IWAM,

am not amazed at how long this thread has gone on.

I haven't made suggestions because my choices would (as have all the "answers" so far) reflected my personal prejudices--which are often based on experiences and emotion, like the preferences of most humans about anything.

So I would suggest choosing those rifles that have provided the most to your experience and emotions. This is partly because within certain broad cartridges and "ballistics" really don't make that much difference.

“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.”
John Steinbeck