Good question YP,
I have not long passed My DSC1 and after going on that course and speaking with the guys there and loads of others its made me opt for a .243 which i am looking to buy now.
Reason for me was i have seen alot of different shooters from different walks of life and jobs some it is there living, Now the point im getting to is shot placement, If your a good shot a .243 will do the job well on the six speices of deer in the UK and not make a mess of the meat. I have seen guys shooting large caliber rifles and also my shooting buddy had the same experiance where these guys could not shoot for **** but they did hit things and not where they where aimming,But the impact of a larger caliber round hitting its objective can be over wellming and some times messy,Ok most of the time the end result is the same a dead animal but?
Now i am not saying a .243 is the best round far from it, What i am saying is good shot placement is every thing in what ever caliber you go for.