HP, having been hatched and raised not very far from you (Roane/Cumberland County about 30 miles west of Knoxville) I have a unique view of your rifle needs. As long as this is for whitetail in that neck of the woods, you could really expand your cartridge choices quite a good bit. Since I am older than dirt recoil is starting to become a bit of an issue with me. Age along with several injuries to my shoulders. Now granted the .30-06 or the .270 aren't that hard in the kicking department, but you could also benefit from other cartridge options such as the 7mm-08 which in my honest opinion is absolutely the BEST whitetail deer cartridge made. AND you can take it on an Elk hunt if you find yourself with enough money later on to go on one! Lots of good choices out there for factory ammo since I assume you don't reload. And if the reloading bug does hit you eventually, there are some fantastic reloading options for that particular cartridge. Not to mention the recoil is around half what a 30-06 loaded up with 180 grain bullets from a similar weight rifle. Not getting beat up at the practice bench will keep you shooting more and getting proficient with your rifle! Just a thought for ya to ponder on.