Agreed...Hunting for most of us is a hobby...Use whatever makes you feel good, shoot well and are comfortable with..My favorite deer gun is a .54 flintlock that I made about 15 years ago...Just enjoy using....When it comes to centerfires...I own one...a Ruger 77 that I bought in 1980...in .243 caliber

You will notice more difference in the type bullets used on whitetails than on the caliber...I'm fortunate that my family owns 3 farms in eastern NC...loaded with deer...we kill about 45-50 a year...I have brothers/nephews/buddies etc that hunt with us...I have killed and cleaned deer shot with .243, .260, 7mm-08, .270, .280, 30-06, 7mm Mag and 300 Win Mag...Some days we have 6-7 deer to clean...When you examine the wound channel, distance of shot, distance deer ran after the hit, blood trail etc.....It doesn't matter what caliber killed them....Its more about bullet placement and the type bullet that was used....

That being said...I've always kinda wanted to try a 25-06...LOL...Its surely not a need....Might have to try one...Some day...Just have to get my daughters out of college first....