ok here is some more info

[DallasP]

Thanks for all the suggestions it has helped. to answer some of your questions i plan on hunting mule and whitetail to start and work up to elk and moose. As for a budget I was thinking no more then 1000. I dont plan on selling it I want to get a bit of a selection some day. I do have my PAL and I do own a couple of guns already. Just a 10/22 and a moss 12 ga. for clays and gophers. Have been doing a lot of bow hunting but want to get into both. As for guns i have shot I have shot lots of my friends guns like 30-30, 30-06, .308, .243 but they never helped much when I asked them cause they all got them from family. Im not worried as much about the caliber as I am the make or model. I just dont want to buy something cheap and that im going to run into a lot of problems with. Im not afraid of maintenance and cleaning just dont want it to fall apart. I would just like to know of some things to look for that is good and bad when im shopping and want to be able to make a educated purchase. I hope this helps more

[Deemoss]

i think you should focus more on the glass then comes the rifle... i don't know if you're planning on shooting targets extensively or just sighting in, hunting, and the odd day you want to hit the range....
if your main purpose is hunting, then as i said focus most of your budget towards the scope.... most (not all) rifles bought new (be it $300 or $3000) would hunt with you for several seasons before you face problems.... there's of course more accurate rifles, more durable rifles, more beautiful rifles, higher grade metal/wood rifles...etc...
if i'm spending $1G on the rifle only (not the scope) i'd go with CZ, tikka, or remington 700... again that's me... i'm sure there are many others who'd go with brownings, or anything else...
scopes... zeiss are great... leupolds VX3s and bushnells 4200s and up are excellent... i own zeiss & bushnells, but looked through leupolds and like them a lot as well...

take your time... we're still 8 to 10 months away from rifle season, depending on where you are... go to the store as many times as you need... look at guns, mount them and see how they feel/fit, read about them... ask...

good luck

[Dean2]

For new in your price range, including good but not top end glass, you will be looking at Savage with a Bushnell 4200 or Leupold VXII. Savage makes very accurate, reliable rifles and there is nothing wrong with either of the two scopes. If you want one of the other quality makes, the rifle alone will be $800 plus, and deson't leave enough for glass.

Once you find the make of scope and rifle you would ideally like to have, it might be worth looking at used. A good used gun and scope means you can buy quite a bit more rifle and scope for the same money. I just sold a Browning 308 that was in next to new condition for 70% of the cost of a new one. With the 3x9 Refeild scope on it (in their day the equivalent of the OLD Leupold VX3) it was within the price range you are looking at. If that was a new gun and scope, total would have been about $1,500. You can realistically expect to save 30 to 40% if you find the right deal on a used one.