I have shot enough deer with my grampas 44-40 and 38-40 to believe you would be hard pressed to find a worse deer caliber..they work OK up close and with perfect shot placement, especially if your a good tracker...
I would much prefer the 30-30 and its alway worked well for me on deer and elk in my youth, that was when everyone used 25-35s and 30-30 and all of those old men were glad to get shut of the 38 and 44s...Most of those old hunters actually prefered the 30-30 to the 45-70 and the 99 Savage in 300 Savage was the magnum of the day and the 250 was a great elk and deer cartridge!
my how things have changed.
