Went to dinner with my smith last night and he let me know that yes, he has my #1 contour shilen match barrel in 308 but he has not yet done the action work. We were originally going to do a 300wsm but after more thought I'm not sure I want a 6lbs 300 magnum rilfe! Now I had always planned on using barnes 130s for this gun, and with a 63-65gr powder charge at 3400-3500fps this gives about 25lbs of recoil. Not bad, and with a brake no problems at all. However, now that I know the 700SA is still in 308 as far as magazine, rails and bolt face...I got to wondering about a different, milder caliber.

What do you guys think you would do, for a high country ultralight, cxp2 game, when you had to choose a 30 cal? 308 win, 300 savage, 300 RCM, wsm, saum??? I have never owned or had much interest in a 308 but, you can't argue with its track record, or the availability of extremely high quality brass and dies. It would also lend itself better to a shorter barrel, which saves weight again over any of the mags minus the rcm. I would still be going light on the 130-150gr range of bullets as I won't be hunting anything bigger then large mulies. I know the 300 savage is real close performance wise, and it would almost be cooler to have an older more obscure cartridge vs the old standard.

I'm not anti short mag at all, I have had several and will have more, its just that this might be excessive recoil for the given application.

I think 308w is plenty for 130gr bullets. With a 300mag i would use 200gr bullets.

I would go with the 308.

Then if you wanted to hunt bigger game you could use a 165/180gr premium bullet.

I have a 300 Weatherby M70 for bigger game

Sounds like a 308 with 130gr T-TSX's at near 3200 fps would fit your specs nicely. For elk or larger game you could move up to a 165gr Partition or 168 TSX.
Buy some Lapua brass and Varget, load up and head to the range. With the 308 you usually end up happy, it's an easy caliber to get to shoot well
We've shot the 308 130 TSX's in 308, 300 Saum and 300 WSM. I got the best groups out of the 308 but the SAUM shot them pretty well too. My freinds daughter is going to give the a go on Elk in her little Model 7 300 SAUM. We'll see how they do there.........................DJ

I would go with the .300 RSAUM. It will shoot up to .300WM energy if you want. You can load it down to .308, no problem. The Rsaum IMO is more accurate than the WSM. The RSAUM gives you more versatility than .308. I own 4 of them and short barrel, long barrel, heavy barrel or pencil barrel, they all shoot well. All are 1-10 twist.......Tom

I think you'd really like the 300 Savage in the rifle you are building. I built one on a Remington 700 SA and I think the 2.8" magazine is perfect for this cartridge. It really gives flexibility to do what you want. I had the rifle built for my son because I wanted a light rifle that didn't kick too hard, but now I wish it were my rifle.

We've loaded up 110 gr V-Max bullets for varmint, 130 hornadys and 130 Barnes for deer, and 180 Magtips for elk. It shoots all these bullets accurately and with plenty of velocity. Of course it isn't a 500 yard canyon burner, but it can get the job done and done well.

Doesn't the 300 Savage "really" belong in a Model 99?

Thanks guys! I doubt this gun would get used for elk, that's what my weatherby is for and it does juuuust fine

However, I think for cxp2 game the 308 is right up my alley. But I AM going to look hard at the 300 savage just for some "cool" factor. Did you guys see the savage anniversary model in 300 savage? 1800$ lol

I've been shooting my 308's a lot with the 130 gr TTSX's and I think it brings a new level of performance to the cartridge. It should be ideal, and it has to be one of the penultimate cartridges in terms of accuracy and available tools to load it with, i.e. special dies etc.

I am using the Forster bushing/bump die, don't have to lube the brass to size, and dadgone the rifles really are shooting well with the combo of this die,several different LR primers and varget or Win 748. I wouldn't hesitate to shoot an elk with it, but I have other calibers for that as well.

I am actually a WSM fan, but I don't think you need it or want it for your stated use, and I do think fooling around with your bolt and getting it to feed is a pain in the ass.

Let us know how you do--and Oh, I agree, the 300 Savage belongs in a model 99

My hunting buddy has a 308 vangard ulta light mid 80s rifle.He has used for horse pack trips with great succes.his favorite load is 150 nosler partion.

308 it is!

If building a 6 pound rifle and recoil is a concern, 308 is a great choice. Stick to 300 yard shots max.

300 RCM is magnum recoil.

I believe I understand the problem. Use 57mm brass, and call it a 300 Rigby.

quote:

Originally posted by MileHighShooter:
308 it is!

Good decision.

The only limitations I can think of are that PCB and how far you want to practice - but with a real Bullet.

A few year back I was looking for a light weight stalking rifle, to hunt mainly the thicker river bottoms of mty friends property. My initial requirements were very light, short, and enough oomph to slam a big hog in it's tracks.

Taking inventory of my loading components, as well as the local prices on factory ammo, I finially decided on .308 Win due to the abundance of my on hand stuff. I then checked out ever offering of off the shlef rifles and settled on the Ruger Compact. The litle thing is like an extension of your arm in the tight brush, and in the wide open using factory ammo has the accuracy and energy out to 400yds for easily taking a deer. Coming in at 6.5 pounds, fully loaded and ready to hit the field, it is topped with a Burris 1.5x6 Signature Electro Dot and is for the most part my go to rifle.

