Interesting topic....and of course, as many questions are there are answers. For me, when I was choosing to replace my primary hunting rifle just a few years ago, I thought about it quite a bit and went with the -06. I was buying a Tikka...it's as expensive a hunting rifle as I've ever owned, and will likely be the last I ever buy for that purpose, and they make them in just about anything you could dream of. So much temptation, but given my thought process, I went with what I thought could do everything I'd ever ask it to do, something I knew I could always find ammo for (thinking TEOTWAWKI), and something for which I already had the learning curve imbedded. I've always shot it, always loaded for it, so I know the ballistics (internal and external) so I knew I could get it up to full potential quickly and efficiently. So, yeah...maybe I took the easy way out because it's what I know and what I'm familiar with....but I also know it will always work, for anything I need it to do.