The guys have you well covered here for good suggestions, just wanted to pitch in you're on the right track with .25 cal. It is likely the most useful bore on the gun rack if you're a casual hunter of varmints, predators, deer, and black bear. It is the same bore as 6.5/.264 (difference in bore diameters per side of the bullet is less than 1 sheet of paper, you can toss a 120gr .264" and a 120gr .257" bullet at a guy and nobody can tell you which is which) but with a slew of light weight varmint options you can push to 4,000fps in the .25-06 and mid-3000's to close to that in the .257 Roberts. It's less flashy than a 6.5 but a far better choice if you varmint and predator hunt, and a bit better on deer and bear than a .243, while staying the .243's equal as a varminter. I like .257 Roberts better than .25-06, but both are great, I like to burn a little less powder for a .25 than a .25-06 does just personal preference. If I was you I'd pick up a Ruger Hawkeye in .257 Roberts.
