[craigepo]

Another very serious consideration for you will be caliber. Noting where you live, there are some pretty big critters roaming around.

I built a .308 mountain gun a couple years ago, took it elk hunting, and put three good shots into an elk before he dropped for good. I am quite sure, if that would have been a bear, I would now be bear poop.

The .308 is a good caliber for a "survival gun" here in Missouri. In the Rockies, the animals are bigger, as are the ranges. A .308 would be my absolute-minimum caliber.

You also have to carry the gun, and the hills in Utah are big. I like light guns, and shoot a #3 taper Lilja barrel. However, you are not going to get many shots through this barrel before heat becomes a serious accuracy factor. Also, having a short-action round decreases weight substantially versus a long-action.

In your area, I would seriously consider either a .300 winchester magnum, or a .300 winchester short mag. Very good ballistics and knockdown. Good long range rounds. You can load light for whitetail, and load heavy for bigger stuff. (If you don't reload, find a friend who does.)

A friend recently built a .300 win short mag, going with the short mag to save weight. He built it as follows: Rem 700 action(milled), #3 Lilja barrel, MacMillan stock, aluminum pillar bedding, Leupold glass, talley rings/mounts. The gun is a tack-driver, and has already proven itself well on elk and whitetail.