>>1837502.35 Whelen, highly underrated cartridge for an economical, versatile and powerful big game gun.
It doesn't shoot really flat, though, so if you're really going to take to the mountains a .338-06 or a .300 Win Mag might be worth a thought.
Call me a boomer, but I'd say most of the .30-06 based rounds are pretty good for a beginning hunter because of ammo cost, ballistics and recoil