We have a WINNER!!!
This is my primary hunting rifle and has been for all but the first three hours of my deer hunting career. First three hours was a Winchester 94 with a red dot sight that I hated. My sister had the 99. She shot her first deer with it. Dad swapped out the 94 for the 99, left to move the truck from the top of the mountain to the bottom of the mountain and by the time he got back I had my first buck as well. That was a 243. I started using a 300 takedown the next year and when I turned 16, he sold it to me for $50. When I turned 18, I bought a 243 new off the rack with a detachable magazine (which I detest) and have carried that for the last 35 years with very occasional short breaks for a 356 Winchester and a No1 MKIII I carried in doe season for one day and killed two doe with. I had to really grit my teeth doing it but I loaned the 300 to my future son-in-law this past season. First time anyone other than one of my kids has hunted with one of my guns.
So here it is, my Holy Grail:
And my faithful companion providing scale for a buck rub I found this past deer season. I did not see the buck that made it.