Best allaround round for everything from small animals to the scary ones .
Depends on whether you're hunting, hunting seriously, or just bushwhacking. One of my favorites for just messing around is a Winchester 94 AE in .444 -- light bullets for light duty; 300-320 grainers for heavy work; and cut down .410 wads full of shot for ground-sluicing grouse and ptarmigan.
For all-around hunting in the Interior, I mostly carry my .35 Whelen. Deer hunting is mostly a .280 affair, though I have a new .260 that will see duty this fall.
It's a big state -- there really isn't a "one size fits every hunt" cartridge, IMHO.
DN