Kevin,

I do not own a Mauser in .30-06.  But, I will tell you from over 30 year's experience that every gun is different - even with the same model from the same manufacturer.  There are a number of things that affect accuracy for different bullets and loads:  Rate of barrel rifling twist, chamber headspace, harmonics on the barrel, etc.  Some guns will like 150 gr, some 165s, and another 180s...and, there are even bullet designs that some rifles favor over others.  Shoot different weights and loads from different manufacturers, because the type of powders can affect this as well.  To give you an example, I've got a 7mm Mag that likes only Federal 140gr Nosler Partitions.  With those I can keep under 0.75" at 100 yards consistently.  Without them I'm 1.5"+. 

There's also the type of hunting you do.  Frankly, if all you're doing is taking native Texas game, including hogs and most exotics (Nilgai might be a possible exception), any of the bullet weights above will do very well.  I'd even throw elk in that category.  You picked your round well - .30-06 is one of the best.

The other is the range you take game.  If you're shooting within 100 yards, a 2" group at 100 yards is plenty of accuracy.  And, cartridge selection in that case becomes more preference than anything else.  But, if you take game further than that you have to be a little more particular the farther you shoot, so bullet design becomes something to think more about, because there are bullet designs that hold speed and energy much better than others.  In this case you have to balance accuracy with bullet design (i.e. what can I shoot that hits where I aim and put it down)

Hope this helps.

I can understand your love of lever actions.  Where i grew up a lot of people used them in .300 savage, .30-30, and all other sorts of aged and modern rounds.  They were deadly in short range situations (out to 150 yards or so), and in brush or big woods hunting really they were hard to beat. 

Personally I don't think that 24" will be a problem.  If the gun feels right when you pull it up, if its well-balanced, and if its not too heavy where you can hold it on target, its been my experience that you can adapt to the peculiarities of the individual gun. 

I use 140 gr Nosler partitions in my 7mm and they do very well both in performance and groupings.  You also might try a Nosler Accubond, which is essentially a ballistic tip with a bonded lead core.

Funny you should say that about the ballistic tips not expanding...I used them for several years in a .308 and they expanded a little too quickly at in short range situations, whether they hit bone or not.

By the way...the 6.5 YO buck went about 165 lbs, the other two in the 125 lb range.  Weather can be all over the place that time of year, 20s to 80s, and expect pretty rapid changes too so bring gear for warm and cold weather hunting.  And, I've been in cold weather, but some of the worst weather I've seen is this 33 degrees and rainy they have here! 

Depending on where you hunt I doubt you'll see 20 bucks a day, although the deer populations have been pretty good the last few years due to rainfall and available food.  We hunt in the an area that has an abundance of Live Oaks so its hard to see a long way (there are also areas where there are some big mesquite flats - you can see further there).

Hope this helps.

For an all-purpose factory rifle I'd select a Remington Model 700 CDL SF in 7mm Remington Mag topped with a Zeiss Conquest 3 x 9 50mm.  Not a cheap ride, but you asked.

In my opinion Remington makes the most accurate factory-made out-of-the-box rifle today for the buck.  The Model 700 is a proven action and the CDL SF is an all-weather combination coming in at a little over 7 1/2" lbs so it doesn't weigh a ton. 

The 7mm outperforms any deer cartridge on the planet in terms of a combination of ease of ammunition availability and weight variety (139 gr - 175 gr, wider variety and easier to get than SAUM or WSSMs), ballistics (yes Virginia, in equal weights it significantly outperforms a .270 in terms of drop and energy, especially at longer ranges), and ease of use (doesn't kick any harder than a .270 IMHO).  Shoot a 140 grain bullet and you're crusing along over 3,100 fps out the muzzle with over 1,500 ft-lbs at 500 yards (depending on the bullet design).  Some might argue that the 7mm is too much for Texas-sized deer.  I'd counter that with a well-made bullet you shouldn't tear anything more up that with other cartridges, and as the range gets longer you'll appreciate the lack of drop.

The Zeiss Conquest (again in my opinion) is a tough, dependable scope.  I love Leupolds (that's all I own), but after shooting through both I have to admit that the Zeiss is a cut above, and the Conquest is the cheapest way to get at German glass.

550+ yards, 9 pt whitetail buck, Remington Model 700 Sendero in 7mm Rem Mag., Kimble County, hunting with shooting sticks up on the side of a canyon.  40" hold or so.  Shot under him at first.  Never did know the exact distance since my rangefinder limited-out at 500 yards.

Hardy's right on the long range hunting.  I try to keep shots within 300 yards, depending on the rifle and only after a proper set-up (we use a Harris bipod if we think we might be shooting over 100 yards).  Hunting with both a .308 and 7mm, I try to keep that .308 at 200 yards or less.  But, we practice at 300 yards and have 200 yard zeros on the guns.

I'm not sure where you're getting your information.  Humans can detect skunk scent in the parts per billion range, and its widely known that hydrogen sulfide, which is closely related chemically to mercaptans (mercaptans are an organic equivalent so I understand), starts deadening a human's ability to smell around 10 ppm.  So, for a human, any concentration above 10 parts per million (0.0001) affects how well they can smell.  Since a deer's ability to smell is drastically better than a human's I would suspect their sense of smell would be affected at a much lower concertration.  That's what I've read anyway.  

This is what makes skunk scent different than a cover scent that does not have these compounds - its not a urea crystal or urine at all (unless the urea or urine has mercaptans et al in it).  

And, I've seen skunk scent work practically as well...many times.  Deer will rarely bolt in the presence of skunk scent, though they normally will not cross the scent line (plane fomed by the wind direction from my position).  That is, practical experience backs-up the science.  We don't wear carbon suits or anything fancy.  We're just very careful about scent in the care of our clothes and boots and use wipes and what have you once in the field to minimize where we can.

Skunk scent is not a panacea...its certainly not foolproof and its not for everyone (the smell for one thing).  But, we've used it with reasonable success for nearly 25 years.  If there's a better mouse trap out there we'd try it...just haven't found it yet.