thanks for all the good ideas guys.

skeeter i absolutly agree with u that the 7 mag will do just fine for deer bears elk and moose. that's one of the reasons i bought it. however when i was hunting bears aug 26 and we where crawling thru bush wheat and corn fields i really wanted a shorter rifle! my gun is 44 1/2 inches long. u'd be suprised what that thing can all get hung up on. it was so tight that if i had to swing around suddenly i couldn't do that without banging my rifle on something. the guide gun (which i'm going with now) is 7 1/2 inches shorter. that will make one hell of a difference i'm sure. i want to give it a try anyways and see what it's like. the people i've talked to about the guide gun all love it.