RE: what caliber for long distance deer?
1ST you should learn deer befor you try to learn to shoot 500 yards.If you know about the animal you hunt you will most likely never need to shot that far.
What you should try to do is kill deer as close as you can not as far as you can.
What hunter is a better hunter? 1 a guy that kills a deer at 20 yards with a 30 06 2 a guy that shoots a deer at 600 yards with a 300 UM. I would put my $ on the 1st guy.
Think about what you are going to do with the gun. ANY gun in the 30 cal will work good and allso can be reloaded in most any size bulet.