Hi Sam,
The 4th centerfire I ever owned was a 700 BDL .243, purchased for $80 from one on my co-workers at what was then called the Wyoming State Training School in Lander. She was 37 (17 years older than me) and an ex-boyfriend had given her the rifle. She sold it, with the remaining half-box of ammo, for $80. That was back when Remington supplied a nice leather sling with the BDLs, though they did have impressed checkering.
That rifle shot anything into an inch or less. At the time I was married to my first wife, a member of the Fort Peck tribes, and hunted a lot with her retired grandfather. Shot a hell of a lot of deer and a few antelope with that rifle, along with some coyotes and prairie dogs. When I pointed it right, it killed 'em all! And that was before I ever bought any "premium" bullets.
No doubt a Montana would work--if you can shoot it!
