I certainly have learned a lot, but most of it incrementally. From a basic accuracy standpoint things have progressed. My first center fire a Ruger tanger in 3006, I fnally got a couple of loads that were consistently sub MOA after a lot of work and was super pleased. The folks I hunted with thought that that rifle was a real hummer. Now I expect pretty much any rifle to do that and more with a lot less work. I think its from a number of factors, but I feel bullets are better and I know a lot about reloading that I didn't back in the day.

From my perspective the realization that it didn't take a 30 cal and 3000ft/lbs of energy to kill a deer. Growing up a lot of the folks in my dads generation all hunted with 30.06s mostly Rem pumps and autoloaders, with a few marlin 35 rems. There was often talk of how wimpy a 30-30 was. As a comment the group mostly hunted the Adirondacks so a buck every year was a sign of a good hunter and even someone who tagged out every other year was considered a no slouch, so despite hunting a lot, they shot few deer by modern standards.( we also hunted NY's southern Tier where we shot a lot more deer, but that was shotgun only growing up). So as young guy, being recoil tolerant and indoctrinated by the older generation I grew up thinking that a 30.06 was pretty much the starting point for deer hunting.

The understanding that a 243 or a 250 killed deer pretty much just a like a 30.06 or 300mag was a big one for me. It made shooting a much more enjoyable sport.

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