Dollar for dollar, Savage makes the most accurate out of the box rifles out there. I would strongly consider them alond with the tried and true Remington 700 line and Brownings, depending on your budget. Personally, I'm looking at the new Thompson Center Bolt action Rifles. The company has a strong reputation for quality and they look to be a solid rifle..

For optics, go with the best thing you can afford, then get the next model up. Don't cheap out. Bushnell Elite, Burris, Leuopold (even though I've been hearing Leuopold isn't what it used to be) are some good budget optics.

Caliber debate will never be settled. many are out there that will do the job. I'm a .308 fan. It'll kill anything in North America and there's plenty of ammo availability in the stores, and if you step up to reloading, there's probably more info on loading the .308 than anything. Otherwise, 30-06, .300 Win Mag, 7MM, 6.5 Creedmore, .270, and a dozen others will fit the bill.