Gak, thanks for the input!
I have had time to ponder the caliber I want to get and I don't really think I want to ever hunt anything bigger than deer with a rifle
I don't like the kind of people who hunt elk with a rifle and I've heard enough stories of people getting turned away at gun point from elk (not just elk, big bulls)
And I don't know if I really want to hunt deer with a rifle so I'm thinking a smaller caliber.
In reading through the whole topic, your response here somewhat perplexed me.
Not that it makes a hill of beans just you started out headed in one direction and then switched. That said, the latter recommendations on the 260 or 7-08 were about spot on for your uses. (Maybe)
Either of them can be handloaded with a wide variety of very fine bullets from nearly all manufacturers. Either of them can easily go from one pasture hunting gofers, to the next to hunt deer, should you ever want to. Hunting yotes and similar varnmints is also an easy accomplishment with the 100'ish grain variety plastic tipped bullets now available. Both calibers can be had in a compact lightweight package making them easy to tote around in the hills or pstures, or can be found in full sized nicely balanced rifles as well.
The recoil of either one will be roughly about the same as a .243 or just a bit more depending on the bullet weights, but the similarities stop there. The .243 more or less is at the 100gr weight as a max, where the other two are just starting up. They will drive the light weight 100gr bullets just as flat as the .243 but with the option of getting up into the 140+ grian range should you ever decide to.
I have something in the safe from .223 up through .312. In all of that the most widely used rifle is a Ruger Compact in .308. It weighs in at 6.5 pounds with scope and 4 rounds in the mag, and is simply about the most handy little reach out and touch something rifle I have. I initially purchased it to hunt the dense river bottoms which are prevelant on my friends property. In there a 22" barrel more or less handcuffs you on shots, as it is simply too long to manuver around with. The little 16.5" barrel has no problems getting around, through, or much of anything else in there. As for reaching out and touching something, it has easily dumped several big hogs on their ear, out to ranges past 400yds using standard Remington factory loaded Core lokts with one shot stops.
I'm not harping on the caliber but more on the shorter light weight rifle above. These same results could easily be had in several other calibers, as it it what you can do with what you have, more so than, what can what you have do for you. The fine line of bullets being produced today for the 6.5 and 7mm calibers is outstanding to say the least, compared to what was available only 10 years ago. Yes there were a few decent ones for each, but nothing like the selections today. Just about anything derived off the .308 case as a parent, or similar capacity, is a good comprimise and balance for loads running from light weight to mid-heavy. You will easily be able to get effective velocities out of weights up to around 150grs depending on barrel length, but even still I can get right up to 2700fps with 150gr loads from my 16'5" barreled .308 which ain't too shabby. Factory ammo runs in the mid 2600's for the most part using the cheapest stuff I can find. I use it simply because it is MOA accurate out to 200yds and I shoot more hogs with it than anything else. I simply am not going to spend a bunch of money on them when the cheap stuff works just fine.
Anyway, I hope this adds to your inventory of ideas. Like I said I can shoot from mild to wild within my collection, but the little shorty gets the knod 95% of the time. Not simply due to caliber, but more so due to size and ease of use.