Definitly the .270 Win. I had a 30-06 myself and was rather bored with it. Traded it in on a .270 and am very happy. Perfect gun to fill your gap so to speak. Would be perfect in the grains you mentioned and would kill just about any game you could think of in north america. Including moose. but in my opinion a great whitail, antilope, sheep etc... gun. You can' t go wrong with the .270 a gun that everyone should have in their collection. I sure love it in mine!

I have nothing against the .270, but everybody and their brother has one it seems.
Same way with the 30-06. Believe it or not, I only know two guys with a .308

mainehunt, I tend to like the standard cartrides .30-06 SPNG, .270 Win, ect. but I get the impression you want something that your hunting buddies haven' t shot yet. In this case I think one of the short magnums like the .270 wsm.

Im in agreement,why not go with something odd. 280 jeffery,284,264,or 275 nitro express. They are all fun to reload, and some you will have to fire form. What a great way to learn more about relaoding.

Browning BLR lightweight in .358 win. This could be a nice round for deer, bear, and moose in that thick Maine woods.

If you are truely looking for a great filler gun, I say the 270win. If you want a filler gun, but also wanna be the first kid on the block.. get the 270WSM. Either should do great for ya.