well. like i said $500 is a nice in between number. im willing to go up and DEFINETLY down. haha. deer? nah...im not interested in deer. like i said, mostly varminting and working on my marksmanship. it doesnt seem to hard to find a decent rifle for that price range. remington offers the 700-ADL from the factory for $500. the scope is what im worried about. obviously its the 2nd most important thing. so glass is a priority, but what exactly do you think would suffice? i prolly (hope not) wouldnt be engaging ANYTHING beyond 300yards...so what would ibe looking for, power-wise?