I would look to the up and comming 270 WSM. Soon ammo and components will be easy to get and I think for the money and the selection the WMS is a better buy. I have been real unhappy with the Weatherby rifles I have owned. Never had one that would shoot like the money demanded for them. As mentioned above the 25-06 would be a good choice as would a light wt 260 Rem. Another remark on Weatherby. Roy Weatherbys favorite for elk was his 257 Weatherby Mag With a good bullet its like a bolt of lightning on Elk. His words Not Mine.

I would pick the 270WSM or 300WSM over the weatherby rounds. I had weatherbys before and its kinda a pain to reload for with the freebore the weatherbys have. Also factory loads was so expensive for weatherby. Also have the belt. I just like rounds that headspaces on the shoulder. A lot of plus' s on the WSM. I did alot of research on the finlights and weatherby ultralites, and groups wasn' t all that great either.

But I recently was inpressed with the browning rifles these days. Pretty light also.

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Seattlesetters-I must disagree about your assessment of the 7mmstw' s recoil and it' s accuracy.My own rifles are just over nine pounds with scope and have decellerators on mcmillan stocks and recoil is quite manageable.I have fired a lightweight 270 weatherby and found the recoil to be not much less than that of my stw' s.As to the accuracy issue I have no problems averaging 1/2" groups at 100 yards with either of my stw' s and I know of a few owners of sendero' s in 7mmstw that find them to be their most accurate rifle.No 270wby magnum will deliver 3500fps with 140gr uncoated bullets with a 26" barrel like my stw' s will.Granted many people do not have the shooting skills to take advantage of the super flat trajectory but for those that can the 7mmstw is superior to the 270wby.In any case the 270 wby will do nothing that his 7mmstw can' t.In fact a non handloader would be far better off with a 7mm rem mag than 270 wby as recoil is the same and 7mm rem factory loads are much cheaper and come in many more loadings.

If you' re looking for a rifle like the Weatherby Ultra Light that weighs 5 lbs., I think the 7mm STW is going to hurt you real bad. I don' t think the .270 Wby Mag will be a picnic in a rifle that light, but it should be manageable.

If your personal range limit is 400 yards, the .270 Wby will do everything the STW will out to that range, and it will do it with less recoil.

The recoil numbers on the .270 WSM are about the same as the Weatherby number, and its performance is only slightly less...about the same difference that exists between the .270 Wby and the 7mm STW. It may be an easier cartridge to handload, however I don' t have any experience with the new shorter cases.

If you want a really light rifle, I' d go with the Weatherby Ultra Light in .270 Wby Mag because I know that cartridge will do everything you require. If you don' t mind another pound or two, the Browning Rifle in .270 WSM should perform almost as well out to the ranges you specify, and you can spend the extra money on high-quality glass.

Another option that I consider very viable in a rifle that light is the 6.5x.284. It has ballistics similar to the 6.5-06, the 6.5mm Rem Mag and the .270 Win but kicks a bit less than the other three. And with the awesome sectional density and penetrating ability of 6.5mm bullets--especially the 140gr--it will take any game animal you would ask this rifle to take. In fact, one of the nicest all-around rigs I have ever used is a 5 lb. custom rig in this chambering that has taken a couple of truckloads of deer, elk, antelope and a few other things quite cleanly. Having shot an antelope with it myself, I can tell you that in a rifle that light, it doesn' t kick at all. My buddy who owns it has taken mule deer and elk both beyond 400 yards with this rifle, and they go down hard and die quickly every time.

If forced to give up my .270 Wby Mag, I' d gladly replace it with a 6.5x.284 and a .338-06. I think these two would do everything I would ever need on this continent.

Robert Scott...

i think you need yourself a 35whelen. if you already have a 7mmSTW why get a .277 cal?
the 35whelen would just be what you might be looking for.

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If 300 yards is your maximum the 280 would be a fine choice.Mild recoil yet it has plenty of power for the game and ranges mentioned.