I already gave my opinion when I quote Townsend Whelen when he he said, "The 30-06 is never a mistake." I'l stand by that come hell or high water. I did my first deer hunt when I was 11 years old. That was back in 1949. It wasn't until I was 16 that I started deer hunting on a yearly basis because my dad just wasn't interested. Most hunts early on were with tha 30-30 or 30-06. I also learned to handload my hunting ammo. Except for my last hunt being in 2019 due to a car wreck on Jan 2, 2020 I've hunted ever year with the exception of the four years while in the Air Force. Actually, I did manage to sneak in a deer hunt one year. probably 99% has been for deer with a few elk thrown in. I've shot deer or have seen deer shot with everything from the .243 to the several .300 magnums. From about 1975, probably 80 to 85% percent have been with Ruger #1s in various calibers. For elk one with a .300 Win. mag. one with the 30-06 and five with the .35 Whelen. All were one shot kills.
As for super long range shots, one Mule Deer at 426 paces with a .308 Win. and 150 gr. Sierra Pro-Hunter. Year was 1973 as that was when I bought that .308, my first one. My longest ever shot was a cow elk at 530 yards laser measured. I won't go into the roughly three month practice session, two and three times a week prepping for that hunt. I'd hunted the area before and knew shots you be way out yonder. I did the same level of practice for my first and only antelope hunt only to be able to stalk close enough that the shot was roughly 75 Yards.
But the mainstay if most of my hunts has always been a 30-06 on one make of rifle or another.
I just turned 85 a few days back and have the strange notion to blow what little inheritance my kids might have on my #1 bucket list hunt and to hell with what the doctors have to say. It's something I've wanted to do ever since I saw "King Solomon's Mines" as a kid. I know what rifle I will take. One of my J C Higgins M50 Mausers in 30-06. Load will either be a 180 gr. Nosler Partition or 200 gr. Speer Hot Core or Nosler partition, whichever the rifle likes best. FWIW, the elk taken at 530 yards was shot with a 200 gr. Speer Hot Core. Nuff said?
Paul B.