I'm not the expert so like you, I asked many, many experienced hunters and sites like this. .270 kept coming up more than any other so I got my sons and I each one. Ruger, Remington, and Winchester. Can't tell the difference between makes. We love them and have taken deer and elk every season since. Longest for us was an antelope at 350 yds (paced it off afterwards), but we know they are effective even further.