Ultralight Hunting Rifle

cbh560

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Martensville, SK
If you had to $2000-$3000 dollars to spend to build a lightweight rifle for carrying while in the bush, what components would you use? I am looking to keep it to a bolt action, short action, and capable of killing deer/moose (likely the .308win will come up quite a bit) and come in at under 7 lbs scoped.

What would be your stock choice? Barrel choice? Action? Scope?

If you have a good example, tell me about it and the cost.
 
ultralight arms ( aka Melvin forbes ) in 284 win

doing this on the cheap ,
savage lightweight short action , rebarrelled to 284 win

being extra cheap ....

savage lightweight in 7-08 , with chamber recut to 284 win

then take what ever money is left over from your 3000.00 budget and buy a nice scope .
 
Kimber Montana 84m with a Leupold FXII 6x with the long range reticle using steel S&K rings. Under $2000 all said and done.

Build something better for less money and you win!
 
Tikka T3, synthetic stock, limbsaver pad. In 30-06, i know its not short action but the T3 are not. Short action calibers simply have a bolt stop. Once you have this rifle, if you still need to spend $2000, then simply take your pick of a $1100 scope/mounts, there are lots of good ones.
 
Forbes or Kimber Mountain Ascent. Though it seems the Kimber is LA only. Though they do come in at 5 pounds, 5 ounces so it sort of makes the LA/SA debate pointless. I think you can get the Forbes in .308 though.
 
The Browning X-Bolt Eclipse Hunter it is albs 7oz it uses the new feather trigger that is adjustable from 3-5lbs and pair that up with the Nikon monarch 3 6-24x50mm scope and you have a winner and it is under $2000 unless you want to have a more expensive gun then I'd go with the tikka t3 in a .308 withe the Nikon scope.
 
I think the closest you may get is a Brown Precision "Pound'r" stock; Remington M600 or Mohawk (or Model 7) in .308; Weaver aluminum one piece base, Weaver "tip-off" rings and a Leupold FXll 2.5x,20 or 3x,20 scope ... if you shop carefully and take your time - you should be able to find these bits (except the stock) on CGN.

or a used Steyr Scout might make it with a scope. I dont think either will make it with 4 rounds of ammo though
 
It seems to be easier to purchase an ultralight hunting rifle than it is to have one built, but that has not deterred me.

If we start with the action, a push feed should be lighter than a CRF action if both are the same length and made from the same materials, although Kimber seems to be able to defy this logic. For a custom build, my choice is a Remington 700. I like 700s and there's more after market stuff out there for 700s and their clones than there is for any other action.

There are some pretty light triggers around, but there are some very heavy ones as well. For a project like this I'd pass on a Jewell, or a Huber Concepts trigger in preference for the aluminum Calvin Elite Timney. We can reduce striker weight by going to a titanium firing pin, and we can opt for an aluminum bolt shroud, and the bolt body can be fluted. The bolt handle can be skeletonized. An aluminum follower can replace the steel follower, and the magazine box could be made of plastic or aluminum rather than steel, and bottom metal could be plastic or aluminum. A blind magazine might be slightly lighter than a floor-plate, I'd choose the floor-plate anyway, and a floor-plate is definitely lighter than a DBM, even Remington's crappy DBM.

The barrel contour should be the lightest deemed safe for caliber, and if not the lightest possible, it can be fluted for further weight reduction. While its easy to say that wacking off a few inches of barrel is the simplest method of reducing weight, it can also make the rifle clubby, slow to get into action, and difficult to hold on target. For that reason, the light contour barrel should be long enough to balance the rifle slightly towards the muzzle. For my switch barrel, I chose a Ron Smith stainless 22" #3 contour which is as light as is reasonable for a .375 bore. The other barrels have smaller bores (6mm & 7mm) and their length of 24" was chosen for performance over weight without becoming too muzzle heavy.

I like McMillan stocks, but with their long delivery time, instead chose the Ultralight stock made by Wildcat Composites in Sherwood Park AB. With a 13.5" LOP the stock weighs 17 oz, sans recoil pad. My rifle is coming in a bit heavier than the Kimber, but the Kimber doesn't come in .375 Scovile either.
 
Another option might be...

Weatherby Ultralight Mark V - 30.06 version comes in at 5 3/4 lbs with 24" barrel. Cabelas.ca lists these for $1800. (The magnum versions, including 300 Win Mag with 26" weigh in at 6 3/4 lbs.) If you're cool with a .308 Win, the 30.06 should work fine, too.

You could top the 30.06 off with a fairly high class scope, still keep it all under $3000, and meet your weight target.

Alternatively...

A T3 Lite Stainless, or a Sako A7, in 270 Win, 280 Rem, or 30.06 with a Zeiss Conquest variable should come in so close to 7 lbs it doesn't matter, and leave you lots of jake left over for some serious binocs to go with it. Not to mention it'll almost certainly shoot the lights out!

FWIW.
 
Another vote for a Kimber Montana in 308. Mine weighs no more than 6 lbs with Talley lightweights and Leupold 2-7x33.

If you must build something though, I'd go with a barrel contour no larger than #2 with minimal shank and finished at 22 or 23 inches. Screw it onto a M700 or M7 and drop everything into a McMillan Edge. You'll be well within your budget.
 
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I have a rifle that almost qualifies. The action is a slabbed and skeletonized M600 Remington.
The barrel a contour 2 Shilen @ 22"

The bolt has been fluted, and it wears a very light synthetic stock. Magazine follower is aluminum, and it has a blind mag.
On top, in Talleys, is a 3x9 Compact lightweight Leupold.

The whole works weighs in at 5lbs, 11 oz. BUT...it fails the chambering, since it is chambered in 6BR...great up to and including deer,
but I would not purposely take it moose hunting. [ It would kill a moose, but I do not consider any 6mm a "moose" chambering, lol]

It shoots anything well for the first 3 shots, and if one needs more than that, I suggest they practice more.
My pet hunting load is the 95 Partition at 2950, or the 90 NAB at just a tad faster. [Varget or RL15]

Regards, Dave.
 
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