For a bench gun a thumbhole works but for a hunting bolt action it can be kind of a pain in the butt to work the bolt and tang safety with a thumbhole.
Scope selection depends allot on what your going to use the rifle for. Calling coyotes a nice 2.5x10 or 3x9 would be handy but I prefer a 1.5x6 or 2x7. If your just shooting targets of opportunity a 4x16 wouldn't be out of the question. Sage rats, Pd's or rock chucks even a 6.5x20 would work well.
Camara land has 6.5x20 Vortex vipers at $279, they have the same scope in 2x7 for $199. Natchez has some good prices on Burris FF-II 2x7's. Weaver has some really nice scopes in the V-9 and V-16. Redfields are good also.