300BLK aka 7.62x35mm or 300 whisper are a much better caliber all around for hunting than 5.56 or .308. The penetration of a .30 caliber and at 210gr+ it's very nice to shoot suppressed so you don't have to wear ear protection. It's also nice to not annoy/scare any people out on hikes a mile away.

For the downvoter, it is a myth that you need bigger than 5.56 to hunt deer, looks like hunter associations are banning it just to motivate that they get to keep their even more power guns.

For example this requirement looks like it was explicitly made to forbid 5.56mm cartridges, they are not even mentioning energy:

> The cartridge must fire a bullet with a minimum diameter of .243 inches (same as 6 mm).

http://www.eregulations.com/indiana/hunting/deer/

But for example in Sweden you are allowed to hunt the same size of deers using weapons with half the power of 5.56: 800 Joule.

Only things you need bigger bullets than 5.56 are brown bear, moose and red deer which requires 2000 Joule.

And if you think it is inhumane to kill 50kg deers using 1600 joule bullets, how many joules would you require that people use on a 700kg moose?

What you say is about deer hunting in Sweden is true. But only for Roe deer. They are quite small deers that you are allowed to hunt with shotguns and Class 2 rifles, meaning 800j at 100m. That's typically a .222 Remington. The legality of this stands out when you take the rest of Swedish hunting laws into consideration. There reason is probably historic. There is a Swedish tradition to hunt Roe Deer these types of guns and so the lawmaker kept it.

Even though Class 2 rifles are legal it's my impression that they have become less and less popular. Most people tend to use something like a 6.5x55, .308 or 30-06 since that gives you more margin of error.

Roe deer is the also largest animal you're allowed to hunt with a Class 2 rifle. The next size deer (Fallow deer) is Class 1, meaning >2000J. You can use shotguns with slugs on boar and fallow deers, but not on Roe deer. This shows that it's not always clear how the lawmaker reasons.

Hunting laws in different countries often reflect tradition and might not always have a sound base in science. In the US you are allowed to hunt with falcons, muzzleloaders and bows. That's criminal in Sweden.

In the USA poachers take deer with .22 LR

It's quiet and works just fine to kill one. Hunter associations want to cut down on deer that aren't killed quickly so they require larger ammo