Too much gun

[belly-deep]

I've tracked a bull shot by another hunter with a 7 mag half the night and half the next day before we found him, still alive, at a spring. He was weak at that point and the shooter finished him off. It was a hard quartering on shot that broke a shoulder, but didn't get much penetration. When I killed a 360" bull, DRT, with my 300 WBY, I didn't say, "I wish I had shot at him with a lighter caliber". This past deer season in Louisiana, battling a strong cross wind, I killed a mature whitetail buck at 476 yards with the same 300 WBY. On the long walk down there to him, I didn't say, "I wish I had shot at him with a lighter caliber".
They key is to be able to shoot well, regardless of caliber. If you can't shoot the mag well, use something else. It usually comes down to time at the range with any caliber.

Sounds like your buddy's bull was a bullet problem, not a caliber problem.

 

[elkhnter]

300 saum is my go to rifle. In a 673 guide gun, it's that rifle that points like a shotgun and hammers game hard. Shoot what you want, you're the one responsible for making a clean harvest.

 

[6mm Remington]

The 300 Winchester is a great all-around cartridge and if you shoot it well, it will not fail! If you like it then use it. Good bullets and placement mean much more than caliber!

David

 

[Eyeguy]

The answer to all of this is it depends on what you like and what you are comfortable with. Last fall I left my .338 at home in the gun cabinet for my back country, back pack elk hunt. I left it because it was too much gun. Too much recoil? Nope. I can shoot 1 min groups with it at 100 yards. It was too heavy for the hunt I would be undertaking. I opted instead for a .308 with a teeny little vortex scope. The combo barely weighs 6.5 pounds....a nice decrease from 11.5 from the .338. My buddy also took a .308. Some people would think a .308 is too small for elk hunting.....but we came out of the back country with over 630 inches of elk. Shoot what you are comfortable with.