Go to ebay and get yourself a really nice and new Zeiss Conquest for $500. Compared to Leupold, the Zeiss scopes are superior to my eye. I've gotten two new Zeiss scopes for way under $500.

I have used the 180 g scirocco's and done well with em but they were bit over the top for what I needed down here

dont shoot a 30-06 i shoot a 270 but switched to the new Hornady Innerbond bullett, it is unbelieveable, see if they make it in the 30-06 just a suggestion, using a simmons 3.8x12x44, very nice scope, have it on a 700 sendero

I bought a Zeiss Conquest 3X9X40 and I absolutely love it!!!! It gathers light extremely well and I like the fact the it's got a fixed eye relief. With needing heavy clothes on during deer hunting, I wanted to make sure that I didn't have to be so close to the scope to see when she's dialed all the way up. Guys on here will be better for exact info at this than I, but I had either heard or read that a 50mm barrel on the scope won't gather anymore light than a 40. So I'm not really sure what the need for it is. And if I also have this right.....when you buy a 50mm scope, you have to use higher scope rings which are probably a tad bit easier to bump and your scope will have a better chance of being out of whack just because the scope sits higher off the gun. I guess I've always believed that the closer a scope is to the gun...the better. But I could be on crack here too...not sure. LOL Just a thought for you when looking at scopes. I put it on my Rem 30.06 Model 700. I went up to Canada this year and shot Federal 150 grain Ballistic Nosler Tips(I'm pretty sure that's what you call them). I shot my buck in the left shoulder and it dropped like a ton of bricks and never moved and the buck was 278 on the hoof.

I use 165 gr Hornady btsp interlok for deer/black bear, for elk/moose if I ever have the opportunity would be the partition or the interbond. I handload so it is pretty easy to try different bullets on a whim. The best thing to do is decide which bullet you want to use and the weight and then what the offerings are is factory ammo. Federal loads almost every premium bullet and Winchester, Hornady, Remington all offer a premium line of ammunition. As far as the optics go the loopy's have the edge on overall quality and eye relief, but there are other quality scopes that are reasonably priced. The Elite 3200, 4200 come to mind right away. The 3X9X40 will be all you need. I also am in the same position as you, but I usually just hunt PA and don't bother with NJ.

There really isn't an honest to God NEED for one as powerful as I use, but there's no reason not to use one that strong, I like 4-16x glasses in 42-52mm objectives: the 4x low end magnification gives a great field of view for spotting/finding deer in your scope, while the 16x lets you get up close and personal-an accurate .30-06 rifle in a great shooter's hands can take a deer out to 600-700yrds pretty easily, even if you're planning on cutting your range off at 350-400yrds, there's no sense in equiping your rifle so that you can't see that far. 52mm is about as big as anyone should ever buy, larger ones don't actually gather the light that they claim to, but actually are more apt to glare and are much heavier/bulky than they necessarily should be... 42mm is a pretty good field of view in a more slim-line, lighter glass.

Each gun is different. But if it's a 1903 or 1903A3 Springfield I'd check the armory & the serial number.

Serial numbers below 287### should definitely be check before firing. Lead loads in rifles from the "bad" run are fine, but modern high powder ammo can crack the receiver.
Check on some shooter/collectors from National Match or Tuco's. You should be able an answer there. *Just don't give the whole serial number, cover it in a range or fuzz it like in this message.*

I have a 1903 Springfield with an old Leupold.
It's kinda ugly, but with 165 gr PMC or Rem. bullets. it's more than adequate for deer. I've never shot much of the military ball stuff (150gr FMJ) though that particular rifle, but you can't (shouldn't) hunt with FMJ anyways.