My first choices would be 6.5 Creedmoor
I hate to say it, but for deer, think about a 6.5 creedmoor.
I have considered this, and I guess I can't really come up with a good reason not to. The only two that come to mind is ammo accessibility and wanting to use this rifle for larger game (elk) in the future. But, I don't see why a 6.5 wouldn't down an elk. It's all about shot placement, right? Would there be issues with energy retention when hunting bigger game with more mass to contend with?
Energy doesn’t kill. Bullet construction and impact velocity are the things that get it done.
A 140-class 6.5mm bullet will easily penetrate as far or farther than a 180gr 30-cal bullet with similar impact velocity, even though the “energy” numbers for the larger bullet will be higher. The sectional density of the long 6.5 bullets allows them to penetrate very deeply.
Elk are no problem at all. If you can kill one with a 180gr bullet fired from a .30-06, the same hit from a similar 143gr bullet fired from a 6.5 Creedmoor will do at least as much damage, and probably more.
