I'd rather talk rifles than cartridges any day, but in essence the .17 Rem and the 30-06 Springfield are more alike than they are different.
FWIW, I absolutely love the .308 cartridge, and have .308s in 2 different rifles.
But for a hunting cartridge I do believe that most guys are best served with a rifle chambered to a modern cartridge in .24, .25, or .26 caliber.
Aint' much a guy couldn't do with a sporter or light weight rifle made up in stainless/synth., and shooting a good 6.5 bullet.
My personal choice for decades was the .243 Winchester. Had a 25-06 built and it was a sweet shooting killing machine. Just this year i came home with a .260 Rem, and it's likely found it's forever home.
