If you are still looking at different guns, I would take a gander at the new Browning A-Bolt 3. It has a better stock and recoil pad than the Tikka IMO. The Remington 700 SPS is also in the same price range ($525 to $600) and has a better stock/recoil pad too. If you can find a M70 in that price range, it is a great rifle as well.

The Ruger American fits the criteria and you will have more $$ left over for the scope. It's accurate, rugged and reliable. You will have more $$ left to spend on your next firearm!

Atmadison, go over on the Optics board and look at the very 1st thread by a guy named Skylar @ SWFA. Get in touch with him to plan a trip down to the store whenever you get your nickles put together for a scope. IMO Hands on fondling with an experienced guide will teach you light years more stuff faster than a 100 years worth of gun gack blather on the internet.

Whatever you do you only want to buy an education one time...and not over and over until you get what you wanted in the 1st place. A buddy went thru 5 wives that way until he found one as tough on folks as he was on wimmen...I told him it'd be mo cheaper to put the deevorce atty on a retainer and instead renting a new one every time he went to court...said he tried that with wimmen but the cops told him he needed to lease 'em long term instead of renting them by the hour or a day at a time.
Ron

My Mossberg 500 is the only gun I own as of right now i do plan on getting a rifled barrel for it so i know anything close range won't be a problem for me. When ever i get beyond the 100 - 150 range I think a rifle would be better to reach out to touch them. This rifle is something that i want to last a while and be versatile across different games in Texas and the rest of the states if i choose to go out of state to hunt. .270 sounds like a good caliber that you could get multiple rounds off without feeling it the next day but i think the .308 will out shoot the .270 in range and knock down power "I am a newby so i may be wrong".

Im having the same problem that i had when choosing my shotgun there are just to many choices out there.

Where are you located. If north of dallas area I will meet you for coffee and we will shoot the bull, but only if you wear your pants properly and such. Your asking the right folks for advice. Just remeber what works for us may not work for you.
I used to laugh at the 243 but now that I have grown a little smarter (did not say I was smart just smarter) I have found it to be pretty dang good. You can shoot everything from prairie dogs to deer with it and it doesn't beat the fire out of you. The loading range of bullets is impresive.
You want to look at what you want to do with this rifle such as what game you will shoot, are you walking with it in the field (ounces equal pounds during the day) so on and so forth.
Go to gun show and look the rifles over and see what shoulders good for you. You will also see price ranges and there is always someone who will tell you the best rifle for you especialy if it is theirs to sell : )
Good luck to you sir. The first is only the begining

Find you a slug barrel then look around the auctions (or?) for a nice 30-30 and put peep or ghost ring sights on it (guessing you are young enough to see them).. Will kill anything you need to kill humanely at distances that you can still say you are hunting (and not sniping). When you get older and/or eyesight is a problem, look at something with a scope. If you are just wanting new, get one of them combos in 30.06 or the .308 you want. If you have patience and want something for you and not just to keep up with the jones', find you a nice mauser....

Technically that may be true. But at some point you start splitting hairs. There's nothing wrong with a .308, but a .270 will absolutely kill just as effectively. I don't know a lot about ballistics, but maybe one of these guys smarter than me can break it down with numbers.

"A rifle to last a lifetime" depends on how old you are and how much you shoot it. Barrel life on a 308 Win is he longest of any centerfire I know of. Jacob Bynum (Rifles Only) reported 10,000 rounds on a barrel. You won't get that out of a 270.

You mentioned distance shooting one day. The 308 will do a bit better than the 270 due to a slightly better ballistic coefficient, but it will take 500 yards and farther for that to be realized. The 270 has a significantly better muzzle velocity that the 308, though. The short answer to "what does ballistic coefficient mean?" Is the ability for a bullet to maintain velocity. The higher the BC, the more velocity the bullet retains down range. Take my former 22-250 load with a 55 gr bullet. It would leave the barrel at a scorching 3780 fps, but due to a very low BC it would go subsonic around 600 yards. A 178 A-max out of a 308 will leave the barrel at a moderate 2700 fps, give or take, but will still be supersonic well past 1000 yards due to a higher BC than the little 22 cal 55 gr.

If your deer shooting is inside 400 or 500 yards, which it should be, pretty much any decent caliber will do the job. That would include the 243, 250, 257, 260, 6.5, 25-06, 308, 7-08, 270 and on and on. If you are recoil shy, then the first 5 calibers mentioned won't kick you much. You don't need to worry about flat base versus boat tail bullets or even BC of the bullet. If you are just going to deer hunt, I'd suggest the 25-06 or the 7-08 or the 270 if you aren't a reloader. There's nothing wrong with the 308, but if you aren't a long range target shooter (600 yards and beyond) I think there are better options out there. I shoot a 260 mostly these days, and it'll kill a deer about as well as my 270 but it sure won't kill them any better, faster, or deader. Get a Tikka T3 in 270. That's all you need for a lifetime. And don't worry about barrel life if you are a hunter. And get it in stainless.

On optics, if you have $300 to spend, get a Burris FFII in 4.5-14. If you have $700 to spend, get the Leupold VX3 in 4.5-14. If you aren't a target shooter, you do not need the big tall turrets that are fashionable these days even among those that don't target shoot.

To summarize: Tikka T3 Lite Stainless in 270, with a 4.5-14 or 4-16 scope on it. And yes a 3-9 will work fine also, but I personally like a little more magnification on the high end. If nothing else, it helps when you are at the range and want to see the bullet hole without needing a spotting scope. Get Uncle Mike stainless sling swivels and a Murray leather one hand adjustable sling and you are DONE. When you get to the deer camp you will get respect from the old timers (until maybe they see you shoot). :-)

One thing that's great about a 700 is the ability to customize as your needs grow.

So should i choose .270 or .308 and what is a good starting glass that i should look into

I'd go with .308 (Remington, Tika or Savage) with Zeiss Conquest or Leupold VX lll. Spend more on your glass than your gun. The .308 will do anything you need in Texas and will allow you to shoot long range.

Agreed.

I'd check the Sample List for your glass. Then when you decide to start shooting distance you can sell the first scope and get one that will afford the ability to shoot distance. If you get it purchased at the used price you will probably get the same money for it reselling it.

My two deciding factors are .308 has multiple grains to choose from but when scares happen they are the first to be emptied on the shelves that is why i am leaning more toward the .270

I shouldered that Tikka T3 earlier today and wow that felt like a great rifle very comfortable

As of right now that Tikka T3 in a .270 is what I plan on choosing

No matter the chambering buy ammo when there is no craze, and do not buy when there is a craze. Or better yet buy equipment and hand-loading components.

Words to live by right there.

What FJG said +1 on reloading.

FWIW I am a hoarder of Components. When I find a good deal on Brass & Bullets that I know I will use someday I buy what I can afford and sit on them until I need them...or trade them for something else but at normal retail prices.

With my stockpile of stuff, leftovers from all my horsetrading and Estate Sales yadda yadda I can load a 270, 300WMg or WSM & 9.3x62 for ex'ple for about 40-50 cents a round of deer & elk capable ammo...or way less than $10 a box in 270. But I've been at it for 40+ years and at one time for about 13 years had access in my work life to all the gun dealers in 5 states.

DO NOT buy or shoot anybody else's Reloads except someone like Chad who make a Business of Reloads...If you do buy some of that suff & I have...I break the ammo down for the brass and bullets 'cause I AM CHEAP !!!
Ron

Vanguard S2. Best mid priced rifles out right now imo. Leave you plenty of room for good glass.

This.