The Accurate Reloading Forums
Do you have a favorite light weight rifle?
19 August 2023, 03:47
dogcatDo you have a favorite light weight rifle?
If so, what do you like?
19 August 2023, 03:57
HasherI have 3 favorites.
275 Rigby AI in a Bansner stock. Accurate and a hammer.
Steyr Scout in 308. Light handy GP rifle.
A Dan Dowling built 257 Roberts AI in a McMillan smear camo stock.
DRSS
Kreighoff 470 NE
Valmet 412 30/06 & 9.3x74R
19 August 2023, 04:21
HipshootOOOH! My pinky is up while I drink my tea!
7x57 AI
Hip
19 August 2023, 05:19
Mike_DettorreKimber 308 win, Ruger American 308 win, Tikka T3 Superlite re-chmabered to 284 win.
MikeLegistine actu quod scripsi?
Never under estimate the internet community's ability to reply to your post with their personal rant about their tangentially related, single occurrence issue.
What I have learned on AR, since 2001:
1. The proper answer to: Where is the best place in town to get a steak dinner? is…You should go to Mel's Diner and get the fried chicken.
2. Big game animals can tell the difference between .015 of an inch in diameter, 15 grains of bullet weight, and 150 fps.
3. There is a difference in the performance of two identical projectiles launched at the same velocity if they came from different cartridges.
4. While a double rifle is the perfect DGR, every 375HH bolt gun needs to be modified to carry at least 5 down.
5. While a floor plate and detachable box magazine both use a mechanical latch, only the floor plate latch is reliable. Disregard the fact that every modern military rifle uses a detachable box magazine.
6. The Remington 700 is unreliable regardless of the fact it is the basis of the USMC M40 sniper rifle for 40+ years with no changes to the receiver or extractor and is the choice of more military and law enforcement sniper units than any other rifle.
7. PF actions are not suitable for a DGR and it is irrelevant that the M1, M14, M16, & AK47 which were designed for hunting men that can shoot back are all PF actions.
8. 95 deg F in Africa is different than 95 deg F in TX or CA and that is why you must worry about ammunition temperature in Africa (even though most safaris take place in winter) but not in TX or in CA.
9. The size of a ding in a gun's finish doesn't matter, what matters is whether it’s a safe ding or not.
10. 1 in a row is a trend, 2 in a row is statistically significant, and 3 in a row is an irrefutable fact.
11. Never buy a WSM or RCM cartridge for a safari rifle or your go to rifle in the USA because if they lose your ammo you can't find replacement ammo but don't worry 280 Rem, 338-06, 35 Whelen, and all Weatherby cartridges abound in Africa and back country stores.
12. A well hit animal can run 75 yds. in the open and suddenly drop with no initial blood trail, but the one I shot from 200 yds. away that ran 10 yds. and disappeared into a thicket and was not found was lost because the bullet penciled thru. I am 100% certain of this even though I have no physical evidence.
13. A 300 Win Mag is a 500 yard elk cartridge but a 308 Win is not a 300 yard elk cartridge even though the same bullet is travelling at the same velocity at those respective distances.
19 August 2023, 05:58
hivelositySako 222 Follows me everywhere.
19 August 2023, 07:01
clayman216Remington Model Seven 308
Winchester Model 70 AW 308
Ultimate in light weight Merkel K3 308
19 August 2023, 07:25
Jerry Fisk7x57 model 10 Dakota
K95 6.5 creedmore
19 August 2023, 08:49
Sagebrush BurnsWinchester M-70 Featherweight Classic (controlled feed), 270 Winchester, Leupold VX-3 2 1/2-8 scope.
19 August 2023, 09:08
WstrnhuntrTough call. 257 AI, 280 Remington, 300 Savage. Kind of like picking a favorite kid.
AK-47
The only Communist Idea that Liberals don't like.
