I checked Remington's website about 2:00 a.m. New Year's Day and found the 673 listed under new products for '03. Seemed to be good news/bad news in the announcement depending on your tastes. Not that I'm negative about this, as I became a .350 user starting back in '65. It's my caliber of choice and anytime Remington produces guns and ammo in .350 I'm a happy hunter. Nothing I've ever tried has suited me better.

The 673 is announced as having a 22 inch barrel, making it a rifle. My preference would have been for an 18 or 20 inch carbine for use in the woods or from a tree stand. A carbine, I would guess, limits the 673's marketing potential, and as a rifle, may interest more shooters. The possible downside is that the .350 cartridge was designed for carbine use and (reportedly) gains little from a longer barrel. The over 200 yard shooters may opt for better known long range cartridges having superior ballistics. The .350 was available in both Ruger and Remington full sized rifles and they didn't sell well enough to maintain production. Then again, the 6oo series of carbines didn't set the world afire with sales either. Could be what is needed is both a rifle and carbine, as with the old 742 autoloader series. Perhaps the .350 fits a niche that doesn't meet every ones needs, but what it does, it sure does well.

Another point of interest is the vent rib. Back in the 60's, a number of 600 owners unscrewed the vent rib screws, removed the rib and tried to do away with the support posts. Some guys did o.k., some didn't. As I recall, some owners just didn't like the looks of the rib and others said the vents snagged twigs during hunting. Both the 660 and Mohawk were produced without the rib. I wonder if returning to the vent rib is a wise marketing move?

And I'd rather the rifle was available in stainless, as well as blue.

I think I'll wait for a stainless version before I buy. Hunting conditions in my part of the country can be hard on blued guns. Then I'm going to see a good gunsmith and have my new rifle cut back to carbine length. My 600 in .350 is going to get an honored place in my gun safe and they 673 is going straight to work.