Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles If you can only have one bolt action rifle...

Guys, I currently don't own any bolt action rifle. And I have been thinking of getting one in the future. I can only afford one, a good one I assume. So what should I get?

I am not in the hunting game or long range shooting at the moment. But for the future, I might want a rifle that is able to do some of those activities.

I gathered some info online, people praised Winchester 70 pre 64, Remington 700 police or 5R, Steyr...
But I believe some of you have a lot more experience and would be able to point a direction for me.

Thanks!

Howa

The “hunting game” encompasses a pretty large arena. What game and what areas of the country did you have in mind?

This

The only animal I would kill is the coyote but I will keep deer in mind just in case I need meat.

Yup.....I picked up one of these in .308 Win chambering for $275.....add some shipping and FFL fees (it was used)....it hit about $325.....It's one helluva shooter and is good for anything that walks north America and most of Africa.....Normally, I'm a model 70 fan.....and still am....but this Howa is something to take notice of.....I recommend them highly.

But if you could only have one bolt action rifle, will you still choose howa?

There are some great choices in the bolt action rifle market that would meet this criteria but for a reasonsbly priced no fuss rifle I would suggest a Tikka T3x stainless/synthetic chambered in .243 Win......Good luck....Hb

No. I personally would not. I would choose a Winchester classic stainless model 70 in 30/06.
But my needs are different and fortunately I’m not limited one.

In your shoes, I’d be mighty tempted to just call Melvin ... or go the simple route with a Tikka t3x in 6.5 creed or a Barrett Fieldcraft in 6 or 6.5 creed.

Posted while I was pecking... also a good option!

Someone also suggested Steyr Scout and Kimber classic or Mountain Ascent . What about those?

One bolt rifle for coyotes, targets, and maybe a deer someday...I’d probably wait and grab a Tikka CTR .223 when they appear.

For coyotes and deer it would be chambered in .223 with an 8 or 9" twist. The twist requirement would somewhat limit your choices. I'd probably go Tikka T3X myself.

My preference out of the lot would be a Kimber.

Yes, have shot the Steyr Scout a lot, son has one I reload for in 308.

OP still hasn’t said where he plans to do this possible hunting.

British Army surplus Boyse anti-tank rifle. Bang, flop. Or, bang, boom.

Wincherster Model 70 Featherweight in .308.

I just did a quick count and 11 of my rifles are Rugers of which eight are bolt actions. The good old Ruger (blued/walnut of course ) is a strong, solid, all metal, reliable hunting rifle. For what you are looking at hunting, a .243 would be suitable if using factory ammo, but if you hand load I'd look round for one of the .257 Roberts that they did a few years ago. The 85gn Ballistic Tip would be good for small game and a 100-115gn Ballistic Tip would do for the occasional deer. Or just load the 100gn Ballistic Tip for everything.

If you wanted a bit higher spec rifle the Mauser M12 would be a candidate but I'm not sure how popular they are in the States. Mine is very accurate right out of the box with a crisp trigger and floated barrel. Just clean off the packing oils and shoot it. Rugers often need the triggers worked a bit and just about every single one of mine shot better when floated and bedded.

I am going to assume that you exclude rimfires and small game here, and are looking for a medium to large game rifle. I would look out for a Husqvarna were I a careful man with money, a Brno model 21 if I cared about style and pride of ownership, a Brno ZG47 were I to want something I could have serious work done to in the future for use as a large game rifle.


And if Jorge says anything about Weatherby you can take it with a grain of salt as he just couldn't bring himself to go the whole hog and get a 270.

My Dentist had one locally, and used it for beating up on car wrecks. I just couldn't work myself up to liking it.

The .55 Boyes is a spare spartan tool...and tool it is.

Since you don't seem to own any rifles...I would recommend a model 70 in 7mm08. It's a classic action in a reliable caliber that won't kick too much. A great set-up for a novice and someone with a safe full of rifles too.

Tikka,
6.5 Creed, or 7-08.
Good gun, lightweight, good cost/quality ratio.
Flat shooting cartridges, light recoil, reasonably available and cost ammo.
More than enough for coyote, perfect for deer.

Or, use a 270 for easier available and cheaper (on sale) ammo.

A used Remington 700 chambered for .270 Winchester. A Rem 700 is like the Chevy small block 350 engine. There is a world of aftermarket parts to make it into whatever you want it to be (long range, varmint, etc). .270 Win because it will kill mice to moose without beating you up. Finally, you can buy .270 Win cartridges most any place in the world that sells ammo.

