depends on what cal. and location
south carolina has one of the longest deer seasons, 5 buck-5does allowed. i think a out of state lin. is around $300. a lot of state land to hunt. motels are cheap, most of the first part of the season usually warm. coyotes and hog can be harvested at any time. on the rifle cal., i`m sure there are more people here that can help with their experence w/ cal. i`ve used different 7 mags over 35 years. 35 cal. for the bush, 44 mag. pistol. if i would buy a rifle now, it would be a 300win. mag, or a 338 win. mag. because of ballistics and easy purchase of ammo. last year 4 of us went to canada. 2 had 300 win mag., 1 - 7 mag., and a 30-06. the hunting camp owner didn`t like the 7 mag. or 30-06. the first thing after unloading he watched us check our rifles. it was suggested that we should not go into the bush after a shot bear. to make a story short, we left w/ 3 bear. the 06 didn`t harvest any. i rolled my bear w/ the first shot, he got up and run straight at me for 20 yrds., and then into the bush. i thought i was fast w/ a bolt , but couldn`t get off a second shot. it was during a storm, rib bone , blood , at knock down. found bear, around midnight , storming worse, only 30 yrds into the bush with the help of my friends. in the future you might want to hunt in alaska, or for elk, or bear. so the cal. bought would be one you could use for a number of different hunting trips. rich