halcon

VAhunter if you want the 7MM-08 you had better get it soon as Ruger has dropped it from thier line .

Virginia7

Some good comments here, but a "good" rifle is a very individual thing, a subjective choice. Best thing to do is go to a store or two that has a large selection of various makes. Pick a time when they're not too busy. Try out different rifles - check out the
"feel" of the gun, the balance, the safeties, etc. Put 'em to your shoulder, and see how it fits you. Pick the one that looks good to you, and feels right. Then choose an available chambering in that model.
For me, I like the Ruger 77, Winchester Featherweights, and the Remington 700 Mountain rifles. All are available in .270Win., a cartridge I would recommend for your
intended use. Of course, they're also available in .243 if you want to stick with that.
My choice, one I own, is the Rem.700 LSS Mtn. rifle in .270. I put a Leupold 2-7x scope on it. Great shooter.

eldeguello

A Weatherby Vanguard is also a good choice. I believe you'd really like a .25/'06. It is very vesatile, and has a lot less recoil than the .30/'06!

chuck403

Eventually, this thread will have every major rifle named on here. One will praise "their" brand, and crap on another. There may be a good reason for this, past experience, appearance, fit & feel, etc.

Rifles IMO aren't that different than vehicles. Everyone has their favorites, and the competition is junk. Fot the longest time, I debated between a Tikka T3, and a Ruger M77. I even considered Savage, Weatherby Vanguard, and Browning.

Eventually what I did was went to Russell's and played with a few different ones. I picked the Ruger, as that is what felt the best to me. If I was built a little different, that Palm swell in the Tikka's might have apealed to me, but it was sitting in the heel of MY hand rather than the palm.

The next guy though, will probably hate the way a Ruger feels to them and go with Tikka.

All the factories have been in business for quite some time, and no matter what you spend your money on, you can just about bet that you will get a good one. Again, like vehicles, there are a couple that made it out of the factory that shouldn't have.

Hope this helps.....

NVMIKE

The Savage is a really good rifle for the money, but if it doesn't feel good to you move to something else.

Josh Sorensen

Another good gun for the money is the Howa 1500. Its the same gun as the weatherby vanguard but a little better price. The 243 is a great choice for a varmint/deer combo gun. You should be able to find a nice rifle in 243 on the used market as well. The best piece of advice I can give you is to get the best optics you can. You can usually get some smoking good deals on Howa rifles on www.gunbroker.com

[link]http://www.gunbroker.com/auction/ViewItem.asp?Item=23048593[/link]

James B

Remington 700 synthetic about 400 bucks. 25-06 or 243. For me it wouldn't be the 243 if you want to use it for deer.

Josh Sorensen

Don't be discouraged on the 243. It is an excellent deer caliber. Under 300 yards I would opt for a 243 every time. I have even shot deer out past 300 yards with the 243 and it has never let me down. Any good 100gr bullet is plenty of lead to take down any deer. It never ceases to amaze me that people think a 100gr .243 bullet won't kill a deer but a 100 or 115gr .257 bullet is the best deer killer. They are usually the same guys that are using a 300 RUM or 30-378 for shooting whitetails at 100 yards, overkill! I have shot deer with both the 25/06 and the .243 and couldn't tell any difference between them. Maybe the 115-120gr bullets have an edge out past 300 yards but still not enough difference for me to bother with them. Get a nice handling rifle in 243 and you have one of the best flat shooting varmint calibers and a great pronghorn/whitetail caliber. 243 ammo is also a little more available than 25/06 with a better range of factory ammo 55-100gr.