If I could only have one bolt action I would go full on custom.
Also would not make it a flyweight or a truck axle pipe either.
Would go middle of the road 7.5 lb 23” bbl .308 and put a Leupold 2.5x8 with M1 turrets on it.
I’m sure that would cover a lot of ground in the hunting/target shooting arena.

Remington 700. CDL. In 25-06

I have a Steyr PH in .376 Steyr, 7 magazines, 600+ pieces of brass(232 once fired) 9 box's of Hornady 270 gr soft points.
It's got warne maximas bases, Warne Maxima QRW rings and a Leipold VXR Patrol 3-9x40 scope with Alumina covers.
I've been loading for the caliber for nearly 2 decades and have a load that puts 3 in one hole.
I also have a spare stock and additional buttpads made by bonding a limbsaver to a spacer.
I could get by with this rifle and hunt everything on the planet.

Rifle : Tikka T3x
Calibre : 308
Stock : McMillan Sako Hunter EDGE
Rings : Sportsmatch
Optics : S&B 10x42 PMII

I could hunt with that the rest of my life.. easy!

Only one factory rifle? Weatherby Mark V six lug ultralight in .280 Rem. or .270 Win.

Probably a .243 with something between a 9 and 9.25 twist, so it'll easily handle 80 to 100 grain bullets. So that means a Ruger, Remington, or Savage, and possibly a couple others. This will easily get you out to 300 yards without having too much drop, is easy to shoot, ammo everywhere, and perfectly adequate for yotes and meat deer at that range.
Although a 10 twist will get you there for deer with the 80 to 85 grain GMX/TSX, and some have successful stabilization with up to 95 grain plastic tipped premium conventional bullets, although both at a higher cost. So that would open up your rifle options.
This is probably over thinking it more than a bit.

If you want even less kick and noise, here's some better options.

A .223 is the obvious answer if you just want something to shoot a lot at the range, but carry in the field a little or a lot. I'd get a not too heavy rifle with a standard weight 22" barrel, or a lightweight 20" barrel if you prefer to carry a lot and shoot a little, and 8 or 9 twist so it could better handle the 60 to 70 grain hunting bullets that are better for deer if you happen to use it for that. Practice ammo is cheap and widely available. One of my top choices in a carry rifle with a 1:9 twist would be the 20" barreled relatively compact and lightweight Remington Model 7 Stainless. The other Model 7's have a 12 twist. Or for a shooting rifle that's carried less, the discontinued Ruger Hawkeye All Weather, or any one of the 5R Remingtons.

Maybe a 7.62x39 if you never plan to shoot more than a couple hundred yards and you don't need extreme accuracy. This would make a great plinker, occasional hunter. CZ 527 Carbine with the mini-mauser action might be my choice for something to just carry around in the woods, shoot some rocks or steel, paper targets with easily seen holes, pop an occasional coyote, hog, deer, or other varmint at reasonably short range.
Plinking ammo is as cheap as it gets in a center fire. And steel cased soft point hunting ammo is also inexpensive.
I think this might be about as much fun as you could have without thinking about it too much.
A lever action 30-30 would also fit most of this description, except the bolt action part.

More kick and noise. And more power than you need for what you described.

On a moderate scale there's the 6.5 Creedmoor, or the 6.5x55. But for readiliy available and reasonably priced nice used rifles, something like a Remington 700 BDL in .270, .308, or 30-06.

Another choice, if you don't mind ordering your ammo, or if you want to load your own, and something that fits well with a nice classic blued and walnut rifle like a Sako or a Featherweight Model 70, or a CZ550 Full Stock, any of which would make for a nice heirloom type rifle in a 6.5x55 Swede. A pretty mild yet powerful and historically accurate round.
I'd surely put one of these near the top of a one bolt action battery with no specific purpose other than having a cool rifle that would never go out of style and could be used for just about anything.

A .243 in your favorite brand.

kwg

Look a bunch over at a shop, find one you like, and go with it. Almost difficult these days to find a really bad new rifle(contrary to what some people would have you believe), personally, I'm a big Mauser 98 fan, as far as new rifles go, I have a Winchester M70 that I am quite fond of.

For what you described, I'd go with a 22-250 or maybe a .243. The current trendy answer would be (just threw up in my mouth a little bit) one of the Creedmoor's 6.5 or 6.

I would choose a Win model 70, but a 25-06 is a great choice for deer and coyotes.

