Picking a hunting gun

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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 context here is 100yds or less. Drop is inconsequential.

Seems to me that a lot of hunters, while they may never take a shot over 100yds or hunt an area where longer shots are possible in a lifetime of hunting, are so afraid of being presented with that mythical 300yd shot on the buck of a lifetime that they cannot fathom going to the woods with a 150yd (or less) rifle. Yet handgun and blackpowder hunters do it all the time, not to even mention bow hunting.

Scopes are faster than iron sights now? That's new.
 
I don’t think it is clear cut whether iron sights or a scope are faster. I’ve read numerous opinions from PH’s and they are on both sides of the fence. It’s all moot to me anyway since I’m almost 60. I do much better with a scope past 25 yards.
 
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