.270 or .308

[L. Cooper]

For North America and shots under 200 yards, the caliber choice you are deliberating is irrelevant. Far more important than .308 vs .270 is the choice of gun. The gun choice will determine which round recoils more. The gun choice will determine how you feel about the whole package. You need to do more research to determine the actual gun choice than the caliber choice, and it needs to be very personal in my opinion.

Any gun of any action type from any manufacturer will be capable of doing what you want with eihter caliber. Go to some shops and "feel them out". Remember, you will carry the gun about 10,000 times (someone should do a study) more time than you will spend shooting it at game. Get a gun you really like, and the caliber (whichever you choose) will likely seem to be perfect.

As some have suggested, do not skimp on the scope. The Rifle/Scope combination will be a package you live with for a long time and will be a critical factor in how much you enjoy your hunting. You will not need high power on your scope.

I actually like fixed power scopes. They tend to be smaller, don't have parts that can go wrong, and I found I was never changing the power in the field anyway, but a 2-7x variable of good quality will certainly suffice. I have a fixed 4 power Leupold on my deer rifle which happens to be a Winchester Model 70 bolt action in .270.