very well put 1700, i bought my wife a rem model 7 ss in 260 rem. its the gun i carry 98% of the time, bought a rem 700 in 7mm stw, why? already had a 7mm mag. i don't know, i have killed deer at extreme yardages, within the cap. of the rifle but not always the shooter (its not for everybody, here it will be a big bean or corn field). for someone that has never shot 500yds take a piece of poster board (don't even think about something the size of a milk jug) and see how small that piece of poster board gets at 500 yds, by the way you'll want to turn your 3x9 up to about 16[]. like i said the stw and the 7 mag sit in the safe, and the 260 has become my carry gun, i even bought a 260 barrel for my encore, but still perfer the small light model 7. by the way i wont knock anybody for what they hunt with, but it is kinda funny to think about shootin a whitetail at 35-100yds in the woods with a big cal/mag cart. btw please don't frown on this but i have a encore pistol in 7mm-08 i know thats big for a pistol, and it really gets some looks, but i think its a dandy, and has killed its fair share of deer!!!!!!!!!!!!!!