How many deer/elk you lost, lol. I agree anyone should be able too but we know a lot don't. Yeah same could be said for any caliber but how much you want to bet that way more are lost to small calibers. Name your $$$ and I'll bet you!
Game is lost with small cals because people don't shoot them where they are supposed to. A good friend of mine went to the .243 win last season. The old timers warned him it don't have "knockdown power" the bullets will blow up on a shoulder, etc.
He shot a buck right "behind the shoulder" and it ran like it was not hit. He hit again and accidentally hit it right through both shoulders folding it like a cheap towel as the bullet broke both shoulders. His first shot "right behind the shoulder" so it wouldn't blow up was the rear of the liver and through the front of the guts. He was told the small cal just couldn't handle a deer shoulder, lol.
Listening to people that have no idea what they were talking about just about cost him a nice buck.
His nephew made a similar shot on a deer that was walking with a 30/06 and 180gr RN, one through the guts and then had to hit it again as it was leaving so the larger cal didn't make up for poor shooting.
A good friend has lost 1 deer in his life, he made a poor shot with a 7 rem mag and 150 corelokts.
Poor shooting is poor shooting