[Old Grump]

Well Mr. Wyosmith that was a good read and I appreciated it but it didn't answer the OP's question of "if only one gun which gun?" Can't say I have pulled the trigger as many times as you have or wore out as many guns although I did go through (3) 45's while I was competing. I used a .357 magnum revolver as my deer gun for 26 years before my age caught up with me and my eyes suggested a longer barrel and a different type of sight was in order. My 44 mag has replaced my .357 as my long range handgun and while I'm not as sharp as I used to be I am still minute of deer at 100 yards.

I based on my suggestion on a few different things, first one is that the vast majority of people are not handgun hunters and don't put in the trigger time to be really good at it. It is easier to get a shot on target with a rifle assuming the target doesn't have your face in his mouth.

The other thing is I could care less if my bullet goes through the neck of a buffalo if my danger animal is a bear. By the way I like your JSP's but I am kind of a dinosaur and still prefer the Kieth style LSWC for hunting and defense and while they may not penetrate through and through very often penetration has always been good and dead is dead.

My point is no matter what bullet I push out of a 30-30 It still has more energy at 200 yards then the 44 mag does at 100 yards. The 300 gr 44 mag round has almost as much energy, (about 82%), at 100 as the 150 gr 30 cal bullet at 200 yards. Based on that and proficiency factor of most shooters I still say if one gun than the 30-30 should be that gun.