For what you are looking for, it's hard to beat the 30-30. Marlin makes a great gun and the 336 is my favorite. I hunted for over 35 years with a Rem 700 in 30-06, and only once did I get a shot that was over 200 yards. I know a lot of guys here will think that I'm a wuss, but I got tired of the recoil, especially here in Florida where we hunt in t-shirts instead of winter jackets. Last year I finally broke down and bought a Marlin 336SS, they were out of the blued rifles and my wife told me to go ahead and spend the extra $100 for the stainless. I put a Bushnell Elite 3200 2-7X32mm scope on it and with the Leverevolution ammo it's good out to 250 yards. I just started reloading for it also. I'm trying to work up a good plinking round that uses only 8 or 9 grains of Unique powder and a 150 grain cast bullet. I can make 1000 rounds of ammo for under $50 when I cast my own bullets.