Barrett 50bmg

Check the regulations where you live. Many places do not allow anything under .24 cal for deer hunting

That being said, I’d get a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight in 6.5 Creedmoor (first choice) or .243 Win and feel great about it.

And some of those places don't allow carrying a .24 or over caliber rifle unless you have a deer tag.

For me, a lifelong rifle loony, my last owned rifle will be this pre-64 M70 30-06 SPRG - it'll do anything I'll ever need to do again (and more). If I was not a lifelong loony I'd buy what many, many of the young guys I see are buying now - a Ruger American in 6.5 Creedmore - seems to be the new thing. I'll not be getting one because I have too many now. Odessa

I had a steyr pro hunter .243. Traded it for other guns before I shot it too much. Still have some 243 ammo somewhere. But I might consider 308, 0r 270 , or 223 some popular rounds.

If you ever change your mind about only shooting coyotes, then you might consider that in your cartridge selection. Some of the mid level calibers like 6.5 Creedmore,.270, 7mm-08 and .308 would have you well covered without excessive recoil and are widely available. The hunting bug just might grab you. Rifle choice is highly subjective. Some prefer utilitarian function only while others prefer more classic blued steel and handsome wood stocks. My first bolt action I bought was with the thought of a do-it-all go anywhere rifle. With that in mind I bought a Ruger M77 MII stainless laminate .30-06. It's left handed and choices are more limited. My second bolt action I bought because I wanted a classic rifle. Again, with choices limited I bought a New Haven classic Winchester Model 70 Featherweight .300 WSM. It could serve as a all-rounder as well, but would need a little more care in hostile environments like Alaska and the wet states. I have more lever actions than bolts.

I also like that idea. A Tikka t3x superlite would also work very well....

I have a 7mm-08 too. It a joy to shoot.

Look at the Blaser R8. Barrels and calibers can be interchanged without any gunsmithing which gives huge versatility for the basic platform. Start with a .30/06 barrel and go from there.

Ruger American Predator 6.5 Creedmoor.

Get yourself a Rem 700 in 6.5 Creedmoor. In the future, as funds permit, drop it in a McMillan (or whatever) stock. Mount a Leupold 3-9x40 with the LR Duplex, or a 3.5-10x40 with the B&C reticle, in x-low Talley Lightweights. Put a Butler Creek Mountain Sling on it. Go forth and shoot... thank me later 😉

The OP stated that he would want such a rifle to kill coyotes, and if the need arose, he'd shoot deer for the meat. That pretty much narrows it down.

Since this is a thread about bolt action rifles, my choice would be a Remington 700 or 7 in 243. The 243 might be the best coyote cartridge out there, and it will kill any deer that ever walked. You could go to a bigger caliber, but why.......you don't need it for coyotes, and you don't need it for deer. If you like short, lightweight rifles, you can get a 243 in one of those. If you want a heavy barrel rifle, same thing.

I've not owned a Kimber, and likely will not due to all the issues folks have. I certainly would not recommend one as a first rifle, as was suggested in an earlier post. Too much of a chance for issues for a new shooter.

Lots cheaper to practice with a .223 and barrel life will be 4 x longer than a .243. A .223 will kill any deer or coyote that ever walked if you put a good bullet where it belongs.

IF op can legally use a .223 for deer... still hasn’t said what state.

True enough, but it is legal in most states.

For me, if I could only have one bolt action, it would be my Tikka T3x stainless in .300 Win. I think I’d have pretty much everything covered from North America to African plains game.

For coyotes and deer the 243 would be about perfect, but you could look into the 6mm Remington, 25-06 or 257 Roberts as well. If you plan to be a fair weather hunter/ shooter I’d recommend a nice wooden stocked Remington 700 BDL or CDL, a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight or Ruger 77. If you want something a little more durable to the conditions you may encounter outside, stick with the same models but look for ones with a synthetic stock and stainless barrel.

And therein lies the rub.

I have killed deer and coyotes both with a 223, as well as a 243. Yes, the 223 will easily kill both, and yes, the 223 is much cheaper to shoot. But, any way you cut it, the 243 is a better choice for either, and I say that even though I use a 223 for coyotes far more than I do the 243. You can walk into just about any place that sells ammo and buy 243 ammo loaded with good deer bullets, bit it's not always the case trying to find 223 ammo loaded with good bullets for deer.

