I have accumulated several rifles over the years. I started with a T/C Hawken, and hunted muzzleloader doe seasons exclusively. Haven't done that in a long time, but still have it.
I borrowed a 700 in .30-06 for my first elk hunt. Accurate, nice rifle, but beat my poor little should all black and blue. Not really, but it wasn't fun to shoot more than a few rounds a day through it.
I decided some years ago I should get my own center fire hunting rifle. I live in southern AZ now. Deer here are tiny, but we also have lots of coyotes. I decided to get a 6mm-6.5mm rifle with a reasonable case on it for hunting our little deer and the yotes, figuring I'd never get an elk tag in AZ, but had a couple of little kids that might like to hunt someday, too. I bought a Savage 11 in .243 Winchester. It's got a Burris 3-9 Fullfield II with ballistic Plex reticle on it. Does very well. Finally got my first Arizona deer and buck last year. It's also been on 2 elk hunts, though no rounds were fired due to not getting a shot opportunity. The year I got it, my buddy teased me into putting in for cows with him, and we got drawn for tags. After paying for my tag, in a bit of shock, I debated getting a larger caliber rifle, but another friend told me he'd killed half a dozen elk with his and that I should just hunt with what I had. It's an economical choice, if nothing else, and since I didn't get a shot anyway, it hardly even matters. My daughter and I hunted elk together another year, and I borrowed a .270 for that, while she used my .243 (she regularly used up all my ammo shooting it that year - I was right that the smaller people in my house would like it). Our guide had no problems with her using the .243.
My scrawny son, however, couldn't hold up that rifle, but could run an AR. I built a 6.8 carbine upper in 2013 (dumb year to do that) since he couldn't hit anything with open sights, and my only 5.56 upper is an A2. He's hunted deer and javelina with it, but not gotten a shot opportunity yet. He's a senior now, very busy, and didn't want to hunt this year.
My dad gifted me with a Marlin .30-30 a couple of years ago
I have debated starting a thr ad on this fo a while. I read okie john's issues with his Model 70 FWT with interest, as I recently examined one in .270 at length, and am still debating just getting it. So, if anyone has observations or suggestions, even if they are "Stop overthinking this and go hunting," I'm all ears.