I bought a rifle for exactly this same need after lugging a heavy rifle through the mountains of Idaho on an outfitted hunt. I looked at all of the major manufacturers but decided on the Remington 700 Ti in .300 saum with titanium action, skeltonized bolt and SS barrel, and found one on Gunbroker.com with a Leupold VX-3 2.5x8 at a reasonable price. It's a great set up for the mountains or any rugged hunt, light and maneuverable. Caliber may not suit some, ammo isn't easy to find, but Remington makes 165 and 180 grain. Remington's short action ultra mags didn't do as well as the Winchester short mags, but they are still a great caliber.

Yep, the older I get, the steeper the mountains get. And the climbs are longer, and the rifle seems heavier.

I love my big PD rifles, and an unwieldy gun is OK if you always hunt from a truck, or are allergic to walking, as many here on the THF evidently are.

For my mountain rifles, I keep going lighter and lighter.

I live in Florida where I'm about 10' above sea level when I stand up so hunting in the mountains is a real challenge. Especially if you are having to carry everything with you while you are trudging up and down those mountains with no oxygen to breath. Makes you really consider what you want to carry.

I may be leaning towards a 300 RCM with a 20"-22" bbl...... Any opinions/experience with this caliber?

I don't know much about the Ruger version of the short magnums. However, having bought rifles chambered in rounds that aren't that common like the .17 Fireball, .300saum and the 7mm STW, all great cartridges, but factory ammo is hard to find. I suspect that Ruger's ammo will be in the same boat having to compete with the WSM cartridge.

Sako finnlight. Simply awesome.

Rifles INC rifles are light, shoot great with factory ammo and made right here in Texas.

http://riflesinc.com/