Bob
It really depends on what you plan on doing with the gun. Personally I would opt for a middle of the road caliber. For (probably) all the hunting you will do, anything like .260, .270, .280, 7mm-08, .308, or .30-06 would do everything you'd ask. If you plan on doing more target shooting, I'd lean towards something with less recoil...you also want to consider ammo cost. Anything that has "magnum" associated to it will be more expensive. My personal choice in your situation would be either a .260 or 7mm-08. Both of these would be very easy to shoot, and very effective on game.