Well, just to be the oddball, if I could go back and do it again with what I know now, I'd take one of the two Mauser 98's my father brought back from WWII, have a good gunsmith polish it up and turn it into a .30-06 with a nice piece of stable walnut cut to fit me perfectly, and put a peep sight on it.
Then I'd go out and kill the same game at the same ranges in the same terrain and never miss a beat.
And since "going back" would mean to the mid-late 60's, I'd pick up a really good 1950's vintage Winchester 94 .30-30 and put a peep sight on it as well, for those times when I didn't need or want to shoot a .30-06.
Doesn't mean I wouldn't also get many dozens of other rifles and scopes of all sizes 'cause, ya know, loonyism, but two sturdy, dependable rifles with sturdy sighting systems are all I'd really need...
