Yeah.. thread took off like a rocket... everyone is trying hard to spend the guys money!

Take your time Nitrosteel...& Consider:

Any rifle more powerful than a .375 H&H Magnum is getting into the overkill area for North American dangerous game, and even for the great bears. No hunter pursuing dangerous game (especially a self proclaimed novice like you) should saddle himself with a rifle so much more powerful than required that it induces flinching or reduces the chances of accurate bullet placement.

Bullet placement is the key to killing power and a .375 H&H magnum in a vital spot will drop the biggest Kodiak brown bear in Alaska.

You say that there is something about dropping huge cartridges in the chamber and closing the vault is just awesome, and I can relate somewhat to that, but..dropping a 450/400 slug into the gut of a bear because of a flinch is an invitation to disaster. A gut shot bear is an angry bear. Every hunter owes it to himself, the game animal, and innocent bystanders to use a rifle in a caliber that he can consistently shoot accurately.

You say that the rifle you buy "will get fondled and sit in my gun safe 99% of the time".

For that reason buy an original gun with nice engraving, lots of case color and blue, attractive wood, a contemporary look and a nice original case...something you can really enjoy looking at and fondling, and something you can sell down the road because the chances are you will want to trade up to a sidelock one day.

You seem to have given this matter some serious thought, so my advice is spend the extra time to go shoot a few different big bore rifles at the range, find a caliber which you consider comfortable to shoot and then buy the best conditioned rifle in that caliber you can afford.

As Thomas Jefferson once wrote to George Washington: “One loves to possess arms.”