RE: Your favorite deer rifle that is NOT a 270
finally...someone who doesn't want a dang .270, all you hear...270 270 270
i would say a .280 Remington would do the job wonderfully, another option for a real deer thumper would be the 6.5x55 that you mentioned, I own one of these delicate mausers and have wonderful results with it and virtually non-existant recoil. Good Luck