I recently acquired a long action, Ruger 77 tang safety in 30-06 as a donor rifle for a build; right now it is a beater gun! I intend to use it as a rifle to hunt white tail deer, black bear or any thin-skinned game; and, to use it as a back up gun to take along "just in case". I'm thinking 300-600 yard shooting at game or targets. I've been asked, "Why the Ruger 7 because the magazine box it short?", it's because I like them, I have a safe full of them. I know that there are better actions to build custom rifles on, I just like the Ruger 77 tang safety rifles. Now I have a .270 Ackley Improved (almost built), a 35 Whelen, a .358 Winchester, and a 45-70. I use both the 35 calibers and the 45-70 for black bear hunting. I may be making a mule deer/antelope hunt in the future; but, that's a maybe. I'm not certain if the Ruger bolt face could be opened up to .534 thousandths, however I'd like to stick with the .473 thousandths bolt face diameter. I'm considered "ole school", like the older cartridges. I'd like to build something that is larger than .277 caliber; and....no I do not want a Creed! With that in mind I have been thinking of blueprinting the Ruger action and simply keeping the action in 30-06 with a quality barrel and a good stock, or even a 30-06 Ackley Improved. Then recently a friend suggested the 338-06??? I reload and the budget, for now, is around $1200-1500. I don't need another rifle, however I'm thinking that most none of us on this forum do, but...... I always get good information when I post on here and get some good direction with other's ideas and input. Any recommendations would be appreciated.