SKB,
I second the thoughts on Merkel 200E - steel and light weight, but am not sure if you can get it with 26" barrels.
If a Beretta 686 can be less that 7 lbs, I think you can get the S56,7,8 series for lighter than that. If I remember correctly the 68X series is really a beefed up version of the S5X series. The S56,7,8 were not so popular with the US because they were too light for the American market. Beretta beefed up the action and gave it a little more weight - and marketed it to the US as a super durable gun. Although it's essentially the same gun as the S5X, the 68X series is extremely popular in the US. So, I would think you could get a lighter gun going to the S56,7,8.
