I bought a VTR not long after Remington released them. It was very finicky with ammo but shot fairly well once I found a load it liked. Unless your getting a smoking hot deal, I'd pass on it.
I'm partial to the old boring ass .30-06. It's easy to load up or down depending on what you are hunting at the time. Wide variety of factory ammo available if you don't handload.
Had one when they first came out. All things considered, it wasn't bad for the money. Once I got serious and learned how to use a bipod it broke rather quickly. For light use it would probably last a while.
Buy the cheaper of the two If you plan on changing the stock and trigger anyways. They will both shoot about the same after your changes. If your budget is a little flexible, look at Tikka or a custom action and a prefit barrel.
Got a comp contour 6.5CM prefit on a TL3 that will shoot .5 consistantly with hand loads. Shoots between .5 and .75 with Hornady or Norma factory match ammo. I plan on picking up a few more in the near future.
Parts of New Ellenton can be rough but overall it's not a bad area. The schools are terrible. Jackson isn't a bad area as crime goes. What forest service facility would you be based out of?