Yes mate, .308 is my favourite round, pretty much bar none. In MY part of Australia there is nothing that can't be taken with it. BUT ammunition is heavy (less so the firearms themselves). That is why for me .223 is a workable compromise. I have two .308s in the safe at the moment, very different takes on the same theme, my Sako AII custom that is my hunting rifle of choice now and a Steyr SSG with a Leupold MkIV (6.5-20x) on top.

An interesting aside and other reason I raise the .38/357 686 is that with the .38 WC rounds that I have LOTS of (they are what I shoot most of in competition here) I can happily take all manner of small game reasonably quietly. Still the .22 is a better game get'er.