Needed a new, lighter rifle for deer hunting and something I could use for elk eventually, too. I was using a Savage 12 LRP for deer and that thing is about 16lb fully kitted and a real hefty one to hike around with.
I wanted a 7mm Rem Mag first of all.
Really considered a Sako 85 Grey Wolf and and the new Tikka T3X Alpine. I had a Grey Wolf on layaway and cancelled it. I couldn't resists that 1-8" twist on the X-Bolt, though, which would allow me to move up to real heavy for caliber bullets like the Berger 195gr EOL. I also wanted a barrel that was slightly heavier than a standard sporter which the HCLR barrel is.
I obviously haven't shot it yet but man... the action is butter smooth on it. Comparable to a Tikka, IMO. The stock feels cheap but I think most polymer stocks feel that way to be honest. The nicest polymer stock I've felt is the one Winchester shipped on their Ultimate Shadow rifles, and finding anything that felt close to that is tough. It is very light, though. Feels great to shoulder, and it has nice features. Don't care much for the burnt bronze look but I wanted something that had a coating on it for harsh weather environments and the only stainless Brownings with the fast twist 7mm are the $2,000+ bull barrel McMillan stock models.
Overall it's a very nice rifle. Unfortunately the ammo shortage has hit us all a bit. I just bought 5 boxes of ammo for it. Two boxes of Winchester 175gr Power Point, 1 box of Hornady American Whitetail, and two boxes of Federal with the Swift Scirocco II.
Got a Viper PST Gen II 3-15x44 with the EBR-2C MRAD reticle coming so it has a suitable hat to wear.