For hunting in all kinds of good/not good weather, buy either a Remington 700 or Savage 110 w/ synthetic stock. If you have the budget, buy a stainless steel action/barrel. I have had extremely good results with Remington 700 rifles. In 30 years I've owned a total of 23. They have been uniformly accurate. Many have produced stunning accuracy with no more effort than mounting a good scope, buying good ammo and heading to the range w/ sandbags, etc. Given that it is now toward the end of deer season, you would be wise to look at the used gun racks of gunshops and the ads in the newspaper, etc. Go to the next gunshow and take a look. Last night I was making a visit at a church member's home. He had bought a used bolt-action in .25-06 that came with a very nice Nikon scope. He sold the scope for enough money to pay for the rifle. Keep your eyes open and do not be in a hurry. Don't expect to buy a Cadillac for a Chevy price. That sort of thing can get you sucked into a ditch. I've been shooting .30-06 rifles for 30 years. In my opinion, it is the King of the Field! There are faster rounds, there are more compact rounds, etc., but there are few calibers available that offer the flexibility and overall shootability of the .30-06 cartridge. Extremes aside, there is really nothing in North America that you cannot take on with a good .30-06 rifle and a 4x or 3x9 scope. My brother-in-law lived in Alaska for 7 years. He went to Alaska w/ good outdoors experience, but absolutely no hunting experience. He called and asked what type rifle to buy. I told him to borrow rifles and shoot till he found the most powerful rifle he could shoot accurately with rapid repeat shots and for which he could commonly find affordable ammo. He bought a .30-06!!! He used it w/ 180gr. ammo and killed everything he needed to kill for the next 7 years. He fed his family with Moose and Caribou. He lived way out in the woods and said he never had a problem. If you anticipate going to Africa, you'll need to buy a bigger gun as the game laws often specific a minimum caliber. However, if you are hunting in North America, especially the lower 48 states, the .30-06 is going to do everything you need. Good Luck!
