if your budget is $800 including optics and you're thinking about the howa, have you considered the Weatherby vanguards instead? from what I've heard they are very similar to the howa only $150 cheaper. they are guaranteed to shoot 1 inch at 100 from the factory. I would heavily recommend one, that would leave quite a bit for good optics. personally, for a good deer to elk gun, I would say the 7-08 would be an excellent choice. for most places on the east coast you're not looking at very long shots and the 30-06 can damage a lot of deer meat at 200 yards, no less 20. I tend to prefer the smaller, 6-7 millimeter cartridges for deer and move up when I'm hunting elk but if you want a one size fits all, then I would say the 7-08 does a pretty decent job of it.