Longranger: that's some awesome trigger pulling there! I hope to be that good one day. You bring up a topic I'm really interested in. Cold bore shots. The more I use my rifle the more important I realize that is. Bravo, sir.
L_killkenny: what was this rifle you built? Details man! Pics even better.
So far seems the concensus is a bolt action rifle, light (er) weight in the grand 'ole 30-06 (one of my favorites) or .308. A couple mentions of 6.5 Swede too, which I also have a soft spot for. Another for .223 which in the right area (one minus big furry angry animals) makes good sense. Super widespread ammunition acceptance & not too pricey.
Thanks for your input. Keep the comments going!