Light Weight Rifle

[mullthing]

Looking for lightweight rifle larger than 243 up to 27O caliber. Any thoughts or opinions on this topic?

At this point I'm most interested in 270 in 22" barrel.

Thanks.

[Bzcraig]

That fits the bill for something from just about every manufacturer. How much you looking to spend? Do you want opinions or experience? Really need more info.

[mullthing]

Looking at gun Budget of $900. Looking for opinions and or experience. I favor Browning, Remington and Weatherby, but open to other suggestions.

[Mk42gunner]

Depends on what you are planning on using it for, and what you are planning to shoot through it. Whitetails and jacketed, it is pretty hard to beat a .25-06.

Paper targets about anything can be made to work.

Robert

[Buck Neck It]

Featherweight profile barrels have never worked for me. Shave weight off the stock or action, but not the barrel. If you are climbing hills, shaving weight off your gut is the best option.

[JonnyReb]

May not be quite what your looking for but i have to say i'm very impressed with my savage Axis in .308. Very lightweight and handy to carry..has been 100% reliable and is VERY accurate for such an inexpensive gun. The pencil barrel does string shots after 5 or so back to back shots on a target but is dead nutz for the first 3 or so. Total for the rifle and 3x9 Minox scope was about 550.00. Can't barely beat it for the cost.

[nekshot]

I hear you loud and clear! Any time I lift over 15 lbs I pay for it with severe pain so I travel lite. Factory lite weights are a savage 200 in 7-08 with the plastic stock(yes you can bend the fore end but it shoots 1 inch moa so who cares), I did have a early browning lever in 358 and that was too lite, any of the economy H&R's. I have a few military rifles that I reworked and got the weight with scope to 7 lbs or so. If I was looking for a real lite gun I would try find one of those Melvin Forbes models(I think he produced 30-06 in a 5 and1/2 lb model).

[Lead Fred]

Tika Lite

Had one in 300WM, great shooter, arm breaker.
Wont have that problem with a 270 or smaller

[flounderman]

I have multiple rifles in most calibers and have hunted with most of the calibers. The last few years, I have a 722 action with either a mountain rifle or model 7, short light 260 Remington barrel on and I stocked it myself. The rifle is short, light, accurate, and low recoil, and very few deer have walked away that I shot at in the years since I built it. Running, standing, next zip code, it doesn't seem to matter. In over 60 years of hunting, this is my favorite. I have made some shots with a 270, but you have more recoil with it. A Remington Mountain Rifle or a Model 7, in .260, and use the 120, or 129 grain 6.5 bullets and you will never be sorry.

[MarkP]

Remington M SEVEN KS's are 5-3/4 lbs probably going to be more than $900. A SS M SEVEN with a different stock would be a very nice light weight durable rifle and in the $900 range ($600/650 for rifle + stock). The factory stock that these came with are not too bad, injection molded with a rough texture. Another option look for a used Kimber 84 Montana they will be around $900. I found a M 84 Mont in 243 at the LGS for $675 ish 4 years ago. These are a scaled down Win M-70 Pre 64 type action; stainless steel, claw extractor, 3 position safety and very light in the lower 5 lb range depending on caliber with 243s being the heaviest.
Remington M SEVEN FS is very similar to the KS they were production guns and did not come out of the Custom Shop and are less money but difficult to find, they only made these for a few years. They will have the leaf camo stock with a squared pistol grip on the stock the KS's will have a round pistol grip.

The top rifle in my Avatar is a SS M SEVEN with and HS Precision stock 6-1/8 lbs with scope, the lower two are KS's.

[Mtnfolk75]

I will 2nd the Savage Axis, mine is a Stainless/Synthetic Axis II in .223. The Savage site shows the weights at 7 lbs for all calibers in the Axis II. Mine is extremely light in hand and will outshoot the Tuned Howa 1500 .223 that I had previously. MOA for at least the 1st 3-5 like was stated previously. FWIW, I'm going to stalk Bambi with mine due an old shoulder injury. Working up loads now with the Barnes 50 & 53 Grain TSX bullets, so far the 53 is winning ..... :Fire:

[Tenbender]

I have a Ruger Ultra Light MKll in 308. 20" barrel. Walnut stock . Weighs 6lb's . Has a 3X9 Bausch & Lomb scope and a Timney trigger. Like new. $875.00 . I just don't need it.

[pworley1]

I really like the Model Sevens.

[pull the trigger]

Tikka t3 in 260 or 6.5x55. Fantastic trigger, very light andshoots very tight groups. My 308 tikka is lighter and kicks less than my 308 encore. Buddy of mine loves his too

[rollmyown]

Another vote for the T3 Tikka. Very accurate and great quality for a low cost rifle

[fast ronnie]

What about a winchester model 70 in .270?

