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Just depends on what you can afford and what you plan to use it for. Rim fire .22's are not legal for deer. But a .223 or 22-250 would be legal. Also depends on how much you plan to hunt with it and how much it's going to be a varmit rifle. The .270 is great for deer hunting but a bit much overkill on varmits. The .25-06 is also good for deer and would do fine on large varmits but a bit much for small ones. There is no perfect rifle for everything from snakes and weasels up to 250lb Whitetails. So decide what you want first and get that rifle. Then add to your collection when you can. If it's coyotes and whitetail I'd get the .25-06.
Another option is the .243 WIN. A tad light for the really big deer, but sufficient for most in the east. It's a good choice for most predators, too, if a little too much lightning for the small ones, like 'possum and skunks. On coyotes, its the ticket.
I'm also a big fan of the .25 calibers and would love to see the .250 Savage come back. But the .243 WIN does all it can and is far more popular. When you cant find .25-06 ammo or some of the less popular mid-bore ammo, you can probably find .243 fodder.
Dave Dave Dave.... It's all in where you place your bullet..
On a serious note- with Sharon's .243 the most I have had a deer run was about 30 feet - it was dead when the bullet hit but didn't know it. The bullet took the bottom 1/3 of the heart out. Only one time I have felt "undergunned" with it was last year I was hunting a corn field beside our house. the farmer had only gathered about 1/2 the corn and a bear ran out from the corn. It had about 100 yards to the woods. I thought about it for a split second and then watched it run away. I have seen the tracks since so it made it thru 2 bear seasons, maybe that is why it hasn't come an eaten our turkeys. lol
Everybody has a favorite round but the key thing is being able to place that round on target
Steve
