One...that depends what the hunting conditions are. Hunting in Maine where it is so thick a 50 yard shot is a LONG way and most of the time I am still hunting, a long rifle would be a PITA. Where shots are rarely over 125 yards it would be a Remington Custom Shop 7KS in .350 Remington Magnum with a 2.5-8 Leupold VX-3. Load would be 220 Speer FP at 2600 fps.
If all my hunting was going to be in open areas were shots over 200 yards were common and weight/length was not a factor, then it would be a Remington 700 CDL stainless fluted in .257 Weatherby. Gun runs 120 Speer BTs at 3200 fps and .3 MOA...
But if I had to combine the two conditions and only have one rifle then it would be a lightweight .25-06 in something like a Remington 700Ti or Kimber Montana...
Bob
If I was only going to still hunt tight cover, I think that it would be hard to beat a Ruger 44 International mounted with a Leupold VX2 2-7x33 that had been retrofitted with a heavy duplex reticle.
Anything short and well balanced works good in close cover. Two of my hunting partners who have recently passed on both used the Ruger 77/.44 stainless synthetic with the Leupold 2-7 Shotgun scope... I also had one (which is why they ended up with them)and a standard .44 Semi-auto carbine.
The reason I like a gun with a little more reach is clearcuts. You come through the woods and there standing on the other side of a big clearcut is a nice buck...200 yards away... And at 7# loaded to go the 7KS is just a wonder...
Bob
