RE: Tough gun choice. What should I look for?
 

My preference is the 308 Win. Super accurate with a wide selection of bullets available for just about any game on North America. For heavy cover I use a 160 grain round nose bullet and for longer, powerline shots a 160 pointed soft point or SST plastic tipped. Very comparable to 30:06 in data. Excellent choice.
Good Hunting

RE: Tough gun choice. What should I look for?
 

my opinion is that you shoud search around ( try gunbroker.com) for a 30-06 BAR. they are as accurate as most bolt guns and the 30-06 round speaks for itself, plus the semi-auto eliminates recoil for helpful follow up shots in the brush, plus it is a very reliable.

-hotgunner

RE: Tough gun choice. What should I look for?
 

Well, I made myself a temporary fix. A while back I sawed the barrel down on a 3" pump shotgun. Today, I bought a Weaver base, drilled and tapped the reciever, and mounted a fixed 3X Weaver scope to it. It looks evil, mean and nasty. I'll shoot some big ol' slugs out of it, and that should handle my up close and personal duties. Then, my next move might be a friends .243 Winchester. It's a NEF single shot. That'll work for now, until that perfect combination pops up. Thanks all, and keep the ideas coming.