As he original poster I have to say thanks to everyone for the feedback so far. So far all of my deer have been shot with either a .270 or a .30-06 which has generally resulted in DRT or a run of no more than 25 yards although a couple went farther. I've shot black bears with .30-06, .35 Whelen, .45 Colt (carbine) and a .375 H&H. It's nice to see how happy people are with the .30-30, not just that it works but it seems to work to complete satisfaction.
With my transition to brush hunting a friend offered to sell me a very nice .444 Marlin and I was thinking about it for the sake of more DRTs and shorter runs after the shot compared to the .30-30 but now I'm not so sure it offers any advantage. Having said that some people seem to swear by the 265 and 270 grain loads simply dropping deer on the spot with great consistency.
