308 is nice, i prefer the 270 myself for deerhunting. Either will cleanly take deer,antelope,sheep, etc.

will a 270 or 308 ruin any of the meat. i shoot right for the vitals, mainly the lungs

.308 is a really good gun and I know a lot of people that shoot them and they have good luck with them. I prefer the .270 though, because I have been raised on it and I can't seem to let it go. For a shooting match and stuff that doesn't require a lot of wear and tear on the gun, I use a model 700. For hunting I use a model 710. Both in .270.

You'll have a little damage around the wound, but not too much. It's not that difficult to cut around it.