kimber
eastbank,
That sounds like a very easy carrying, portable hunting rifle in a very common sense caliber. As I posted earlier, the Kimber Hunter has been singing to me for some time. I passed a real deal up about a year or so on one in .308 and still regret it.
Though I commented that I would not refuse a Hunter in 6.5CM, truth is it would be more practical in .243/.308 as I am set up to load those calibers, just as you indicated with your choice of'06. BTW, the 2-7x Leupold is a dandy choice in my book as well.
Coming back to 6.5CM, bamaboy just bought a Ruger American Predator. Against my advice, he restocked it with a MagPul, and topped it off with a big bell scope and a Christmas tree reticle. But he's not looking for a hunting rifle, he's thinking down the lines of Practical Rifle competition. I will no doubt get to shoot his 6.5CM and am looking forward to it.