemed to be the nicest of the three but they all shot great. I shoot a 7MM Mag. now and while it's obviously a superior rifle I'd still carry the .303 if I hadn't traded it for something else along the way.