Husqvarna
If you can find one..

Take a look at the Sako hunter series with a Zeiss conquest would make an excellent combination...

+1!

I've gota bluedone with the old trigger, but the 'smith had no trouble taking it down to a crisp 3#. It shoots far better than I can, and in my eyes, it's a beautiful gun.

That being said, if a Ruger, or a Savage, or an A-bolt fits you better, get it! My shoes, jeans, and/or underwearprobably won't fit you was well as they do me, and the sameusually goes for rifles. Get what fits you, and leave the rest of us to our ceaseless ranting & raving.

As for scopes, I'd saylean toward a 3-9x for outings in ND. Production numbers dictate that it'll be less expensive than most other magnification ranges, and you'll likely have some longer shot opportunities than we folks back east.

There are some tremendous close-out deals on Nikon Monarchs, Browning, & Bushy Elite 3200's. You're getting an awful lot of scope for your money with these models. Check out Natchezss.com, or any of the other sites like CameralandNY, SWFA, & OpticsPlanet.

Then again, if you can swing a Zeiss Conquest, you won't regret it, but you're looking at upwards of 400 bills. I determined that it was worth it, for me, but I've not been disappointed inthe Browning that I own, either.

Good Luck,

FC

i would try to steer away from the WSM, there bullets are very expensive and they arent sold alot of places (atleast around where i hunt) if i ran out of ammo (for some reason) i want to be able to pic up the ammo from anywhere that sells ammo, since there arent many stores where i hunt (WV), i want a standard type of ammo so i dont have to ride 50 miles to find the right ammo so i can hunt. so my 2 cents.