[captain53]

Remington 700 in whatever grade suits your budget and style. Great rifles at moderate price almost always accurate right out of the box. Second choice would probably be a Ruger 77 but it is truly hard to beat a Remington 700 rifle for out of the box performance. They are also both made in the U.S.A. and note that Winchester has not made a rifle in the U.S. since 1964.

Not sure where/what size "bucks" you have in mind but the 270 or 300 short magnums out perform most hunting calibers on the market these days but allow you to use a short action rifle. But jeez the sky is the limit on calibers anymore.

Put your money in a quality scope! Many old names have been sent to China so don't think in terms of what my granpa used or such as that. Leupold is still good quality at a somewhat reasonable price. No matter what scope you buy unless it is a super high end brand do not buy the low end models that you find heavily discounted.

I have found that most generally you don't find that many great deals on the web sites after you pay the transfer fee and shipping. Not particularly convenient either as you have to go to the transfer dealer anyway. They do give you a good idea of what you should be paying though for comparison when shopping locally. Cabela,s usually has somewhat competitive prices on guns and often runs some very good specials on nice rifles. Sometimes you can find good prices on New guns at local gun shows. But I certainly do not recommend purchasing a used rifle unless it is somewhere you can shoot it first. Some rifles are just not accurate out of the box or even after some work and experienced hunters/shooters dump them quickly.

Enjoy and be safe with it!