With today's bullets, cartridges that were not very good for deer-sized game in the past have become fairly usable, provided the hunter makes good shots in the kill-zones.
The 30-06 is the cartridge by which all other North American hunting rounds are judged. Yes, I've shot through even 4" trees and the '06 round keeps on going to do damage, but deviates from its line of flight, so the deer has to be standing close to the tree. I shot through a 3" tree with my .270 Win also, but the deer was too far back and the bullet was deflected to cause a miss under it's breast. The animal was moving across an old woods road and the tree on the edge wasn't seen when I fired.
The best thing about the '06 and .270 type rounds is that they have less drop than pistol cartridges, so just because someone can ring steel at known range with a pistol cartridge having greater drop, quickly guesstimating the range and trajectory of the round in the field makes for lesser chance of a clean kill shot.
If time is an important factor, most good shots can put a round in the lung area offhand at 100 yards in less time and with greater accuracy than someone with a handgun or iron-sighted rifle.
The 30-06 is the cartridge by which all other North American hunting rounds are judged. Yes, I've shot through even 4" trees and the '06 round keeps on going to do damage, but deviates from its line of flight, so the deer has to be standing close to the tree. I shot through a 3" tree with my .270 Win also, but the deer was too far back and the bullet was deflected to cause a miss under it's breast. The animal was moving across an old woods road and the tree on the edge wasn't seen when I fired.
The best thing about the '06 and .270 type rounds is that they have less drop than pistol cartridges, so just because someone can ring steel at known range with a pistol cartridge having greater drop, quickly guesstimating the range and trajectory of the round in the field makes for lesser chance of a clean kill shot.
If time is an important factor, most good shots can put a round in the lung area offhand at 100 yards in less time and with greater accuracy than someone with a handgun or iron-sighted rifle.