RE: Tough decision to make
My dad would say to the Tuttles - American Chopper - that chrome won't get you home!
All the dodads and geegaw's in the world won't make a good rifle better.
Weaver detachable bases and a Nikon scope with enough power to do a hair analysis is all the more you will need to get the job done.
You can upgrade to Leupold bases if you want, but the blueing will have nothing to do with the accuracy of the firearm.
You will not HAVE to Have a new stock to make the gun better than what it already is! As long as the gun holds ZERO and doesn't give you any problems - there is no reason to replace it with something better.
My X brother in law was a guide at a known Colorado outfitter camp near Gunnison and all he ever carried was a Remington Model 6 Pump action 30/06 with a Leupold scope.
One year he got the urge to go out and buy one of them $1000 Weatherby rifles with a $1000 scope. It didn't get him anymore deer than what he already got before. What it did do was get him a divorce when my sister found the bill from the gunshop.
How can you tell your wife - the bread winner of the family, that she has to drive a 1986 1/2 Ford ******. While you are hunting 3 weeks out of the year with a new custom built Weatherby rifle? Needless to say - he no longerguide's for Elk in Colorado anymore. Household bills, spousal support and child support takes up most of his paycheck.