19 August 2023, 09:08
waterratKimber Montana 308, nice rig to have when a wolf may pop up anytime,,,
I tend to use more than enough gun
19 August 2023, 09:40
ColoradoMattWin M70 Classic compact 308. Ruger 10-22
Matt
FISH!!
Heed the words of Winston Smith in Orwell's 1984:
"Every record has been destroyed or falsified, every book rewritten, every picture has been repainted, every statue and street building has been renamed, every date has been altered. And the process is continuing day by day and minute by minute. History has stopped. Nothing exists except an endless present in which the Party is always right."
19 August 2023, 20:01
LawdogModel 1903 Mannlicher Schoenauer 6.5X54.
Steyr Scout .308
"Suppose you were an idiot and suppose you were a member of Congress. But I repeat myself."
Mark Twain
19 August 2023, 20:23
phurley5My favorite lightweight rifle is the Model 70 Winchester Featherweight Limited Edition I have four in .270 WSM that I shoot along with my son and grandsons. Very accurate and serviceable. The chambering ideal for Deer or I have taken Elk. Good Shooting
phurley
19 August 2023, 20:59
SkylineI have three favourite light weights. One is built on a mauser action and chambered in .308 Norm Mag. The other is a stainless CRF model 70 in .338 WM, and the third is a Dakota 76 in .330 Dakota.
______________________________________________
The power of accurate observation is frequently called cynicism by those who are bereft of that gift.
19 August 2023, 21:17
AtkinsonSeveral: 1903 MS 6.5x54; pre 64 fwt Mod 70 in .270; Savage 99F in .308 and 250-3000; jp Sauers in 8x57 and 30-06 and last but not least the the Win 94 carbine in 25-35 to name a few, but that happens with age, heavy guns loose their interest at about 80 years old best I recall..
The last couple of years Ive been using the 130 gr.TTSX in my Savage 99, 308 for deer, nice bullet, fast and furious.
I forgot to mention my RJ Renner 7x57, Ive used it in Africa CAnada and mosty for deer and elk in Idaho. Probably my favorite if push comes to shove!!!
Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120
rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
19 August 2023, 22:02
BiebsRoss, try to find one to try for a bit. Myself, I hate lightweight rifles. I don't shoot them near as well.
19 August 2023, 22:44
chuck375What do we consider a light weight rifle? I have a Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby that weighs 7.5 lbs with Leupold 2-7x Firedot scope on it unloaded and without sling. Does that qualify? I've seen rifles that weigh under 6 lbs. In any caliber besides a 243 or a 257 Roberts I think I'd pass on a rifle that light.
Regards,
Chuck
"There's a saying in prize fighting, everyone's got a plan until they get hit"
Michael Douglas "The Ghost And The Darkness"
20 August 2023, 20:48
buckeyeshooterIf I need a scope on it, a remington 600 in .308. If I do not, a winchester 1895 carbine in 30-06 or a winchester 94 30-30.
20 August 2023, 20:59
.458 OnlyI've a Tikka T3 Lite in 9.3 x 62 that totes light but shoots heavy. My 2nd favorite rifle for the past dozen years.
Another "light-n-handy" acquired in 2022 is a single-shot Traditions G3 in .35 Whelen, which likewise totes light but shoots heavy.
Both were under 7 lbs out of their boxes. With 3 - 9 x 40mm scopes, they are still under 8 lbs ready to hunt anything.
Bob
www.bigbores.ca
"Let every created thing give praise to the LORD, for he issued his command, and they came into being" - King David, Psalm 148 (NLT)
K95 30-06, been all over the world with me
FN Mauser with very trim Robert Mason stock. Chambered in 6.5-06 with 3x9x36 Swarovski.
21 August 2023, 03:26
FjoldRuger No. 1 International in 7x57
Frank
"I don't know what there is about buffalo that frightens me so.....He looks like he hates you personally. He looks like you owe him money."