Now, if I could have only one centerfire cartridge, and I didn't have to be concerned about shooting dangerous animals, it would be a 223. I am confident enough in my shooting abilities to kill whatever I would need to with it. I reload, and know which bullets are the best choice for a certain scenario, and I know what factory ammo is as well. Not everyone does though, and if you shoot enough deer with a FMJ 223, or a 50 grain VMax, failures will occur.

I love the 223, but there are better choices for deer sized game, and if there is a chance that a shooter will use his rifle for that, then I'd advise them to use something else.

I have both, like both and have killed a pile of deer and varmints with both over the past 35 years. That said, if I were only going to have one it would undoubtedly be a fast twist .223. Different strokes for different folks I guess.

Going off the .243 legality issues in some states just simply do a 6x45
It kills deer too and is easy on the wallet and shoulder.

Ruger stainless synthetic Hawkeye or MKII in 243, 270, 308 or 30-06. Top it with a set and forget Redfield or Leupold 3-9. Sight for 2" high at 100 yds with cheap Federal blue box ammo from Walmart and put it in the closet. It will still be right on 10 years from now if you decide to hunt with it.

My current state only allow hunting deer with a shotgun.

tikka 6.5 creedmoor

In that case, and since deer hunting was only a possibility, not a requirement, I'd recommend a fast-twist .223 all day. Love 6mms, but barrel life is a fraction of the .223s (factory 6s, anyway), and ammo and components pricier. Oodles of rifles to choose from too, including some that are scaled nicely to fit the little cartridge.

FWIW, if I were limited to one rifle, it would be an FN Mauser of some sort, probably a .270, no doubt about it. That's for me, not anyone else.

Fieldcraft in 6 Creedmoor.....

I’m firmly in the Tikka camp. I currently load for 4 Tikkas in .223, one 1-10” (bought used from shortactionsmoker, thanks again) T3 stainless, 2 1-8” T3 Superlites, and 1 1-8” T3 Varmint stainless. All four shoot 50 gr Ballistic Tip Varmint circa 3400 FPS at sub-.5” accuracy.

If I could find another T3 1-8” or 10” at a decent price I’d buy it. My brother, his boy, and I were shooting marmots a couple of weeks ago out to 500 yards. Humbling accuracy.




P

...............................Good question and you get many answers. May I suggest a different approach. Since you only seek one rifle, then get that one rifle that is the most perfect for you, which will best fill YOUR needs and a rifle that best fills the priorities that you are looking for in a rifle.

First. Pick a cartridge or make a short list of cartridges that will best suit your needs.....Second. What preferences are you looking for in a rifle? CRF action or push fed? 3 position safety or 2 position push type? Degree of bolt lift? Detachable box magazine or spring type? Straight stock or Monte Carlo style? Traditional wood or other stock material? Stainless or blued barrel? Barrel length? Low price point? High price point? What priorities are most important?............Opinions from others is all well and good. Which rifle you get should depend on what rifle is the most perfect for you.....................PRIORITIZ'N

If that was the limit for me, and I could only buy 1, I'd buy a Winchester M70 in 30-06.

If I can make my own rifle it would be the same action or a 98 Mauser, also in 30-06.

The 30-06 is now 112 years old, but I do not believe there has been another cartridge invented yet that covers as many applications as well as the grand old 30-06.

Others are a bit better in certain specialties but if you want "one gun" you should avoid a specialty caliber and get a general purpose caliber. That mission statement my friend, is best covered with a 30-06.

It will do everything a rifle needs to do, with about 75% of the field covered with excellence and 25% covered antiquity.

Only one bolt gun would make me go with my Sako Forester in 243 Win. I can load up and down for pdog, Coyotes, deer, elk, and bear. Good, solid, cartridge that wouldn’t make me feel under gunned...😎

FWIW IMO the OP's parameters really lend themselves to a 7-08 or 6.5 Creedmore ( my 6.5's are in a Swede though ) for a do all go anywhere rifle the deeper into geezerhood I get. The Bolt Action Rifle otoh is a tossup more dependent on his budget, with the obvious 1st set of choices in budget guns dominated by the Ruger American (uggh), and Howa 1500's & several others at the under $4/$500 price points. I started out in the late 1960's with a quality 243 as a wedding gift and learned to shoot with it, but soon moved to a 270 and never regretted it hunting mostly in Texas, and have had at least one ever since. Better bullets today have solved most of my issues with the 243's on game performance, but in a short case caliber there are now better cartridges like the ones posted above, and the OP can't go wrong with the parent case caliber, as the 308 is solid choice too.. In the mid price point range of $500 to $800 I favor Tikka's, Winchester M70's or Ruger 77's, but have little love from personal history for the Big Green or Savage guns. Of the dozens of hunting rifles I have owned, only the Tikka 695's & T3's have been dependably simple Plug and Play rifles.

