Look at the pussy pads sold on most rifles now, also soft recoil turkey,and magnum metallic rounds. A lot of people are pussies, simple as that
Except for those guys who might have been injured in combat or during an athletic career...
You were painting with a pretty broad brush.
Or maybe we actually worked for a living and got worn out.
After one or two rotator cuff repairs and onset of arthritis, pussy pads are a godsend.
I killed my first mule deer with a 22-250 nearly forty years ago. I do not think internet forums had much to do with my choice.
I carried a 30-06 for many years and used it on everything from ground squirrels to elk. I don't carry an '06 any more, simply because I had loaded every bullet known to man in it and there was no more experimentation left with that round.
Today I would carry a 260 or my 264 for deer. For Elk I will not go with anything smaller than my 7mm STW, but I expect to have to shoot 400 yds with either species.
Range influences my choice as the STW generally has the more velocity at 400 yds than the 7-08 does at 100 yds.
As to the general public moving towards smaller rifles to hunt with. I do not believe that to be the case. We who populate this site or Sniper's Hide are not indicative of what the general public does. The general public still grabs the 270 or the 30-06 or the 30-30 out from the back of the closet, buys a box of whatever cartridges are on sale at the hardware store, and they go out and kill schit.
