Guns: Remington 700 Mountain

Much like many performance-minded cyclists, hunters are often obsessed with lightweight components. While an extra pound or two shaved here and there off of a hunting rifle might not seem like much, I've read that it becomes very noticeable at the end of a day spent hoofing around in the woods.

The Remington 700 Mountain is a curious illustration of these design tenets. It has a shorter than usual barrel with a slim profile, as well as a slim stock, making it lighter than the normal 700 (and much lighter than the "tactical" variants with heavy target barrels). On the other hand, the actual action seems identical to the full-weight versions.

I toyed around with one (chambered in .30-06) for awhile, and it was an accurate gun, though the barrel tended to get fairly hot after even a single magazine. One problem, unfortunately, is the increased recoil that results from having a lighter gun - while the 700 Mountain isn't as rough on your shoulder as the synthetic stocked, whiz-bang titanium versions, it isn't the most confortable gun in the world to shoot long strings with off of the bench.