Mo Money gets more choices and opens the door to lots more jillyfrasse but not much more quality unitil you break a $K for the rifle alone, then the Quality stairstep is in about +/- $500 increments.
JMHO & YMMV
Ron

Verhoositz: I would say you nailed it for the OP. 6.5 Creed cartridge in a Tikka would be a great start. From what dang near everybody says who owns a Tikka, they shoot great out of the box...Always nice when your first rifle purchased exceeds expectations and doesn’t leave a guy with a bruised wallet...For the OP. My vote is a Tikka in 6.5 Creedmore...😎

It’s a secret!

OP says he's only gonna buy one rifle...

Any takers???

i do know guys who only buy one rifle...



















Per month....

Slacker

Yes guys, only one bolt action rifle I am planning to get. I pretty much have one firearm in each category except the full auto stuff. To be honest, for coyotes hunting, I probably will just use my ar15. Deer hunt is different though, you can’t disrespect a deer with “assault rifle”...

Btw, couple weeks ago, someone was selling a kimber mountain ascent 2017, green stock, silver color leupold scope I think. Where did his post go?
I found his gun on gun broker only “watched” it online. Then my days got busy and didn’t even check in and the auction was gone too. How does it compare to kimber classic select?

If it’s primarily deer, look at the Tikka T3 Lite Stainless in 7mm-08. All the punch you need, very little recoil. I kill deer and elk with mine.




P

I'm not aware of any such things as AR15 assault rifles or leopard scopes...

leupold.

Howa 1500 Long Range or Remington 700 Long Range in 6.5 Creedmoor, 308 Winchester or 30-06 Springfield.

700 BDL 30-06. Early model. With 6x FX3 Leupold. Second choice 280 Remington otherwise the same.

All he’s hunting is deer. Why the elk cartridge recommendations?





P

Not even hunting deer with a rifle. No reason to go any bigger than .223, and the fun factor and round count will be much higher with a .223 than a bigger rifle...

A New Haven Winchester Model 70, Stainless Steel, Classic Action!

mod 70

M70 stainless classic, 22 featherweight barrel, 30.06, Micky edge stock Leupold 6x36 with the dots

[quote=Pharmseller]All he’s hunting is deer. Why the elk cartridge recommendations?

Well I guess that “if” you’ve only got one rifle, then likely will “only” have one caliber.....why not get one of the best “all around calibers” ? Good for everything from “small” big game (even works on coyotes pretty effectively) up to and thru moose and bear. Today, it’s only deer, tomorrow....? memtb

I’m thinking that if something changes in life and a guy finds himself planning an out-of-state elk hunt, grabbing another rifle isn’t too much of a problem.

Correctamundo, in both posts. No brainer, really. My second choice would be a 6.5 Grendel for which there's some really cheap ammo and has considerable utility, plus it's very powder-thrifty.

^^ as good as it gets ^^
I hunt elk so instead of 270 it be 30/06 for one rifle only.. But I do love my 270 for deer.

Why not .375H&H then?....cause it 'could' be elk tomorrow and cape buffalo a week later...



If I could have only 'one' Id have no problem with a Howa.
If i wanted[not needed] to spend more on a push feed ...Id get a Borden action barrelled up!
and screw it to B&C stock just to rattle some mcMilan sycophants on the campfire...

chamber would be 7mm Mag....cause it.. 'recoils like 30/06 and hits like 300mag'...with ammo
just a cheap and available as the gay .270

IMHO...7RM does not recoil like 06. has little more pop to it.

Winchester model 70 Feather weight, current models in 30-06

You sir.....are indeed correct! I was narrow-minded and limited the OP to North America. Your suggestion is the reason I bought a .375H&H in the early ‘80’s. My “only” rifle caliber ever since.... though in ‘89 stepped up to a lightweight (relatively) .375 AI. Shoots as flat or flatter than the aforementioned.338 WM, and is good for Africa! 🙂
memtb

I'd probably choose this one in .22 Hornet

Mauser 98 in .30-06

The rest are all fluff .....

