When we were kids(25 years ago), my dad had a good ol' hired man who was really into rifles and hunting. Melvin grew up in an era of 'slim pickens' and was a meat hunter first and foremost.
He had the luxury of patience and being pretty choosy in his shots.
His choice of rifle for everything(including Breaks cow elk...)?
Why nothing less than the number one choice for eastern Montana ranch/truck guns, the mighty 22-250!
Naturally when I was 12 or 13 years old, and could legally hunt big-game, my dad bought me a M70 in 22-250.
Shot several deer and antelope with it and never had a problem(55 grain soft points). Of course a long shot back then was still way less than 300 yards.
We still have the rifle along a couple boxes of handloads that Melvin brewed up.