[tdoyka]

i have a ruger #1 in 270. i never checked the weight, probably 8lbs or so. i had a bunch of featherweight guns, i sold them all, but one i have is a remington model 7 in 7mm-08.

[StrawHat]

Here is a Savage I like, the Lightweight Hunter. 5 1/2 pounds and available in several cartridges that fit your criteria.

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/11LH

Barrel is only 20" long but not hard to swap out.

Kevin

[Wayne R. Scott]

CZ 550FS in 6.5x55.

http://cz-usa.com/product/cz-550-fs-6-5-x-55-adj-5-rd-fixed-mag/

[UBER7MM]

I'm thinking Savage Axis. I've heard good things about them. Low price and accurate. Come in a vast selection of calibers:

http://www.savagearms.com/firearms/model/axis

22-250 REM
223 REM
243 WIN
25-06 REM
270 WIN
7MM-08 REM
308 WIN
30-06 SPFLD


You could buy a really nice scope with all the money you saved on the rifle.

Just a thought....

[warboar_21]

My vote is for the Remington Model 7 or Tikka T3 Lite.

The model 7 is a short action so you wouldn't get the 270Win but the 7mm-08 would be comparable. The Tikka can be had in long or short actions.
My brother picked up a Tikka T3 Lite in 7mm-08 for his son. The gun is super accurate and mild recoiling, even for a lightweight rifle.

[oldcanadice]

The Tikka T3 action only comes in one length. The cartridge differences are in the bolt stop and magazine fillers. I changed my 308 middle-length bolt stop to the long bolt stop and use 06 magazines so I can seat long bullets far out in the 308. Works fine.

[CHeatermk3]

Ruger #1 Alexander Henry.

[country gent]

A light short actioned rifle in 7mm-08 might be an option also. The cartridge provides ample performance can be formed easily from plentiful 308 brass. Choice of actual rifle is up to you.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got a 308 Kimber montana. Its got a 22 inch barrel and is still a good 1/2 lb lighter then my model 7 with an 18 inch barrel. It was a bit finicky but I did find a moa load for it. I bought it used for 800 bucks so if you shop around you can probably get in under your budget. My model 7 was a bit finicky too but it too eventually shot a load well. and ive owned 4 ultra light rugers 2 257roberts guns a 270, and a 250sav. Only one I got to shoot under 1.5 at a 100 yards (my cut off for keeping a gun or dumping it) The other 3 shot like ****. Ive bought two savage axis rifles for grandkids. I don't think id really consider them light weight guns and there but ugly but they do shoot well. If you go that route make sure you factor in for the cost of a new trigger cause your going to need one.

[NVScouter]

The Savage Axis aren't good quality.

I just bought two more Ruger Americans a compact Ranchland in .223 and the Preditor in 6.5 Creedmore. Impressed with both! The .223 with a 3-9 Vortex is doing .8" groups and only has 30 rounds through it. That was 65g Sierra Gameking over Benchmark max load.

The 6.5 I got on steel centered at 150y and zapped prairie dogs out to 300y with Winchester factory 140g ammo. Just got my dies today but I'm impressed!!

I think that 6.5CM would meet your needs nicely

[osteodoc08]

Savage light weight hunter
Kimber Montana
Remington Mountain
Tikka Lite

[snowwolfe]

Another vote for a Tika. I been reading everything I see about them and 99.9% is positive and they shoot fantastic. If I ever buy another rifle it will be a Tika.

[dk17hmr]

How much do you want to spend? And how lightweight do you want?
None of these are for sale but to give you an idea on weights and prices.....

I have a Remington model 7 Kevlar in 308 Winchester that weighs in at 6 pounds 8oz with a straight 6x Leupold, I could probably get it closer to 6 pounds flat if I switched out the scope mount. I paid $550 for this one with the scope.

My Remington 700 280 mountain rifle that weighs in at 7 pounds 11oz with a Redfield 2-7x. I paid $400 for this one and another $150 for the scope and it's my favorite hunting rifle.

My Remington 700 30-06 adl synthetic stainless with a 2.5-10x scope on it that weighs in at 7 pounds 13oz. I bought this brand new for $450 than put a $300 scope on it.

My Ruger 77 Hawkeye in 6.8spc weighs in at 7 pounds 3 oz with a 2-7x Nikon on it. This are kind of tough to get in this caliber but they are worth it. They cost between $550 & $700 if you find them and than another $200 for the scope.

My Kimber 8400 300wsm with a 3-9x Leupold on top weighs in at 7 pounds 14 oz. I made a trade for this rifle but new they run close to $1000 and I put a $400 scope on it.

