QUOTE:

I now have a good excuse to buy a (as in singular) rifle.

My question is, what caliber rifle would you recommend? I'd like something that would be multi-use that I could use if I ever go hunting for some other species of big game or the chance to hunt somewhere that is a lot more open country that Indiana is.
I don't see any mention of more than one rifle now or in the future. He's gone all these years without a rifle and has only hunted with a shotgun. I assumed this recommended rifle was to replace the shotgun now that rifle hunting is allowed ... yet he wants it to be versatile enough to take other big game if he decides to go that route. Nowhere does he mention he wants separate deer rifle, antelope rifle, elk rifle, bear rifle and dragon slayer rifle recommendations. I took the request as a "one-gun-does-all" recommendation. To that, I recommended the super versatile .30-06.