If the 16.5" barrel isn't you gig I might have been happy with up to an 18", but for the hunting I set out to do with it, the shorter of the two is perfect. If your looking for something to build on, as mentioned earlier the velocity isn't the killer, the accuracy is. Before you have it finished, I would at least head out and handle one of the little Rugers just to see how they fit. Go in with an open mind as they look like a kid's gun, but the fit and feel of them is WAY more than it initially appears.

Good luck on the build, I personally would go with the .308 and be happy. I already have late 30's model 88 in the Savage, but it is a heirloom and has been promoted to the top Queen spot in the safe.

I would go with the 300 Win Mag. And if posible
add a little weight. My 300 Win Mag weights 9 lbs.

quote:

it would almost be cooler to have an older more obscure cartridge vs the old standard.
.

30-40 Krag roger

I have a hs precision 300 wsm that started out 5.5 pounds and with scope and mounts runs over 7. Very handy in the mountains and you will never notice the recoil when hunting. The 8.5 pound model seventy has played backup.

quote:

Originally posted by wfh:
I have a hs precision 300 wsm that started out 5.5 pounds and with scope and mounts runs over 7. Very handy in the mountains and you will never notice the recoil when hunting.

I have gotten stiches in my head twice and noticed both times.

I don't see the need for such light guns. Carrying a rifle 1.0 - 1.5 pounds heavier makes no difference to me.

A 8 - 9 pound magnum rifle aims more stable, much more. Putting the bullet in the boiler room is what its all about.

quote:

Originally posted by wfh:
I have a hs precision 300 wsm that started out 5.5 pounds and with scope and mounts runs over 7. Very handy in the mountains and you will never notice the recoil when hunting.

Might be easier to buy lighter boots or even lose five pounds than to learn to enjoy shooting a seven pound 300 magnum.

I think you will be happy with the 308.

I have shot a lot of game with one, including some big pigs and black bear.

However my wife has killed Zebra, wildebest, and a giraffe with her 308.

It is one of my favorite calibres.

300 win mag wouldn't work as this is a short action, and adding weight would go against the idea of an ultralight lol.

I have carried rifles of several different weights, and at 9-11k ft elevation you notice the difference of a pound or two after many long miles. The less weight you carry the longer and harder you can comfortably hunt. I carried my bros 300 win this year cause I didn't have time to load develop my wby more. His howa weighs about 10lbs fully loaded, and it left a shore shoulder after an 8 mile hike. Lasy tear my 8lbs fully loaded m70 was a cinch. I'm a skinny bean pole, and in good shape so that's not the issue.

I like the ruger compacts and frontiers, handy lil rifles for sure. But, I already have this action at the gunsmith, and already have a shilen match barrel for it.

He is going to give making the stock a shot as he has an idea for a Kifaru type stock. Originally he was thinking 5.5lbs or so, and this was in the short mag with a longer barrel. Now we get to lose 4-6" of barrel and shed even more weight! This is going to be a very neat gun.

I don't own any WSM rifles but my go-to hunting rifle is a 6 lb 300 Win Mag Colt Light Rifle. I also shoot 130 gr Barnes but my load of W760 takes it up to 3600 fps (from the second manual and chrono'd). Recoil is no worse than my MK X 7 Mag but that has a lot to do with the quality of design of a New Ultralight Arms stock I put on it.

But a 308 is just as good cool.

If you are really serious about that six-pound weight - and it seems that you are - of the calibers you mentioned .308 for sure. Six pounds is a VERY light rifle, and arguing with physics is not a good use of time. Only two other words: Pachmayr Decellerator.

Tigger -
That was my original intention with the 300wsm, using 130ttsx, but I figured screw it, that means a longer barrel and likely a muzzle brake, all of which would add to the weight. Plus I also got to thinkking about all the extra work the smith would have to do to get it to feed and function right. Going 308 will let me use a shorter, lighter barrel and not give up too much in the ballistic ball park as a wsm/rcm/saum might. And no brake! With the stock he is designing for me (think kifaru) this gun might very well be sub-6lbs now.

I'm a big wsm fan, don't get me wrong. I have had a few and they all performed great. I only have a wssm in the arsenal now, as I don't really have a "need" in my line up for one...for now. Might end up picking one up as a back up elk rifle, we shall see.

I still intend to use the 130ttsx btw, in the 308

quote:

Originally posted by MileHighShooter:
I still intend to use the 130ttsx btw, in the 308

I don't think you will be disappointed. I have loaded them for my grandson who started out shooting my Ruger just before his 4th birthday. Of course the loads were reduced but they still dropped a feral hog in his tracks.

While I haven't run them up to full steam, they have done wonderfully starting out at 2650fps form the 16.5" tube. I have a pretty decent supply of factory that I normally shoot through it, for most hunting. Out to 400yds it has done the job well and I really never worked up anything that shot any better. Just never took time I guess.

Good luck with your build and post up some pic's when you get it done.