halcon

Its a matter of what you prefer ,they are all good for deer .

rhetoric

Jack Conner makes the point that no cartridge is perfect if you can't find it anywhere. And the likelihood that you will run out/lose/forget your ammo is exponentially increased to the degree that you hunt an oddball cartridge. If you have a .308 you'll be able to buy ammo anywhere on the planet. Wally World and your McHunting store may have everything you need, but if you are hunting in the hinterlands, I hope your shooting something sensible.

Mainehunter

I'm not familiar with the .260 at all. The .308 is a great cartridge for deer as well as black bear, moose and most anything else you are going to run across in North America. I understand a lot of folks like the .243 and consider it an outstanding deer cartridge.
I would personally pick the .308 for most of the same reasons already given by others. I expect though that all will do the job very well so you should factor in your personal preference and needs to make this decision.

JagMagMan-Why did you stop at .30 caliber? The 45-70 Government is what works best for me considering me and the conditions I hunt in. Think BIG man!<img src=icon_smile_big.gif border=0 align=middle>

handloader1

308 Win.

Chipola Creek

I think that either .260 or .308 would be all-around calibers for deer. In some situations the .243 might be a little light. Except in some long-range hunting (which I don't advocate) the trusty ole 30-30 works just find. But avoid the current obsessions for bigger magnum calibers...last time I checked there weren't any cape buffalo roaming U.S. hunting grounds.

Heaven is best viewed from a deer stand at sunrise in the forest

PABuck_HNTR

Of the three you listed, the .308

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