I got an old Remington model 600, made in 1966, in a 308, it's light, short (I hunt a lot in thick stuff) and I've never shot at a deer with it that I didn't wind up eating. I used to use a 300 win. mag. but if you put the bullet in the vitals the deer die just as dead with the little 308. It's hard to qualify what the best gun is for deer hunting because deer range in so many different areas in BC, if you're hunting blacktails in the hardwoods 60 yds. is a long shot, while in the open country in the interior you can spot deer that are out of range for a 50 cal sniper rifle, you have to find a rifle that YOU are comfortable with shooting at the distances that match the terrain you usually hunt in. I've also got model 94 30-30 that I've probably shot close to 20 deer with and never had one get away wounded but my old eyes just don't handle the open sights any more.