my personal pick for a whitetail gun is a .260 Remington. However the first deer I put on a wall was with a 270 grain Hornady out of a .375 H&H.

It was over 400 yards and colder than hell in wisconsin. The .375 H&H is truly a "do anything/go anywhere" caliber.

Gentlemen,
Thanks for all the input. I love the wealth of knowledge on this site. I will be going after some hogs next weekend, but I already can't wait till deer season.

GeorgeS - I think I'll take your advice on using the same loads here that I plan on using in Africa, though they'll be a little on the heavy side for jackrabbits and armadillos.
Oh well, that's the price of experience.