G.B. I've read both posts on this new rifle on your forum. And for one am excited about the new rifle. I've always been a fan of woods rifles. The original vent rib was put on the 600's to make the skinny barrels look bigger. On the new one it appear to have been included for a sight plane ( my opinion ). The .350 is a cartridge that I've used on deer for about a decade now, and from experience, it works just fine. I can only hope that Remington puts out some appropriate ammo for the deer timber, for the people that don't reload. It seems that most who post here are looking for a more eye appealing rifle, and I have absolutely NO problem with this. When the 600's first came out most of the gun rags dissed it heavy. Now it seems that a lot of the same writers find it to be near perfect for the purpose it was built for ( witness the steady increase in used price, often offered by Canadian or Alaskan big game guilds). Go figure. It might not be perfect for Wyoming or Colorado mountains but should be just fine for the woods hunters.