Dont forget the pawn shops as well. You can find a pretty nice rifle that new might cost you $600-$800 usually with a scope for under $500 sometimes. And dont rule out a good lever action rifle as well. If you are going to be doing any brush hunting at all, you cannot go wrong with a lever gun. Dont let people fool you into thinking that a 30-30 is no good, these rifles have been killing deer for over a hundred years and if you do decide on one there is a cool nostalgia factor there too. If you go with a bolt action you cant go wrong with an 30.06 or .270 or any of the 30 calibers for that matter. Although an .06 is a very universal round. What kind of hunting have you been doing in the past?