Favorite round for mountain hunting

Around 5 Lbs
Rem XP-100Repeater chambered in 260 Rem or 7mm-08.
topped w/ a Leupold 2.5-8x EER scope & a Harris BR bipod.

Has worked well on Dall Sheep,Woodland Caribou,Wolves over the years!!
 
I will say 7mm-08 or maybe 284 for mountain hunting. The ballistics are good enough and the short action is a little more lightweight and eats lighter weight ammo.

There are probably 100 good choices for the job and further more a lot of different styles of mountain hunting. I do know that the humble little 7mm-08 has effectively killed every game animal including grizzly that walks the southern Rocky Mountains.
 
Currently my mountain rifle is a Sako 85 finnlight in the ol 30-06, topped with a Trijicon credo 2.5-15x42, whole package weighing in around 8lb. Shooting 150gr ttsx factory loads

Will probably install a directional muzzle brake to tame muzzle jump as I solo hunt alpine often.

Was looking at installing a new carbon negative comb stock but debating if that money would be better spent on a rifle in 7BC.

It’s hard moving away from the sako action though…
 
Tough choice as I have owned and built so many. I can't identify a perfect mountain cartridge as the blend of the cartridge choice, bullet selection, and overall rifle design blend together like an artistic preference. My original "go-to" was a Finnlight in 270WSM, then a 30-06 700Titanium, then a 280Rem built on the previous Titanium, all replaced by another Remington Titanium in 260Rem. Tried a 308 and a 7-08, loved both, and could easily argue the case for choosing only the 308. Now a 270Win and a 35Whelen.

Out of all of these rifles, I would narrow down to the 270WSM and the 35Whelen. The 270WSM can reach out and hit hard, short action, lighter rifle, low recoil, and plenty of impact. My 35Whelen does not have quite the same reach as the 270WSM but it is a very light rifle and where I go back to my previous comment on the blend of components and the need to be tailored to individual preferences. Overall a light build, easy to carry, very accurate, and can reach out to 400 metres with 225 and 250 grain loads. I take the 270WSM when I go above the treeline to chase sheep as I expect the longer shot across a canyon and the 35Whelen when I am in the trees and hiking ridgelines for elk or bear. After all that being said, I would sell my 270WSM and only ever carry the 35Whelen for all my hunting.
 
I can't identify a perfect mountain cartridge as the blend of the cartridge choice, bullet selection, and overall rifle design blend together like an artistic preference.

^ This

Pretty much sums up every UL/LW, Mountain, BackCountry, Sheep, Goat, Elk or even Moose thread that’s been posted in here over the years 👍🏻
 
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