This seems like one of those long dead resurrected threads. The OP was something like four months ago. People are back in it, so I'll chime in,
I wanted a new rifle for caribou and deer. It will also be used on eastern Canada moose, potentially elk as well. I absolutely love 7mm calibers and they work wonderfully. A 7mm Rem Mag or a 280 AI would work quite well on all of those. However, I wanted a little more bullet diameter and weight for those moose. I've opted for 30-06. With modern bullet designs just about every caliber has increased its lethality. I've owned Magnums, included 7mm Rem and 350, but just don't see the need. In addition I wanted a lighter weight rifle A belted magnum in a light weight rifle usually isn't pleasant to shoot.
Picking a rifle isn't easy today. Many of our traditional quality names have gone to shit. 20 years ago the answer was simple. Go buy a Remington 700 in whatever model suited. That advice doesn't hold today, Remington has been bought out, and new management is running it into the ground. New rifle build quality is compete SHIT. The accountants running the factory are cutting corners everywhere possible. DO not buy a new rem. Savage makes an accurate rifle but it's clunky and the bolt binds.
I opted for a Weatherby Vanguard Series 2, Backcountry. These new vanguards are dramatically improved over the old vanguards. I am quite impressed with the rifle. It's build quality is a fair bit higher that most of the production rifles out there. The new series two has a wonderful trigger! And the barrel looks very much like it was fully and properly lapped and honed before hammer forging: there are NO machining marks, which is something I cannot say of most rifles out there today. Barrel is fluted heavily enough for real weight reduction, yet its still a full 24" for good velocities. The stock design is very very good - its comfortable and handles recoil well. The Backcountry weighs about 6.25 lbs. Not a fly weight,, but certainly noticeably easier to haul around than a 7.5 rifle. Light enough to carry, heavy enough to handle recoil and to shoot well.
Not my pic. But the rifle looks as good as it shoots.
Scope: I opted for a Leupold VX3 2.5-8X. There is little point in buying a light rifle and then sticking a 22 ounce scope on it. The little leupold is light (12 ounces), and really works well at all reasonable ranges (0-300 yards). Wide enough field of view for close in brush work, but plenty of zoom for longer shots. This scope does have one issue: The straight tube portions for mounting is short. A little over 5". When mounting on a long action rifle Warne one piece bases and rings work well. Other systems place the rings too far apart for this particular scope. With the rifle, base, rings and this scope, the package comes in at about 7.25 lbs total. It's noticeably light and handy, but recoil is managed very well. Overall I am quite pleased with the package.
The weatherby ($1100) and this scope ($400) will run almost exactly 1500. Add another 100 for bases/rings. The regular vanilla Vanguard and this same scope with bases can be had for right at $1000 total.
As for ammo: Match the bullet to the game. The use of premium bonded bullets on deer is a mistake. I like those explosive DRT kills, and I don't need a magnum to get them. I use a Nosler 165 Ballistic Tip. Boom-flop. Everything bigger and heavier gets a Nosler Partition or an Accubond. I don't have grizzlies to worry about here, so its not an issue. If they are a concern, then 200 Partitions are in order.
Light weight. Great handling. Great shooting. Power enough to flatten anything, but no excess recoil. What's not to like?
Fro