All of these rifles are at least 1.5" rifles and in my mind ideal hunting rifles for where I live. When I am in the mountains weight matters to me and am always looking for something lighter to pack around. I have been eyeing the Kimbers in 280 ackley improved for a while and might in the future own one and call it a day on the searching for the next lightweight hunting rifle.

[jlchucker]

I have a Winchester M70 compact model in 7mm-08 that I'd never part with. I bought it used (very little from all appearances), and figured that it was traded to my gunshop because the previous owner was having trouble making it group well. It was going to be his wife's deer rifle. I bought it, and noticed the "flier" problem. My gunsmith buddy found a slight tight spot in the barrel channel, floated it, and now it's my favorite scoped deer rifle. That having been said, though--now that I'm fading into geezerhood, I'll probably be carrying my straight-gripped Marlin 35 Remington until that scope becomes a must.

[Herb in Pa]

141045141046I've got a Kimber Montana in 243 Winchester, with the Kevlar stock and pencil barrel it's a really light rig. I just wanted a walking varminteer for long range groundhog shootin. Load development was so simple it was unreal. I loaded some 60 Grain Bergers behind Varget in 1/2 grain increments. The low end shot into .348" center to center and the upper load went into .264" center to center. I only shot 3 shot groups with that skinny barrel, but plenty accurate to get the job done...........

[Mr Peabody]

Look around for a Browning A bolt in 6.5 Creedmoor. Mines got a light 22 inch barrel and a synthetic stock. Scoped and loaded it's a 7 1/2 pound rifle and very nice to shoot.

[Mauser48]

I would say a tikka or a ruger m77 in 7mm-08. Kimbers are very nice too but a little out of budget.

[Lloyd Smale]

picked mine up used but like new for 800 with a vx2 2x7 leupold. You aren't going to get into a new ruger or Remington for any less then that.
I would say a tikka or a ruger m77 in 7mm-08. Kimbers are very nice too but a little out of budget.

[rbertalotto]

Check out an article I wrote about the desire for the same thing and what I ended up building.

In the search box put VAC for an article on the VAC Rifle I built

www.rvbprecision.com (http://www.rvbprecision.com)

[Groo]

Groo here
The trick with light barrels is to get them "short" enough .
The shorter a barrel the stiffer , and the less whip. [ bench rest shooters found this long ago]
I have and recommend a Ruger 77 compact [ mine is the fronter] 16 1/2 in barrel .
The gun is light [ 6lb] short 3ft, and can be had in SS.
Controled feed,and 3 position safety.

[bdicki]

I managed to pick up 2 first generation Remington 700 ti rifles before the prices went crazy, $800 each. A 308 that weighs 5.25 pounds and a 30-06 that weighs 5.5 pounds. They both shoot good enough for hunting rifles and the recoil isn't as bad as was expected. My wife confiscated the 308 and left me with the 30-06, that suits me just fine. If I didn't have those I would go for the Kimber. I really like the Kimber mountain ascent. It's a little pricey though.

[Lloyd Smale]

ive got one of those in the pretty rare 250 sav chambering. they didn't make many. I think back in the day I payed 250 bucks for it brand new and wouldn't part with it for a grand right now.
I have a Winchester M70 compact model in 7mm-08 that I'd never part with. I bought it used (very little from all appearances), and figured that it was traded to my gunshop because the previous owner was having trouble making it group well. It was going to be his wife's deer rifle. I bought it, and noticed the "flier" problem. My gunsmith buddy found a slight tight spot in the barrel channel, floated it, and now it's my favorite scoped deer rifle. That having been said, though--now that I'm fading into geezerhood, I'll probably be carrying my straight-gripped Marlin 35 Remington until that scope becomes a must.

[TXGunNut]

Liking what I hear about the Ruger Americans but for a little more can get a good used Ruger M77 or Winchester M70 and still have room left in your budget for decent glass. I concur with the votes for a Remington M7 or M788 but don't have personal experience with them.

[BD]

For bullets, the Tikka in .270WSM, or the Sako Finnlite if you have the scratch. The load seems to be the 140 grain Barnes TSX over Magpro for between 3100 and 3200 fps. Works on everything from whitetails to Elk, and it's so much lighter than my .270 WBY Mk IV that I don't want to talk about it. There's three of these at hunting camp these days, and they're all 1/2 moa at 200 yards with about an hour of load work. I have twice the money and four times the time getting there with the WBY, and it's a good three pounds heavier. Of course I started into it 20 years earlier. But if I was gonna do it again tomorrow? no question it would be the Sako or Tikka in .270 WSM.