A little different flavor of factory lightweight

crash60 said:
You know, a lb heavier won't make a whole lot of difference, when the dust settles. Just take the extra change and keys out of your pocket and voila, you're 1 lb lighter. Problem solved...
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Why are you carrying change into the backcountry? I've never come across a beer cart anyways. 1lb reduction in gear weight would be awesome! That's nearly 0.5L of extra water, a handful of powerbars etc I could carry!
Carry 100 lbs more than 10 miles, in the mountains. I guarantee if I asked you at mile 5 if you would carry my half litre of water, you would tell me where to shove it! If not, PM me, we might get along great as sheep hunting partners ;)
 
I did a similar thing about 15 years ago. Rem700 LSS Mtn 260 Rem restocked in a Wildcat, Weaver Zee rings and a 6X weaver it was right at 6lbs

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Figure I would bump this as I finally got a nice long day at the range to test this.

With the factory stock the rifle was pretty wild with a cold bore and it would tighten up once hot. Not good for hunting.

I tried a few loads and bullets and it liked the load I had previously worked up for it the most. First two cold bore shots are super tight and consistent, then the shots walk straight right slowly and tighten up into another tight hot group about 2" right. I shot 4 two shot cold bore groups on top of one another to make a 8 shot group that went 0.9" @ 100 m. Get the bore super hot and let it cool down again and it will print that cold bore shot in the same spot. So basically I get two super accurate and consistent shots before it starts to walk, which works just fine for me for a hunting rifle. Really happy with it.
 
c-fbmi said:
C-36.........I did something similar but went a little further in both weight reduction and dollars. I started with a 700 SA Ti in 300 WSM then went for the Brown Precision Kevlar stock at 14 oz as well as a PT&G speedlock alum firing pin and reduced spring as well as a PT&G alum bolt shroud. Went with Weaver bases and rings and a Leupold Compact 3-9X36 VX II. With ammo in it weighs 5 lbs 15 oz and is a truly dedicated mountain backpack rifle. Which is handier than hell, now I'm too old to back pack hunt and too fat to climb mountains........But by God, I got me a beautiful fly weight mountain back packing sheep and goat rifle.........40 years too late..........






I know some people on here will call down my mounts, but even though they are not the most beautiful mounts in the world, they are light, low and reliable, and I have never had a set of Weavers fail me or let a scope move.

When I hand this rifle to people to show it to them, they nearly hit themselves in the face with it...............it really is that light. I'm considering milling the flutes to flats and making an even lighter oct barrel and maybe knocking a couple inches off it.
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I would leave that shooter the way it is. Done perfect! If this rifle ever makes it to the EE, I will be on it like a fat kid on a smartie. The 150 TTSX is what I guned out of my M70 300 WSM it shot MOA, flat and hits hard!
 
c-fbmi said:
I built it with 165 gn bullets in mind but it didn't like them very much. It did however show a particular love for the Barnes 150 gn TTSX, which still fit my end game plans perfectly. It shoots just under moa with this bullet and runs about 3200 fps IIRC, I'd have to check my load data to be sure and I don't recall the load either. It however does the job as intended and the kid has used it on a couple sheep hunts and now wants one of his own. Light rifles and car racing are very similar........if you want a lighter rifle or faster car........just bring more money.
Now the final modification I would really love to try on this rifle is a titanium octagonal barrel.......should drop it down more than a pound. I'm not sure how titanium stands up as a barrel material though. I know it has been used in black powder cartridge rifles but I don't know if it has the right properties for continued use at 65,000 psi.
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I wonder if a person could sleeve a steel barrel liner inside a Ti sleeve, similar to how Cristensen Arms does barrels with carbon fibre. Probably more trouble than it's worth when you could just get a carbon-wrapped barrel.
 
I did a similar build years ago on a Rem 600. Started in 308, went to 7-08, then finally 7-08 AI. Weaver mounts and rings for the same reason, a Leupold 2-7x (lightest they had at the time). Originally put in a Brown Pounder, then a Wildcat stock. Nylon sling. Been a while, but I think it was at 6 pounds empty. Sadly I too won't be climbing anymore mountains. Nice to remember though. I still really like LW rifles. FWIW. - dan
 
I'm a Kimber Montana lad and I like that Gun you have done !

Rem700 action in light.... I also have the 7mm08 Cartridge!


