[Jeff Higgins]

If I were still into the bolt guns, that new Remington 673 would be near the top of my list. I find the .350 mag very interesting, but had always held off on getting one, for a couple of reasons.

I have always liked the idea behind the .350 mag, but its execution always seemed a bit lacking. The rifle itself, the old "Mohawk" or whatever they called it, did appear a cheap P.O.S.

A buddy hunted with one for years; he really liked out here on the wet, densely forested side of Washington. Almost the punch of my heavily loaded .45-70 at short range, but better suited to reach accross to the other side of the big clear cuts. Kind of a neat hybrid, so to speak. Great back-packing rifle, too.

Its very "hybrid" nature was the other thing that put me off for years. For woods hunting of our critters large enough to require its punch, a 420 grain cast bullet at 1900 fps out of the .45-70 always seemed better. For hunting those same larger animals where longer ranges are expected, like in the eastern half of our state, the .375 H&H always comes out. It has been just recently that the do-it-all nature of this rifle/cartridge combination started to look better and better. Maybe I do "need" another bolt gun after all...