For me, 30-06 is IT when it comes to icons. When I think of '06 and deer, I think of does disappearing in the high grass with only their hooves showing or a mighty buck charging off unfazed only to collapse into the barbed wire at the edge of the field.
30-30? It might have had a head start by a few years, but there were a lot fewer deer. I bought one, tried it, and put it on the shelf. It always felt anemic to me. My Marlin 336 became the designated yute rifle for my sons.
300 Savage? I only know one person that owns one. I liked the idea so much, I bought a Savage 99 in 308 WIN and downloaded it to 300 Savage levels. It is the ideal Eastern Whitetail chambering.
270 WIN? Around where I am, guys buy them for their girlfriends. It may be an icon, but it's an icon for something out west, and possibly wearing rainbow shorts.
I started hunting deer in the Reagan Administration. Along about 1987, I started hunting Kentucky. From then until about 2008 my ears were filled with 30-30 reports. Where I hunt now, you can hear 3 shot-strings a minute on the Opener. Blam! Blam! Blam! Blam!-- as the locals unloaded their magazines and retreating deer. Lately, however, the old guard is retiring from the field and the younger guys are mostly shooting '06. One shot usually does it.
