Virginia7

Seems like a lot of trouble/expense for not much. You want a lightweight 7mm-08 in a Rem.700, take a look at the Remington 700 LSS Mountain rifle. Weight is approx. 6-1/2lbs. Get ya' some Leupold two pc. bases, rings, and put on the 2.5 - 8x scope, and with sling & four rounds in the mag., you should come in at around 7-3/4lbs.-8lbs. field ready.
Much lighter than this can be easier to carry, but also more difficult to shoot in the field, harder to hold steady, etc.
Velocity loss from 24" to 22" barrel should be no more than approx. 50fps. Probably a little less, but every rifle is different.
As for recoil, there ain't two cents worth of difference between the
7mm-08 and the 308Win. Just compare the 140gr. in 7mm to the
150gr. for the 308. Both start with a velocity a little over 2800fps. We're only looking at 10gr. difference in bullet weights. In comparable rifles there's just no real noticeable difference.

Rem.LSS Mtn.rifle: http://www.remington.com/firearms/centerfire/700mtnls.htm

TomFromTheShade

I am well aware that it is a lot of money to invest in one rifle, but then again, how many rifles like that am I ever going to need to buy? One?

I have never been one to shy away from spending money on good equipment, and with rifles and scopes you can't go wrong when buying for quality.

I know that some people have expressed their concern over the rifle being too light, and I don't think that this will be a problem for me. I use my sling to really sure up off hand shots, and the shooting stix will help with rested shots.

Thank you for everyone's opinion so far.

Scott Gags

The Sectional Density of a 140 Grain 7MM bullet is .248 that equates to a 165 grain bullet in 30 caliber now there is 25 grain difference and the recoil is just over 11% more in my recoil calculator, and that is assuming equal KE at the muzzle. Typically the KE of the 308 is going to be higher at the muzzle so I am giving the the 308 the benefit of the doubt with regard to recoil. The 7mm-08 load compared was also 230 FPS faster. The 140 grain bullet you compared is the heviest most manufactures list for the 7MM-08 and the 150 is the lightest most list for the 308 so the comparison is not exactly fair.

Virginia7

You're right if you want to look at bullets of comparable SD, etc.
However, and my point was, to look at the most commonly used bullet weights for deer hunting in ea. cartridge (140gr. in 7mm-08 and the 150gr. in 308Win.). Between these two the recoil differences are negligible in comparable rifles.