Since you will be hunting with it, the .30-06. I used to be concerned about recoil but it's really no biggie. I have a .25-06(which I love) and its good for coyote to whitetail, but for anything bigger the .30-06 is standard. Ammo availability is huge and you can't go wrong with that caliber. Plus, you probably won't be pushing distances that will require such a flat trajectory if you are hunting appropriately.