Unless that 308 is 12lb varmiter it should do the job quite nicely.

I have the m77 in a 7mm rem mag with the same way of thinking as you have. I did take a bull elk with it in 2009 and various deer. It is overkill for deer imo but it does come in handy for the longer shots out here on the prairie. The thing is, my elk was close range and i feel a .270 with a 150 grain slug would have done the job quiet well. So i would say a deer rifle with the occasional elk, the .270 would be my pick. If i was going after deer only, my pick would be the 25/06 hands down.

any bullet will do, shot placement is the key. so get something you can shoot well....id get the 7122. all weather stainless and with a nice round to boot

The xbolt is a gold medallion so it doesnt leave the case, plus i am an avid shooter and the ruger will get practiced with alot. I know the 308, 270, 30/06 and 243 are great choices but im i guess uneducated on 3 calibers i havent owned; 280, 7mm-08, 7mm mag. The recoil of my 308 x bolt is about tops id like to have for ease of making well places shots, because as we all know its not the bullet, its where the bullet hits.

There you are then. The 06' will generally handle a heavier boolit than the 308 better. Their a dead heat up to 165g over that its the 06' . W/hand loading both are capable of much more versatility than what's on the shelf. Gun to gun the 308 has an edge at the end of the day w/its short action and possibly shorter bbl.oz add up after a long pack. You have the 308 already and are familiar w/it so there's bonus points too.

Just cause I gots to be different. I like the 338 Federal, and the 358 Win. I really like my sako in 338 fed pushing 160 gr barnes. Per barnes load data should be coming out of the tube around 2900 fps or so. I should be able to give you a hair test on caribou in a couple of weeks. I use the 358 pushing 200 gr horn it's probably a 200 yard (up to elk) load but wow does it hammer the deer.

Personally I think the 308 is almost perfect

270 WSM, .270 .308, 7mm Mag or 300 Win Mag in that order...have successfully deer (whitetail, mulley and blacktail) and elk hunted with all 4 calibers before.....the 270 and 270 WSM are by far my favorite rounds for deer/elk combo. Have also successfully used them both on caribou, moose, black bear and hogs. Happy hunting!

There are several great cartridges, but my book the 308 Win. is about as good as it gets.

I will say, I have an elk hunt coming in the winter of 2014 ... and am antsy about this as my "elk" rifle. I have both a 300 Win. Mag. and 338 Win. Mag. that I can shoot well and have 100% confidence in. But I have killed so much game with my 308 Win., it is going to be tough to leave it behind !!!

I would recommend a .270 for deer, a 7MM RM for elk and a .30-06 for the one gun hunter.

Always good to bring a "back-up" on important hunts !