Your adventures begin. Purchasing a rifle is just a start.

I somewhat regretted that my first deer rifle, a stubby Remington 600 in .243, wasn't a slick Winchester M70 or Remington M700 (the most popular bolt guns of the day), but that little rifle taught a teenager an awful lot about shooting centerfire rifles and hunting. And it still goes to the field. So, I'd suggest that whatever you buy might ultimately be with you for a very long time.

Though I tend to be most loyal to Remington, CZ, and Weatherby/Howa, I don't think there's really a bolt-gun (aside from the Remington 710/770) that wouldn't serve you well over the long haul. The only rifle I've really ever been disappointed in was the Ruger M77. Beautiful rifle, but none that I borrowed to "try out" ever shot as well as my Remingtons, so I never bought one. Don't know how they are today. Value-wise, the Weatherby Vanguard is still what I believe to be one of the best rifles on the market for the money. Simple. Accurate. Dependable. And often less than $400. I don't own a Savage, and I'm not a fan of the idea of adding more moving parts than absolutely necessary (i.e. the accutrigger). A good trigger shouldn't need to be complex. However, the 110 family has such a large and loyal following that you'd almost have to give them a look as well. Shop around.

In terms of caliber, the .308 is probably one of the better "all-around" calibers. It'll take everything from deer to moose with the correct bullet and provided you fulfill your end of the task. You could reasonably hunt everything in the lower 48 with a .308. It's a bit heavy in my experience for varmint hunting, but nothing wrong with it otherwise. Ammunition's widely available, and it's easy to reload if you elect to delve into that someday. You could certainly go with another short-action caliber like the 7mm-08 and probably do the same things, and although my preference for deer and pronghorn is the .243, it's not ideal for larger game like elk and moose. Larger standard-length calibers like the .30-06, .280, .270, or .25-06 are also very effective on deer, but you're really burning more powder now than your short ranges really need. Don't want to say much, but "magnums" are wholly overkill on deer-sized game unless you're shooting at them from the next county over.

I know lots of people get themselves focused on the rifle and the scope, but I hope I can save you some frustration here - make sure your scope mounting system (bases, rings) is up to the task. This is where you absolutely need to buy quality, or you'll never get the most out of your rifle and scope.

Otherwise in terms of optics, I'm also a fan of lower-powered scopes. Though my preference out here on the plains and mountain vistas is the 3-9 variable, I think I'd lean more toward 2-7 for your terrain. I've done the "cheap and then upgrade" option myself, but not since that first M600. A cheap scope doesn't mean your rifle won't shoot well, it generally means that YOU won't see the target well. And if you're like I was (humidity, cold, raining), you may not see the target at all through your fogged optic. Cheap scopes aren't accuracy killers, they're hunt killers. Anymore, I plan to spend as much or MORE on the optic as I do on the rifle. The "cheapest" scopes I own now are Leupold VX-2s and Burris Fullfield IIs. If it comes in a plastic bubble-pack and not a box, it belongs on a BB gun.

Good luck, whatever you decide. And once you get the whole rifle thing figured out, recognize that the best equipment you have when you're hunting is permanently mounted between your ears. Be smarter than your quarry, master your environment, be safe.