I have some friends that love .308 win with 125 gr bullets. They have shot hundreds, if not, thousands of kangaroos and camels with that load and swear by it. I don't know any other folks that have shot as much "big game" as they have. .30 cal seems to have a little bit of magic baked in.I get what you are saying, for me if the shots not good I wont take it, part of that comes from what I choose to hunt with. The other factor for me is my shot placement, which is high neck, spine if facing away, low neck if facing toward, or high shoulder if broadside, these are shots that I am comfortable with, not for everyone, and that I have been successful with across many different calibers/cartridges and distances.
If I was to recommend a caliber/cartridge for a new hunter, it would be .308 150/168 grain all day long.

