follow up shots should be non existant when hunting large animals... period... that means bolt throw, and the .01 seconds you gain by the shorter action mean absolutely nothing...

penetration is a big thing when it comes to large game, but you dont want "blow through", with minimal damage... so you want a bullet that retains its mass throughout penetration, causing the MOST DAMAGE without blowing the meat apart, personally i like the Barnes TSX bullets, ive only used them on animals from a 7mm Mag, but they were very well performing... they were used on Coyotes tho, so the damage was massive regardless... alot of friends of mine tho run them for elk and deer... and really like them...

regarding WSM rifles.. how much weight do you really think your "losing" by getting that rifle vs a standard cartridge rifle? were talkin a pound tops.. MAYBE 2 with the newer rifles out today... most long range hunting guns have scopes on them, so you are adding weight anyways... then theres also barrels, some guys run bull barrels, some guys run the lighter cow barrels (copyright B.S.).... bull barrels are heavier obsiously...

the only reason WSM's dont "kick as much" and are light, is because of the round itself... its a lower performance round basically but with "magnum" capabilities..... at the muzzle....

the bullets are lighter, they are gonna fly faster... for a minute... they also drop off on the FTLBS quicker than heavier bullets that are retaining their speed evenly, not losing it...

fast and light might beat slow and heavy to a certian point... but when you get fast and just right, you have rounds like the 6.5-284 Norma or the .300 Hulk... when you start fiddle fartin around on both lines of fast and slow and the other of those 2, you start getting rounds like the 7mm Mag, .300 Mag, ect ect ect...

weight reduction also increases recoil to an extent.. the WSM's dont punch as much because the bullet is lighter, even tho its faster its lighter, therefore less blow back recoil from the shots... lighter loses momentum at some point...

you want light, fast and accurate for target shooting... for killing, you want accurate, and knock down power... which can only be acheived by speed, and weight... but the speed must be maintainable...

if you want a new rifle with your money, check out a Remington 700 in 7mm Rem Mag... BDL, ADL, SPS, PSS, Sendero, ect ect ect, you wont be dissapointed... i would be comfortable with that rifle in that caliber over any other on the planet...

these are all my opinions, take them with a splash of pickle juice...