I was bitten by the bug when visiting my father-in-law's sheep farm in Australia, he took me hunting kangaroo, hares and fox. It was my first time shooting (btw, I am new to this board as well), shot a Savage in the .22 caliber, it must have been a 110. It felt good, it was very accurate, and now that I'm in the market for a good hunting rifle suited for game up to the size of elk (bigger game will wait for another day), I am leaning towards Savage but obviously have to get it chambered for a higher caliber than .22 if I want to hunt elk-size game.

I've been reading posts from the last 30 days debating the merits of various starter or sub-$1000 rifles. I am crossing off Remington because there seems to be too much debate over their rifles. Also frequently mentioned are Ruger, Winchester, anything with a Mauser bolt-action, and Tikka. My problem is that I am suffering from brand name and information overflow from all of these great posts -- I can't distinguish between any of these rifles, so I'm left with my default choice, Savage.

So, first question: what else should I really be looking at besides Savage for a first time rifle that will not require me to take it to a gunsmith before hunting?

Second question: I think .270 caliber sounds just about right for me in terms of range and recoil, but if I wanted to go higher caliber, would it screw me up given I've only shot once and that was on a .22? Is a magnum caliber too much to try this early?

Third question: what are the best buys in scopes?

Thanks in advance to everyone.

roohunter