Remington makes a light tactical .308 that is perfect. OK, not really light since it has a heavy barrel--but it's a short and deeply fluted barrel. Thing handles like a dream. I have to have one!! It's maybe the ideal all around rifle--even more so than the 700 VSF I covet so much.
Glass--I cannot overemphasize how much I love Leupold. 3.5-10x50 illuminated mil-dot, baby!
If you're not going .308, go .30-'06. Nothing is more versatile, and you have more factory options than the next two chamberings combined.
After that--I dunno. I would have said 7mm Rem Mag, but in the last few years all those new magnums have come out and I haven't been able to try them.
Then again, for versatility, I might lean .243 Win. That's right. Good enough to kill anything in the lower 48 if you know what you are doing, ideal for most deer, great for smaller game, and one of the best ultra-long range varmint guns out there. And if you are hand loading a .308 already, you can get funky. Get the .243 rechambered for .243 Ackley Improved, resize spent .308 cases, fireform, and get 200 fps more than with a stock .243. Nice.
But then I am insane.
Andrew, I like the .243; but I don't like ammo I have to handload to ge tthe performance I want from it.
I try to follow the Wal-Mart rule as much as possible.
Also I'd like to pick something up that is capable of taking Elk at short range; and although you CAN do it with a .243, I wouldn't want to try it.
Honestly, I'd rather have a .270 than an '06; though some of the hot loaded heavyweight bullets could be interesting.
I bought a used Remington 700 7mm Mag a couple years ago from a friend for either $250 or $300. It is worn and scratched, but shoots MOA or better. You should seriously consider trying to find something second hand. Many hunting rifles get sighted in once a year, and carried around during the season, but never see any real quantities of shooting. They look a little beat up, but still shoot great. Plus, then you don't have to worry about a few scratches yourself.
I have a Browning A-Bolt Stainless Stalker in .300 Win Mag with BOSS that I like a lot. I haven't had it long though; in fact I haven't finished adjusting the BOSS to my chosen factory load yet. Still a 1" group at 100 yards. Actually I think I'll need a better rest and probably better shooting skills as well to exceed that.
If you're shooting factory ammo I don't think you can do better than a rifle with the BOSS. It's basically a weight threaded onto the barrel (with a lock nut) that you can adjust in and out. It allows you to adjust the barrel to any factory load the same way a handloader adjusts a load to the barrel, but it's a lot less trouble. It's also repeatable; once you've established your best settings for your various loads you can adjust between, say, your elk load and your whitetail load just by looking at the markings.
The BOSS barrel weight comes in ported (muzzle brake) and non-ported versions, you get both with the gun, so it's like getting a gun with and without a muzzle brake for the same price. I don't know if they're interchangable as far as settings go.
A gunsmith told me that the A-Bolt he got his wife embarrassed him because it was as accurate as his custom rifles out of the box.
Since weight is a big factor, it might be worth noting that the short actions can lower the weight of a rifle a bit.
Image taking Submoa replacing with timney trigger and replacing stock with Mark Basner High Tech Classic stock.
This might take an additional 300 $ but I bet that this critter would shoot.
I am actually selling a scoped Remington 700 Titanium Lightweight 7mm rem sa ultra mag but have no idea what to sell for. It has a leupold scope which i know i wont gen the value i put in it on resale. The rifle itself has never been fired. 
I got over my head with gun purchasing and now I need the cash. You seem to have knowledge in the field of guns. Perhaps you would have an idea of what I may look to ask for it. Thanks.
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