I've had Remington 700's and a Ruger MKII M77 in .308 and .30-06. I've sold them off too and thought I was done with bolt-actions until I tried to find a replacement.
I don't believe commercial grade semi-auto's are reliable enough or easy enough to clean thoroughly, single-shots are simple, but I want to have a repeater if I take it on a hunt where there may be dangerous game.
I had a 7600 pump gun in .30-06 and it was very accurate, but it just wasn't for me. I've never been big on lever actions and felt they were a more complicated design and would be harder to disassemble and fix or clean than the bolt action.
So I went back to the bolt-action for it's ruggedness and simplicity, but I wanted detachable magazines as I loathe the fixed or hinged magazines on bolt-actions. I also wanted fixed iron sights as a back-up.
I wanted a caliber that could virtually hunt anything with yet be able to find in the most remote corners of the U.S. and Alaska and that was .30-06.
After much research I went with a Browning X-Bolt in .30-06 with iron sights, I appreciate the detachable magazine, but also the 60 degree bolt throw, it is a nice feature that I didn't put too much emphasis on, but it is nice. It also has the tang safety which I never had a preference for, but it is intuitive.
I topped it with a 4x33mm Leupold scope and it shoots great, it is my favorite hunting rifle.
ETA: It does have a locking bolt as well.