The BLR is a great rifle. One of only a few lever guns left that you can shoot spitzer bullets out of. I think I' d get the 7mm-08. Lighter recoil, but yet still plenty of energy for any whitetail.

I wouldn' t worry about the aluminum receiver either. It' s non-moving and aluminum is strong (think about the abuse aluminum riser bows go thru). I have a .45 acp Kimber with an aluminum frame. Have shot hundreds of rounds thru it with no problems at all. And that' s with a steel slide hammering it on every shot.