I love my vanguard in .300 Wby. it kicks like a mule, but I can reach out and touch one.
the area I hunt (in the rifle zone in MI) offers clear shots from 50-500 yards. I like to have a round that can do what I need it to do, without a lot of math/thinking/kentucky windage. I've taken a few with the 30-30, 12ga, and 7.62x54, but hands down. I use my .300 wherever and whenever legal. (ok, I take that back, when I'm kicking the brush for my dad and brothers, I carry my marlin .44 mag)
as for ammo cost, HANDLOAD, this rifle is not designed to shoot the volume you would out of a .223, or a 9mm AR, I never go through more than a box of ammo in a range trip, and only use the full-bore loads for fine-tuning and hunting.
oh, and the buck in my pic was taken just below the shotgun line in MI, didn't have a choice but to use the shotgun. 1'st shot took out the front left shoulderblade and front right leg (top bone, the femur?), he started running, so I put another slug into him, got lucky and put it right through the heart. then he went down. made it almost 30 yards, was afraid I'd have to track him for a second there.