Neat dude

WL
 
Why not? said:
You haven't been sheep or goat hunting, have you? :rolleyes:

Ted
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For a guy that takes full advantage of the endless mountains to mostly hike but frequently hunt that are local to me I have to agree and disagree. While it does all add up, if a lb makes or breaks you, you aren't in good enough shape.I guess I don't get the memo, I should ditch my canvas backpack and not bring my corks for going up the seas of blow downs and devil club ass well as my hiking boots for open rocky terrain. I've even brought fishing gear. 99% of us spend our time on level ground with no load, it's a lot to ask to go up and down without a load for most, but if one prepares year round or even a few months on advance it makes ALL the difference. Start walking with a full load, gradually increasing intensity and incline really it helps me. I've carried mine and others packs many times so I know how much it sucks having people just think "oh yes I'll just throw my bag on head right up there!" Yeah no. The whole tooth brush thing that gets repeated over and over again I dunno, I now ALOT of sheep and goat hunters and I've heard this but neve seen it. Make your tent pegs or something on the mountain, your 6 gram tooth brush handle isn't bogging you down, it's usually a fat out of shape ass! Load up your gear, let the pack weigh what it weighs and do what you can with what you got.
 
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j_06 said:
God not the toothbrush myth again. I hike with guys that rock trapper nelsons, big leather boots, 8lb rifles, etc. The ones cutting handles sound like out of shape pussies worried about 6-10 grams.I swear talking goat hunting always entails someone to bring up the cut toothbrush. If your cutting weight there your doing it wrong. If your that worried it might break the back leave the toothbrush at home, who needs fresh breath when your balls and ginch smell worse than a billy goats anus going up and down the mountains all week ;p
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You sound like you might have actually been sheep hunting, but like most of the others here, I leave everything behind that I do not need, some that would be nice to have, and even some I should have.

I have spent up to 72 consecutive days in the mountains guiding without coming out.
Ted
 
j_06 said:
For a guy that takes full advantage of the endless mountains to mostly hike but frequently hunt that are local to me I have to agree and disagree. While it does all add up, if a lb makes or breaks you, you aren't in good enough shape.I guess I don't get the memo, I should ditch my canvas backpack and not bring my corks for going up the seas of blow downs and devil club ass well as my hiking boots for open rocky terrain. I've even brought fishing gear. 99% of us spend our time on level ground with no load, it's a lot to ask to go up and down without a load for most, but if one prepares year round or even a few months on advance it makes ALL the difference. Start walking with a full load, gradually increasing intensity and incline really it helps me. I've carried mine and others packs many times so I know how much it sucks having people just think "oh yes I'll just throw my bag on head right up there!" Yeah no. The whole tooth brush thing that gets repeated over and over again I dunno, I now ALOT of sheep and goat hunters and I've heard this but neve seen it. Make your tent pegs or something on the mountain, your 6 gram tooth brush handle isn't bogging you down, it's usually a fat out of shape ass! Load up your gear, let the pack weigh what it weighs and do what you can with what you got.
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No question. You are correct that getting into the best shape you can before you head out is paramount. And, your suggested regime of doing so will make it easy to carry the entire toothbrush.

Staying in shape is even more important! I am no longer guiding sheep hunters, but often ended up carrying their binoculars, cameras, and a few times their rifles, too. Hardened up, as you point out, makes a difference, and for those fellows certainly would have made their hunts more enjoyable. They were inevitably amazed at how quickly they had gotten into much better shape by the time they went home ten days later!

Last year I hiked up into a mountain falls with a friend of mine, while carrying fifty pounds of barbell weights in an old canvas pack, just for the fun of it. Again, you are right, it would not have made any difference if I had that weights lashed to my forty-three year old Kelty frame which I still have, but Whew! Could hardly believe how tough that was! ;)

The lesson, of course, is get in shape before you go, ...and stay in shape after you come back. I am as guilty as anyone of not staying with it, but am planning to go sheep hunting next year, so am starting now by using stairs instead of elevators, parking at the farthest place in the parking lot, and walking down town instead of driving.

Best,
Ted
 
MD said:
That is really nice. I have a Model 700 243 I once considered converting to 7-08 and giving it the full synth stock etc. mountain rifle treatment then a buddy fouled it up and gave me a Husqvarna Model 4100 Lightweight 270 and that was all I really needed.
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SuperCub said:
The original Mountain Rifle! Those are nice rifles.
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Yep! My 7X57.



Not bad for factory rifle, scope, and mounts, made more than fifty years ago.
Ted
 
Hitzy said:
I like it with the exception of the flip flop recoil pad....with the money invested already, a $30 pachmayr or kick-eez would be a nicer touch lol
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Hitzy, a flip flop pad weighs at least four or five ounces less than either of those, and works just as well at reducing recoil. I have put them on 270 Win, 30-06, 300 Win Mag, 338 Win Mag, and 9.3X62 rifles.

They cost about 35 cents, are simple to install and grind to shape, and just plain work.
Ted
 
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