Ultralight Hunting Rifle

SuperCub said:
No hunting from a spike camp hiked into in the mountains where every oz make a difference.
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And it does make a difference! Those who say it doesn't have never spent a week or more hiking up and down steep mountains with everything to survive on your back. Shoot something two days hike or more from the nearest road and have to pack it out plus all of your gear and tell me it doesn't make a difference... You can train all until your blue in the face but in those situations every ounce does count!
 
jjohnwm said:
I don't get it. Numerous factory options exist, depending upon budget and just how light you need/want to go. The budget you have set makes most of them viable options. But apparently, this needs to be a "build". A simple factory rifle from Kimber or Forbes just won't do (no matter how nearly perfect they may be), and I can certainly understand the appeal of paying good money for a rifle that is precisely yours and incorporates the elements and features that you value...so why ask the audience for suggestions? If you know exactly what you want, that's great...buy it. If you don't know, then what's the point of assembling a build that is designed by committee and doesn't really suit you any better than a straight factory job?
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This is just plain good sense!

Bob

www.bigbores.ca
 
SuperCub said:
Exactly! ..... Most of us (myself incl.) might just go for a wee walk for deer hunting. No hunting from a spike camp hiked into in the mountains where every oz make a difference.
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I carried an eleven pound, four ounce CZ 550 into Northern Ontario a few years ago for moose -- lots of sign but no moose. The week-long trek involved a lot of walking, sometimes on trails, sometimes in the bush or over rough ridges. At other times around the edges of lakes. When I needed to sit, I sat. Never much noticed that it was not my Ruger #1 in .45-70 Improved at 8.6 lbs all up. The ballistics were about the same though -- the CZ was in .458 Win Mag shooting a 350 TSX. I was 71 at the time. This year if I should go, it'll be the Ruger at 8.6 lbs -- in any case that's the rifle I'm toting in 2014 for big game.

This year, I'll only be a few weeks shy of 79. According to this thread, even 8.6 lbs is waaaaaaay toooo heavy!!! (by about 3 lbs that could make or break my hunts!). But, honestly, I wonder why I'm NOT impressed with ultra-light rifles!

Oh, I did shoot a bear with that 350 TSX load though. The weight reduced the recoil down to a very manageable 49 ft-lbs. In a 6lb rifle? 92 ft-lbs!!!!!!!!!

A six-lb rifle will not make or break a hunt, but neither will a .458 Win Mag for a bull moose! Both are somewhat... shall we say, UNREASONABLE? But what's reason got to do with spending a week or two in Northern Ontario, 1600 k from home, or a 6 lb rifle giving more pleasure than a 7.5 lb T3 all-up in 9.3 X 62, at 45 minutes from home sitting in a bear blind or stand?


Bob

www.bigbores.ca
 
crazy_davey said:
And it does make a difference! Those who say it doesn't have never spent a week or more hiking up and down steep mountains with everything to survive on your back. Shoot something two days hike or more from the nearest road and have to pack it out plus all of your gear and tell me it doesn't make a difference... You can train all until your blue in the face but in those situations every ounce does count!
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No doubt about that... but how about losing 6 or 16 lbs? That amounts to 96 to 256 oz's!! At age 51, I was diabetic and a very unhealthy 210 lbs. Today, at age 78, my diabetes is under control at a very healthy 160 lbs (10 lbs heavier than when I was married at age 21).

Bob

www.bigbores.ca
 
bigborefan said:
I carried an eleven pound, four ounce CZ 550 into Northern Ontario a few years ago for moose -- lots of sign but no moose. The week-long trek involved a lot of walking, sometimes on trails, sometimes in the bush or over rough ridges. At other times around the edges of lakes. When I needed to sit, I sat. Never much noticed that it was not my Ruger #1 in .45-70 Improved at 8.6 lbs all up. The ballistics were about the same though -- the CZ was in .458 Win Mag shooting a 350 TSX. I was 71 at the time. This year if I should go, it'll be the Ruger at 8.6 lbs -- in any case that's the rifle I'm toting in 2014 for big game.

This year, I'll only be a few weeks shy of 79. According to this thread, even 8.6 lbs is waaaaaaay toooo heavy!!! (by about 3 lbs that could make or break my hunts!). But, honestly, I wonder why I'm NOT impressed with ultra-light rifles!

Oh, I did shoot a bear with that 350 TSX load though. The weight reduced the recoil down to a very manageable 49 ft-lbs. In a 6lb rifle? 92 ft-lbs!!!!!!!!!

A six-lb rifle will not make or break a hunt, but neither will a .458 Win Mag for a bull moose! Both are somewhat... shall we say, UNREASONABLE? But what's reason got to do with spending a week or two in Northern Ontario, 1600 k from home, or a 6 lb rifle giving more pleasure than a 7.5 lb T3 all-up in 9.3 X 62, at 45 minutes from home sitting in a bear blind or stand?


