going to buy a rifle---advice?

[JThiessen]

Ditto what Finnster said.
I'm a little concerned when I hear "all my friends have them"...and "I want badass looking..." when it comes to guns. I'm a hunter, not a "gun owner", so my attitude towards guns in general falls on the "serve a purpose" side as opposed to what looks cool.

That being said, you might want to review the ammo prices, and ask your friends how much they go through. Anyone I know that shoots a lot reloads their own ammo to keep the costs down - its not unusual to go through over a 100 bucks (retail) in ammo in an afternoon. And if they do it, don't assume they are going to donate their time to reload yours.