The reason I had picked the 700 ADL with its 22" barrel is because I wanted a rifle that would do "decent" double duty. Both on varmints.....and on medium game. If I had wanted it specifically for whitetails....where I hunt them....I might have picked up a shorter barrel. And for varmints only....maybe a lighter caliber with a heavy barrel. But for a rifle that could handle both jobs...and do it fairly well.....I thought the 22" barrel length, standard weight, should work well. And it does!

I am extremely happy with my .260. It is light of recoil.....exceedingly accurate for a sporter weight rifle.....and doubles really well on varmint while really "whacking" the deer. All in all....a nice combination.

When we get back to Alaska my wife and I intend to keep it as our "light caliber" mountain rifle. (Of course backed up by a heavy caliber.....to make you "feel better" in big bear country.) But I believe the .260 will work equally well for Caribou, sheep, goat, or blacktail deer. (I will probably work up a load using a premium 140 grain.) Who knows.....might even give it a try on moose if the right circumstances present themselves. I know the caliber has a good history on Moose in the Scandanavian countries....generally using 156 grain bullets. So, I'm confident if we do our part......the cartridge will do its!

Once again....good luck for your search!