craiger12: usmarine - while I do agree with you, out of the box accuracy is a concern of mine. I'm relatively new to rifles/shooting and won't be able to perform any work on the rifle myself, and I don't want to pay more just to make the rifle accurate. I'm sure any current production rifle will be accurate enought for hunting out of the box, but I think I would lean toward the rifle with the better reputation for accuracy, especially if it costs a little less.
I realize that I will be able to make a much more informed decision after I handle both rifles, but I'm not sure if that will be a possibility. It would be nice to be able to eliminate one for reasons other than personal fit, however it doesn't look like it's going to be that simple.