If I was going to have Melvin build me a big game rifle today, I'd probably opt for the .25-'06 with a twenty-four inch barrel. I've killed several pickup loads of prairie goats and big-eared deer and even a half-dozen elk with the big .25. Always found it to be superb.
I simply love the flat trajectory and lack of recoil of the .25-'06 with 100-grain bullets. It just plain works.
Johnny Buffalo's .257 Roy is even more of a GREAT thing and may be even better than Mr. Neidner's wildcat.
Blessings,
Steve
"God Loves Each Of Us As If There Were Only One Of Us" Saint Augustine of Hippo - AD 397