In my gun library, each firearm has unique features which provide me with the full spectrum of both employment and enjoyment. I think of it as a tool set, each member of which has specific purposes to accomplish the task at hand. A couple of years back I noticed a slight hole in my arsenal: I lacked a proper mountain rifle.

Now this can mean several things to several different people. Any rifle you lug up the mountainside could be considered a mountain rifle, so pardon me if our definitions vary. Ideally — to me — it should have a quality lightweight synthetic stock, impervious to extreme weather. As big a fan of gorgeous walnut stocks as I am, they are simply too heavy to qualify. I prefer a sporter contour barrel no longer than 24 inches. In some calibers, 20-22 inches may well be preferable.

For me, a mountain rifle should be chambered in something relatively light of recoil as the finished product should weigh no more than approximately 7.5 pounds. That arbitrarily eliminates anything “Magnum” unless it also has a muzzle brake. Whichever caliber you choose should depend upon the game you plan to pursue. Most of my steep country hunts are in the pursuit of mule deer. One of my favorite deer hunting cartridges is the oft-mentioned .25-06 Remington. Other popular choices would include the 6.5 Creedmoor, .270 Winchester, and 7mm-08 Remington.

Being as I already owned an accurate Remington Model 700, I decided to modify this rifle until arriving at the desired ideal mountain rifle. The Remington 700 is easily modified with a plethora of available aftermarket products to choose from.

Firstly, a Bell and Carlson drop-in synthetic stock was located online and purchased forthwith; a good friend glass bedded it for me.

Next came an aluminum trigger guard and floor plate assembly as well as Talley aluminum scope rings. These are simple and rugged, integrating both the mount and the bottom half of the scope ring into a single piece.

I then mounted a Leupold VX-2 3-9x40mm scope with long-range duplex reticle into the Talley rings.

Finally, I installed a Timney 510v2 Elite Hunter replacement trigger set at 3 pounds. Timney makes an excellent drop-in trigger, requiring very minimal effort to install. They also went through the trouble of modifying the infamous Walker/Remington factory trigger design to eliminate those well-storied accidental discharges.

Even though this rifle is much safer and lighter to carry than it used to be, I didn’t lose anything in the accuracy department. Upon trying some new handloads featuring the excellent Hornady 117 grain Interlock BTSP and Ramshot Hunter, I was pleased to see it shoot sub-MOA groups at 100 yards. Additional tests at longer ranges will no doubt prove conclusive as long as the “nut behind the bolt” doesn’t wiggle loose.

The Hornady Interlock is a relatively thin-jacketed bullet, but I have enjoyed much success with it on deer-sized game and for the price they are very hard to beat. The second most endearing feature about the Ramshot Hunter is that it seems to be, at least for now, relatively easy to acquire.

Putting together a mountain rifle has been a fun project, and I highly recommend the undertaking. The best thing about any custom rig is the only person it needs to please is yourself. Therefore the options are literally endless, and that is the very best part.

Your back will thank you when you have that much less weight in gear to haul around this grand old country in pursuit of your favorite game animal. I don’t have a crystal ball, but I might see a blacktail deer hunt in my future!

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