My first rifle was a 30-30 Western Field lever action. I have recently gravitated to 308 semi autos. I would take either in a lever gun and leave it up to whether you prefer a box magazine (Winchester 308) or a magazine tube (Marlin 30-30). I would also consider a 357 lever action if you are...
Only time we ever left a deer laying more than a few hours was because we simply could not find it. Dad shot it in the last minutes of daylight and we could not find that thing after an hour of searching. Old man found it immediately the next day. Night was cold enough it didn't rot and the...