Some thoughts about the 7-30 Waters (simply a necked down 30-30)...
This cartridge is an improvement on the 30-30 Win IF you believe more velocity with a smaller bullet is an improvement. Flatter trajectory is an advantage all the time, but smaller bullets might not be. Bryan mentioned 250 lb deer at 150 yards. A scoped 7-30 W will easily hit the mark out to 200 yards, if using 120gr bullets--140s are slower and might require a "hold" to hit the mark. But I don't consider the 120g from a small cartridge to be a bone-smasher, and the shot should be carefully placed.
I consider my 7-30 to be a pronghorn/deer setup, but only for carefully placed shots out to 200 yards. Mine has the 14" Hunter barrel which is only about 12" because the remainder is ported (I hate the porting and wouldn't get it again, a 16" would be better), a 4x EER Leupold, and shoots 120g BTs about 2,450 fps. The flat-point Partition (made for tubular magazines) is a good bullet too, but the blunt nose seems inefficient to me and the Contender can use pointed bullets. My rule is minimum 140 gr bullet weight for big game, so I'm "cheating" with the 7-30 W; hence, my requirement for a perfect shot. I consider my setup a western/desert type weapon, not an eastern brush gun. I don't dispute the lethality of the 120gr from the 25-06, BTW, a much more powerful cartridge.
For brush hunting with open sights, I'd prefer the 30-30 or 35 Rem and heavy 170 gr bullets. If presented with a 150 yard standing shot at a big deer, I'd attempt to get closer, or rely on beaucoup practice to KNOW I could make the shot.