R-Dog, in decades of shooting and hunting, I have run up and down the caliber ladder, and returned to the 30-06. Its versatility makes it a great choice for hunting and even long-range shooting. Remember, up until the 1960s the '06 won many 1000 yard matches, until the 300 Win Mag and 7mm Rem Mag eclipsed it. I recently had mine at a range outside Fort Worth, banging steel at 1000 handily. As some of the gang here have mentioned, modern factory loads have upped the ante on the cartridge's capabilities and relevance. That, and it's a fun cartridge to hand load. Enjoy your rifle, don't regret your choice. Later, if you get the bug for another caliber, there's a host of members here that can extoll you with their favorites. That 's the fun of it!