I would not buy a Varmint rifle for hunting big game. You are talking 8.75 lbs without a scope. If you ever go on a hunt where you have to carry the sucker all day, you'll be hating it. Your first hunt may be like that, as you say it won't be a bait hunt for black bear. You do not need the precision a heavy barrel gives you for big game hunting. Recoil is not high on a 308 even in a normal weight rifle. When you hunt, you don't feel the recoil '(single shot and plenty of adrenalin) and on the shooting bench, just use a weighted shooting rest to keep the recoil to a minimum.
I would also not hunt with a mil-dot reticle - a multi x (bushnell talk) or duplex (leupold talk) is much more suitable for good target acquisition even in low light situations.
I would consider a rifle that has iron sights and shoot that first, before upgrading to a scope.
That's all I had left for input.
And don't fool yourself, there isn't a rifle that does it all perfeclty - you will be buying more down the line!
G