I went hunting for the first time earlier this year and was instantly hooked. I've lined up some whitetail hunts for this fall in Missouri and Tennessee and I want to buy my first rifle so I can practice this summer. I've been researching calibers and looking at rifles for the last few weeks and I think I've narrowed it down to two. Every day I switch back and forth between the two, so I'm hoping to get some opinions to help make a final decision. The two rifles I'm considering are the Remington 700 CDL SF Limited Edition chambered for 260 Remington and the Remington 700 Mountain LSS chambered for 7mm-08. Based on what I've read online it sounds like both of these rifles shoot very good and both of the calibers work well for whitetail deer. I also really like the way both of these rifles look. The MTN LSS is a little shorter and lighter, which would be nice. It has a laminate stock and I like what I've read about how they hold up very well in the rain. However, I love the walnut stock on the CDL SF LTD ED and I think it would be neat to have a limited edition rifle, although it's probably not really that big of a deal to most people. I enjoy tying my own flies and I think it would also be cool to handload my own ammunition, so I'm not worried about the availability of 260 Remington ammo. I'll just buy it online until I learn how to handload. I know I have to make up my own mind, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to ask for some words of wisdom from men with experience. I'm planning to spend some serious coin on this rifle, so I want to make sure I'm at peace with the purchase. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks.