I own rifles in all five of the pictured calibers, but as far as hunting is concerned, the .300 H&H easily wins the competition if number of game animals brought down with it is the criterion. For an all-round caliber and the minimum caliber for dangerous game, I would certainly endorse the .375 H&H, but for elephant, rhino and buffalo, I'll take the .505. I have never killed a hippo, so I can['t comment on that, but I suspect the .505 would be my choice for it as well.

I grew up in an area where deer were first reintroduced about 50 years ago, so I have no boyhood hunting experiences like those of many of the other contributors to fall back on. I was in college before I fired my first center fire rifle.

Since then, things have radically changed. The county I grew up in and have now returned to ranked number three in deer "harvest" this year, down from its usual number one or two spot. The daily limit on deer during archery, muzzle loading and rifle seasons is three per day. Two eight point bucks, two six pointers and numerous does were harvested off my farm this past season, which I view as partial pay back for the damage the deer cause to my soybean crop.

I have never used any of the cartridges mentioned at the beginning of this thread on deer, except for the one very large buck I took with my .300 H&H some 35 years ago. Instead, I have used over twenty center fire cartridges, ranging from the .22-.250 Remington to the .400 Whelen, and my conclusion is that they will all kill cleanly if the shot is put in the right place.