Too open ended. When I got my first rifle, I handled several in a gun shop and did a mental coin toss. I later sold that because it was a bit much for my first or for deer. Weight and caliber. Then I did have deer hunting as a specific goal. The OP has NO GOAL, or stated purpose other than owning a bolt actions. Stay away from odd ball rounds like 22 hornet, bee zipper, what ever.

What I like? For small, easy to shoot, cost of ammo, good ammo selection and good looks. CZ527 carbine or american in 223. Mount a medium size (aka practical) size scope like a 3-9x compact or worse case a 4-12x. Another way to go is cz527 in euro varmint for a heavier gun to shoot at the club of for actual long hours of varmint shooting and that can be topped with a 6-18x. Again the 223 is a good round to enjoy and be used to good effect.

Next up is the deer rifle and here I like rounds like 7mm-08 first choice, and 6.5mm second. Th 243 is a sweet first deer rifle and a nice step up from 223 while still mild and pleasant for a first gun. All these are what I call, medium length actions. In this space I like Tikka with a wood stock. Or your taste might run toward Tikka in synthetic. Winchester is a bit haevy in this class of ctg. The Howa is not to my taste. The CZ is also a bit heavy in the mediums. I love Kimber and certain Sako (carbon fiber) if you have the budget. The big problem is we dont know what you want this rifle for. If you do not hunt then you are free to select a little heavier gun and then CZ and Winchester offers some seriously good looking rifles. I dont care so much for Remington these days. Savage seems ok, but again, not crazy about the looks. There is that 308 at cabelas that everyone raves about out. They all shoot.

Moving up is 30-06 and larger (375HH) and here the various Winchester M70 really stand out as appropriate in weight and good Japanese quality. I dont think these bigger guns are a good place to start. Same with the 98 in 06. Too much gun. I own various Model 70 from New Haven (control feed) and Japan - great guns.

Last step in the progression is the CZ550 magnum that can be had in 375HH up to 505 Gibbs. A non starter for a first bolt rifle.

Funny about price, if you can only afford ONE good one, then you could afford two less costly rifles like savage. What is good? Functional or does style enter into the picture at all? And what is style? This is an impossible post to deal with.

I go back to the beginning. Caliber 223 , rifle CZ527. There will be no regrets.

For a little bigger with 'possible' hunting later, 7mm-08, 6.5cm or 243 in Kimber or Sako (or Tikka). One gun will not do it all. You need to decide if you are going to carry this all day or shoot at a club. A rifle that is 'good' for everything is really good for nothing. That concept died in the 1960's

To bad the OP did not ask about buying his first bolt rifle with a, long term goal to have a 3 rifle battery to include a maximum of hunting scenarios.

Then we could propose starting at the small end and building toward something like: 223, 7mm08, 375HH (CZ, Kimber, Winchester)

If I could have 1 it would be a 30-06 Walnut and Blued steel.. For your criteria. Coyotes maybe a deer. 243, 22-250 ,or 223, You didn't say whether you liked wood or plastic, stainless, matte or blued steel. Price range?

If I could only have one it would be my Ruger MKII in 6mm Rem, Walnut Stocked blued rifle, I also have the same rifle in 243 but I much prefer the 6mm Rem.

Model 70, of course!

Easy peasy.. 308 Fetherweight.

Your question is easy. You can go old school or new school. I would go old school with a Mauser custom in 30-06. Most of the gunsmith's are trained in Mauser Sporter upgrades. Any gun choice you make will need attention to shoot correctly. Not many out of the box decisions that shoot, even less that are cheap.

New school; Ruger Bushmaster 450

There's the rub, as they say. The OP doesn't appear at this point to know quite what he wants to do with it, so answers will be all over the place, reflecting what others like to do, as well as their tastes. My idea is that he should get something best suited for what he's doing now, then deal with future needs as they come. A fast-twist .223 in the platform that he likes or that has features useful to him as regards magazines, sighting options etc will do lots of stuff, won't beat him up, be cheap to shoot, and last a very long time. A bonus is that very nearly every bolt action made can be had so chambered.

I would wait until you decide what you are going to do before buying. As it is, with no real firm idea what you intend to use it for, whatever you choose is more likely to be wrong than right. If you were not stuck on just buying one, then I'd suggest something to practice with to gain familiarity so that when the time does come, you've got a good foundation. A good .223 or .308 bolt action might be a good choice because of the variety of ammo availability if you're not planning to reload. That's doesn't seem to be what you're asking, so my suggestion is to set aside money now to be spent when you have a more firm grasp on your actual need.

Tom