Synthetic Remington 7600 in .270 Winchester with VX3 2.5x8 scope and a sack full of Triple K 10 round magazines. This has turned out to be the best compromise I have found. The 130gr will not tear up a coyote and it is still more than powerful enough for the bears, mountain lions and wolves we have. The rate of fire, 10 round capacity and 2.5 low power make it usable as a tactical weapon. 8 high power and MOA accuracy gives you the opportunity to reach out if the situation requires it.
Hmmm. Interesting. Well thought out. I guess the only two ways I can think of to improve on that would be a) to have a wood stocked version (or paint the synthetic in a wood finish) to reduce "scary black gun" biases, and b) to set up the optic with QD rings so you could go to the irons if you had to.
I plan to stick with my .30-30 though. I'm out East.
