I agree Zen. I killed my first deer when i was 12 with dads old 30.06. Then i got my own. Then i bought a 7 mag, hunted with it for a few years, and sold it because i liked the 06 better. Then i bought a 300 win mag and killed my first bull with it, and i just sold that one a couple weeks ago.

I just think the 30.06 is the perfect all around gun. Light recoil, outstanding perfomance on big game, easy to find ammo for, i could go on forever. I think if you want more punch than the old 30.06 provides with good bullets, you need to go bigger in diameter, not velocity. For a 30 caliber, the 06 is just about perfect.