Bob

www.bigbores.ca
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Put 50-60 pounds on your back first then hike about 20 miles and tell me how heavy that 11 pound rifle feels. Then, do it up and down mountains....

Then, after you have done that, bump your pack weight to 100-120 pounds and hike out.
 
sir_springer said:
You're right about muzzle blast and a short barrel. Had some experience with a Rem. 600 in 6mm and 18'5" barrel....OUCH!!!

I got stung by a Rem. 600 in .458X2 American that was fitted with a Contrajet muzzle break. An old friend of mine torched one off beside me at the range. My ears weren't on as there were 3 of us lined up at the bench just b.s.'in away, when our guy in the center of our group let go an unannounced shot with the uber thumper.
This resulted in my right ear ringin' for 2 days. My amigo to right of "Le Cannon" ended up with a perforated eardrum.:eek:

Sucks when yer not alert.:(
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Sako 85 Finnlight, 7mm-08 at 2.8 kg (6.17 pounds)
Find a nice Leupold VX-II 2-7 ultralight at 8.2 oz.
Should be more or less in the upper end of your price range.
 
Bigborefan,

First off, let me congratulate you on still being out hunting at 79. I hope I make it that far, never mind still be out hunting. I also like big rifles and will put up with a bit of weight to keep the recoil down. On flat ground it doesn't make much difference, because you could stroll around on flat ground with a loaded pack and that doesn't matter either.

Having said that, mountain hunting is a completely different game. Its not about taking a pound or so off a rifle, its about taking every ounce off of everything you own and still debating whether you need it at all. Guys try to lighten their hunting knives, never mind their rifles. They will agonize over the absolute minimum of spare ammo that they will carry. The spork was invented by someone who wasn't going to carry both a spoon and a fork up a mountain. Never mind that the rear sight on your rifle weighs more than the spoon he doesn't need. He threw away his iron sights a long time ago. Then there's the age-old question "do chocolate bars really need wrappers?" Labels in underwear have to go. Did I mention that they don't put oxygen in the air? They don't.

I got my rude awakening, but before that I probably said some of the same things you are.
 
Labels in underwear have to go
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I guess I need new glasses .. when I first glanced at this I thought it said "ladies in underwear have to go" and I was nodding my head! (although thongs are ok!!)
 
Dogleg said:
Bigborefan,

First off, let me congratulate you on still being out hunting at 79. I hope I make it that far, never mind still be out hunting. I also like big rifles and will put up with a bit of weight to keep the recoil down. On flat ground it doesn't make much difference, because you could stroll around on flat ground with a loaded pack and that doesn't matter either.

Having said that, mountain hunting is a completely different game. Its not about taking a pound or so off a rifle, its about taking every ounce off of everything you own and still debating whether you need it at all. Guys try to lighten their hunting knives, never mind their rifles. They will agonize over the absolute minimum of spare ammo that they will carry. The spork was invented by someone who wasn't going to carry both a spoon and a fork up a mountain. Never mind that the rear sight on your rifle weighs more than the spoon he doesn't need. He threw away his iron sights a long time ago. Then there's the age-old question "do chocolate bars really need wrappers?" Labels in underwear have to go. Did I mention that they don't put oxygen in the air? They don't.

I got my rude awakening, but before that I probably said some of the same things you are.
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Indeed, I've climbed to 20,000 feet and by half that, you're wondering why you're carrying a leatherman. Or three pairs of socks. Grams are felt when it gets down to it, even at just 7,000 feet scrambling off the trails chasing sheep. Hunting is a lot different than hiking and backpacking, as you're going where the animals go, not keeping to a path. This said 79 is no roadblock and I salute you, family member just turned 80 and he still alpine skis. Rifle wise, best lightweight package I know well enough to be able to recommend is the .308 Kimber Mountain Ascent.

http://www.morrisonarms.com/2013/07/the-kimber-mountain-ascent-the-lightest-production-rifle/
 
sharpsway said:
Exactly this. Light weight, small, low scout mount so your glass won't get caught in grass, integral bipod, and still packs the punch of a .308, accurately too.
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In the mountains, that's not a heavy rifle, that's a lead sled pig of a rifle at the better part of 7lbs. Mountain rifles in my mind begin in the 5lbs bracket, gotta be sub 6. Sure, it can be heavier, I've carried a 10 1/2lb .375 to 10,000', but he's 79 and shaving ounces. I must admit while bravado makes me smile for a pic of holding a .375 Safari rifle up there, I would have killed for a 4 3/4lb mountain rig at the time. Even the strongest, fittest hunter goes higher, travels further, and gets more opportunities the lighter he is.
 
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