If you want the Frontier rifle, then you should get it. A rifle has to be fun to carry, fun to show, and fun to shoot. Oh yeah, affordable helps too. If you are not sure, then I will agree with others and recommend Lyman TR and GPR. I have owned both enjoyed them thoroughly.
The Trade Rifle is at the low end end of the price spectrum for a new ML, and for the price, the quality is awesome. The twist is 1:48, a little fast for rb, in order to stabilize Lyman's Great Plains Bullet, but with the rifle's deep rifling, .010 of an inch, it will shoot rb accurately for paper punching as long as you don't get carried away with the powder. The GPR is an even better rifle, but costs more and is well worth the money.
The TC Hawken is a worthy choice in a used rifle, especially if you give it a set of iron furniture from The Hawken Shop and replace the adjustable sight with a primitive sight.
Another good option is to attend a gunmakers trade show and look at used rifles. I recently attended one and saw some really good used semi-custom guns for about what you would pay for a new Frontier rifle. Be sure to take a bore light. Good luck and have fun. :thumbsup: - John