frizzellr,
I don' t know about that. My .308 browning Abolt with 1in12 twist will not shoot heavy bullets as well as my 30-06 with 1 in 10 twist. I know some .308s are 1 in 10 but many of them are not. Besides, you can load the 06 hotter than the .308 to help with heavy bullets.

30-06 by far

45/70 has been around more than 100 yrs, and since the bullets dont expand it doesn' t ruin meat. Enough said, in single shots or lever guns this round is it!

It' s truly hard to argue with the .30-06 crowd here.....but the guy with a .280 Rem isn' t too far away from the mark.

When we talk about cartridges being versatile, and this cartridge for this animal or that animal we need to look at classes or groups of cartridges. Here is a very partial list.

varmits:
.22 hornet
.223 Rem
.22-250 Rem
.220 Swift

deer/coyote dual purpose:
.243 Win
6mm Rem
.25-06 Rem
.257 Roberts

deer/caribou/elk/moose 250yd-300yd

.260 Rem
6.5x55 Swede
7mm-08 Rem
.308 Win

deer/caribou/elk/moose 350yd

.264 Win Mag
.270 Win
.280 Rem
30/06

elk/moose at ranges longer than most should shoot

7mm mags
.300 mags
.338 mags

Big dangerous game that can kick the s^!$ out of you if you wound him

.358 Norma Mag
.375 Mags
.416mags
.458 mags

30-06

3006

Neweboarhunter,

Hoo Hah! --- A thinking man' s answer. --- Different tools for different jobs. --- I like it.

It doesn' t meet the " format" laid out in the starting thread question, but sure does meet/address reality for those who stray beyond the local deer patch in their quest for adventure AND don' t buy into the " one size fits all" school of thought.

Never Go Undergunned,
EKM

gotta be the 30-06