Chops,
I imagine early man killed a lot of game with snares, pits and deadfalls before he discovered the atlal and spear, but he didn't stop there. Neither did guns and ammo development. Neither Winchester nor Remington stopped with the M97 and M17 and you feel they were more than adequate. Why shouldn't there be more powerful ammo and guns because some feel they can get by with less power? Blaming the misuse of magnum ammo on manufacturers seems no different than blaming gun violence on the gun manufacturers. Buying guns and ammo has never been as much about "need" as it is about "want". I'm going to go out on a limb and guess you have had more guns than the M17 and M97 (not clear if you had that one, too). It sounds like you had it pretty well covered with just those two guns, but I'm happy for you if you didn't stop there. I understand. I have years ago passed the stage of having all the guns that I've needed, but not all I want.
Best, Gil
PS. Missed the part where you are too sick to hunt. Hope it's not serious and good health soon returns.
