NWMhunter, Don't buy a right handed gun. If you blew a primer or case, your gun is designed to dicharge the gases away from your face. And for most guns, thats out the side thats with the exposed bolt. As for your choices on calibers, check out some ballistics and then ask yourself if you will need to shoot beyond 300 yards. Why? A .270 Win and the 7mm remington mag have very similar speeds and energies out to that range. But the .270 will kick you less, use less powder, and have a quiter muzzle blast than the 7mm. And with only.007 difference in bullet diameter, it seems clear which would be nicer to shoot. My friends bother lives and hunts out east and carries a winchester 30-06. He quite likes it, and you have a very wide choice of bullets to shoot in weights from 55 grains up to 220. But it too will kick a little more than the .270. Hope this helps.