What would be a better hunting rifle ?

R-700 is THE BEST sniping/hunting rifle in the world, no contest. However, since you live in a colder area, I have heard that the bolt handles have been known to break off, when trying to be forced open, after being frozen shut. This happens, because of the bolts design. In my opinion though, you only need one shot, and if you are dumb enough to try and force the bolt open on ANY gun when it is frozen, you deserve to have a broken rifle. I would check the Remington website though, I think they actually make a specialized rifle now, just for cold climates, that is guarenteed never to jam, due to grooves cut into various parts of the bolt. Basically, there is none better than the R-700. The Army, and USMC both use it as the base for their M-24, and M-40 snipers. Also, just a note, it has a .5"MOA, even on the short barreled models.