The 308 Marlins are getting good reviews, however...Leverevolution soft-tipped pointy bullets are not available for handloading, so if you handload you are gonna be stuck with flat points or roundnoses in that tubular magazine. The 99 Savage is a good rifle, and I've lusted after one myself at various times. Two points...1) you don't find 300 Savage ammo at every store you go into looking for ammo, and 2) make sure that the stock has no cracks, esp. in the tang area, as they are prone to it. A 99 in 308 might be a better idea than a 300 Savage. The 7600's have been made in various atypical chamberings as specialty runs, so there's always the chance of finding something unusual on Gunbroker or somewhere. A 7600 in .280 or 35 Whelen would be dandy. The 35 Remington is a good cartridge, in some cases being 'the little engine that could', as it is disproportionately effective for it's size and published ballistics. The only drawback is somewhat limited range, more similar to a .30-30. The advantage to it in a pump is the use of pointy bullets, with their attendant improved ballistic co-efficient helping the trajectory some. The truth remains, well, the truth...a 7600 in 270 or 30-06 or 280 or even 35 Whelen is pretty much a do anything/everything, although a 35 Whelen might be a tad heavy for varmint applications.
If a easy/fast handling "in the thick stuff rifle" is your objective, then I would seriously look at a 7600 Carbine. And if your hunting is going to be primarily limited to the thick stuff, then I personally would tote my Marlin 444P (fast, powerful, handy) loaded with Hornady 265 Flat Points, and knock the ever-loving crap out of whatever I pulled the trigger on.
