Well I'd be looked at the 30-06 as a happy medium. With that in mind there are cartridges that shoot flatter, 6.5 Creed, 7mm, but not that much. I Used to shoot the 25-06, great cartridge in my book. But, 120gr at 3100fps, the 30-06 does that with a 150 grain slug. The 25-06 is a little flatter, but not much.
Except for the big bears, larger cartridges like the 375 H&H and the 40 and 45 calibers are the ticket. But, slight over kill on ground hogs and whitetails and blacktail deer. The 30-06 can take 100 grain to 240 grain slugs. If, (heaven forbid) I had to just choose one, it would be the 30-06.
So looking at the 30-06 as a center, there are cartridges that will do this job a little better, but then it won't do that job very good. Back to the great 30-06.
