Remington Model Seven

After much thought I decided on the Tikka T3 laminated stainless in 7mm-08. The tikka is a nice gun, if a bit heavy and bit long in the length of pull department. Anyhow the stunning good looks of grey laminated stock and SS barrel swung it. I went to order one in St Girons, but guess what...there weren't any with the french distributor and a manufacturing problem at the Finnish Tikka/Sako factory means no more laminated stocks for 4 months at least. Although more or less the same gun, the regular Tikka T3 didn't appeal - such was my disappointment.

There was this lovely Steyr lightweight in the shop staring me in the face - beautiful gun - but it was too expensive for me. Looked at few others rifles but there was nothing I liked...was about to leave empty handed when an old (late 60's) stalker came in (he had a lot of VERY expensive guns and scopes from what he was saying). Anyhow after telling him about my dilemma, he recommended the Remington Model Seven, which was on my initial list but I'd forgotten about it. He actually had a soft spot for the model with the Mannlicher full length stock (not my taste) but the Model Seven ticked all my boxes except that the trigger is none adjustable (actually it is adjustable but Remington void your warranty if you adjust it). After a quick phone call the shop (L'Affut) confirmed they could get hold of a regular Remington Model Seven in 7mm-08 in less than a week (unfortunately the very nice 25th anniversary edition is only available in the US). So anyhow that's what I've ordered - good price too. Cheaper than the Tikka by quite a bit so I can splash out on a Leupold VX11 2-7 x 33 scope and decent mounts. The compact size of the Seven should be good in the woods here, suit my stature and at just 6 1/2 pounds, is light enough for long days in the mountains.

I'll see what the trigger is like when it arrives - most articles say the Remington factory set them at as much as 5 1/2 lbs! So might adjust it to around 3lb if it feels too stiff (most other manufacturers standard for a hunting rifle). Loads of articles on the web about how to do it.

I hope delivery is quicker than my tractor, which I'm still waiting for.

Spent most of today continuing with the 'mining' through the wall at Pont de la Taule.