If you wanna go classy, try the Henry rifles in 44 Mag or .45-70.
I just picked one up for my Dad (.45-70). Add a (Leupold VX3 1.5-4x) and the price came in under $1250 in Brass (Wildlife edition) version all inclusive with rings, etc. (See Attached)
Consider the.35 Rem Marlin or .35 Whelen in any vendor or one of my favorites the .338-06 available only in pretty custom rifles...
Add a way under-priced Bushnell 1.5-4.5X (I hate to recommend this brand, but the scope is absolutely awesome for under $100)
REM7600
PS: LOVE to hear other opinions! That said, my choice for whitetails is a 7mm-08. Short, fast, low-recoil and kix the crap out of any NorthEast whitetail or Western mulie.
Last edited by REM_7600; 01-30-2018 at 12:58 AM.
Reason: Needed to add a remark