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Daryl, I'm with ya most of the way with your thinkin. But the question was not what is the best deer/elk caliber but instead, what is the best fox thru elk caliber. I'll stand by my statement that both choices he listed are a case of magnumitis and the idea of the .30 mag for a all purpose gun is just silly. Let's look at the various game the OP is likely to encounter.
Fox: any centerfire from .223 on down.
Coyote: Any centerfire from 22-250/.220 swift on down. Maybe a .243 bt they do to much fur damage for my liking.
Antelope: .243 - .270 including all .25's, 6.5's and 7mm's.
Whitetail Deer: .250 Savage - 30/06.
Mule Deer: Same as whitetail.
Black Bear: same as deer.
Elk: .25-06 thru .30 mags.
Now look at it this way: How many elk tags is he gonna draw? Maybe 1 a year unless he lives in an elk rich environment. So the need for anything as large as the .30 mag is definitely not needed. Even a .308 is not needed.
One caliber is not gonna be anywhere near "good" on the range of critters he is wanting to hunt. Elk is gonna be the rarest hunt. A one gun hunter is gonna have to settle on over gunned on fox and coyote, just right for deer and antelope, and under gunned for elk. No way around it unless he wants to be picking small piece's every time he shoots a fox or coyote (which may very well indeed be his most common target do to lack of limits). IMO, his goal is unattainable. But if forced into a choice I'd say .257 Bob or 6.5mm swede .30 mag is so far off the list Columbus wouldn't found it.
LK
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