"That he will let a client hunt a brown bear with a 30-06 says more about his level of backing skills than about the cartridge, itself.'' This quote from you has a bunch of implications.
One is that you firmly believe the .30-06 is incapable of killing brown bears.
Another is that somehow Phil Shoemaker allows brown bear clients to use what YOU consider an inadequate cartridge, because he can then get in on the action.
The last time Phil used "his level of backing skills" with a .30-06 to follow up a wounded bear, the client had wounded the bear with a larger cartridge. He is willing to take clients who use a .30-06 (or 7mm magnum or even a .270) because they generally shoot well (unlike many who use harder-kicking cartridges), and Phil personally knows the .30-06 will work fine on brown bears if the hunter shoots it well.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
