The one most underrated cartridge is the 8x57. It will do anything a 30-06 will do but is hampered by meager bullet selection and loaded to lackluster velocities because somebody might still be shooting a pre war (WWI) rifle with the wrong bore size.
I have mentioned this before, but will again:
The 8x57 is great round, but the variations in groove diameter, older actions, etc., prevent factory ammo from equaling .30-06 ammo in pressures and hence velocities--at least in the U.S. I have chronographed 170-grain factory ammo from more than one American maker, and the real-world muzzle velocity just about matches Winchester's .32 Special. There's nothing wrong with the .32 Special--I've owned two, a Winchester 94 and Marlin 336--but the .32 Special is NOT equivalent to the .30-06.
If easily available, "modern" factory ammo isn't available, then any cartridge is severely handicapped on the market,. This is exactly why the .30-06 tends to be more popular than the variations of the 8x57, even in Europe. I have hunted in several European countries with dozens of local hunters, and have seen exactly one 8x57 used by my hunting companions.
The most popular round (again in several European countries) has been the .308 Winchester, because more than one European country is a member of the North American Treaty Organization (NATO), which standardized on the 7.62x51mm NATO (.308) decades ago. Thus the popularity of the .308, even in Scandinavian countries where the 6.5x55 is supposedly so popular.
The 8x57 is a fine round. I own three rifles chambered for 8x57 variations, including the rimmed version, so obviously like ti a lot. But it ain't perfect.