Nowadays, I see more 223's/243's/260's/7-08's in this part of the world than just about anything else. Magnums are certainly in the minority and always have been.
Reason being kids are taught to shoot at an early age in this part of the world, so their Dad's have selected mild cartridges.
Same goes for wives... who have started hunting in droves since the 80's.
Most gent's that shoot/hunt also own several rifles and have had small/medium calibers in their arsenals for several decades - the 25-06 being quite popular since it became a factory offering.
Of course, the Bubbas' with 4 foot lift kits on their pickups still like shooting magnums on crowded public land - and magnums do make sense when hunting bean fields or Power line right of ways.
For some reason, many people outside the South just envision tangled forests & swamps, without realizing much of it is agricultural and long shots have been a big part of hunting here for eons.
Blanket statements and guessing is nothing new here though.
