I don't recall anyone saying that smaller cartridges are "better than" bigger cartridges.
Phil Shoemaker did note that smaller cartridges have indeed worked better, on average, for brown bears than larger cartridges. But he did NOT say that "almost anyone could shoot more accurately with them."
Dunno how many brown bear hunters Phil's outfitting company has guided, but over several decades it's been quite a few--and his clients regularly take very big bears.
Might also note that Phil has used a wide variety of cartridges to back up brown bear hunters, from the .30-06 to the .505 Gibbs. He still prefers his .458 Winchester, but that's for stopping charging, wounded bears, something very different than hunting unwounded bears.
Its sure a shame that you have been having to be so clear on posts lately.
I think the stupidity of the world gets worse every day.
I'll take a 308 guy over a mag guy any day. Assuming the 308 can shoot and the mag guy might not.
30-06 seems like a perfectly fine gun with the right bullet for a big bear. Its not that big a deal really. Whats big is picking the right bullet. And putting the first one where it needs to go. And if need be getting more in them which is never a bad thing.
Phil talked to a group of students for me and said he was fine with clients starting at the 270/708 level as long as they were using a good bullet and were a competent shooter. Obviously he's backing up clients with the 06 or the 458, so the big difference seems to be that the solo hunter has to be the primary shooter and the backup with one gun. Solution: make that first shot a good one 😇😀