- Robert Ruark, Horn of the Hunter, 1953
NRA Life, SAF Life, CRPA Life, DRSS lite
21 August 2023, 04:29
richjIs lightweight < 7lb?
Zastava Charles Daly - mini mauser in 7mmBR 3-9 scope. 6 - 14
Real shortened Mauser in 250-3000 - peep. 6 - 6
21 August 2023, 07:13
sambarman338I've got a plastic Tikka T3 in 270WSM that's light but the most accurate rifle I've owned. It looks ugly and the fore-end seems overly flexible but it still shoots reliably. When weight is not an issue it wears a bi-pod, which steadies it a bit for off-hand shots.
Also, having gone into time-on, I now use a Zastava 9.3x62 for sambar hunting. I shaved off the comb roll-over and other unnecessary wood and installed an old Nickel 2.5x21 scope. Ready to use in a moment with a broad 'Safari sling', I can hardly feel the weight on my shoulder.
21 August 2023, 10:14
CougarzMy favorite which I stupidly sold due to a divorce (what else) many years ago was a Husqvarna lightweight in .30-06 with a twenty inch barrel. Before putting a scope on it hardly weighed more than a Winchester model 94. I don’t remember the model number. I hiked a lot of mountains and shot a lot of game with that rifle. I miss it to this day.
Roger
___________________________
I'm a trophy hunter - until something better comes along.
*we band of 45-70ers*
21 August 2023, 15:29
fjrdocMy 1905 Mannlicher stutzen in 9x56 with Lyman aperture sight. Weighs in at 6.5 pounds.
21 August 2023, 21:51
MD375Barrett Fieldcraft
22 August 2023, 05:30
GoWyoNo, but I have lots of favorite rifles.
Damn right its loaded, it makes a lousy club. -JW
22 August 2023, 21:17
AtkinsonIn my youth too almost old I liked the 9 to 10 lb mod 70 pre 64 Win or long tubed heavy Mod 98 Mausers as they settled down faster on snap shots, or off hand and especially when out of breath, BUT, as I've aged, I get the same effect with a 6.5 lb Renner special or mod 70 fwt or such, as will most hunters of experience I suspect.
Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120
rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
23 August 2023, 00:53
phurley5I shoot two sweet Browning A-Bolts that are indeed light and handy around the woods. One in 25 wssm and the other in 243 wssm, my great grandson has declared the 25 his and it will be someday. Both have 4.5X14 Ziess Conquests mounted on them. They have accounted for Deer for us. Good Shooting.
phurley
23 August 2023, 02:48
eagle27With accessories in common use today it can be difficult to define a lightweight rifle. Obviously if you start out with a heavy rifle 'in the white' as it were then add on accessories then you will not have a lightweight rig but even if starting out with a lightweight bare rifle, by the time a scope, suppressor and bipod are added, your lightweight suddenly isn't so light.
A good example is my Browning X-Bolt 7mm WSM with a 22" barrel and nice rigid composite stock, bare at 6.5lb but likely a brute to shoot for sharp recoil and noise. Dressed with a Leupold VX3 scope, a bipod, and a suppressor that cuts recoil by 50% and noise to that of a 22 Magnum RF the rifle tops out at 9.5lb.
This type of rig is the norm among active shooters here in NZ now rather than the exception. Would only be the old diehards who don't/won't use a suppressor, I'm 72, my hearing is shot but I'm a convert, the recoil reduction aspect being a real boon to accurate shooting
Browning X-Bolt 6.5lb to 9.5lb with accessories.
23 August 2023, 05:03
Brandon.GleasonTagging along to see what everyone else is shooting.
Just ordered a Christensen Ridgeline .308 with a 20" barrel. The remainder of my well equipped hunting rifles are touching or exceeding 10lbs. Looking to outfit something for black bear on Kuiu Island next fall and run suppressed for whitetail elsewhere while keeping a reasonable OAL.
23 August 2023, 08:57
RR 314I have a .257 STW with CF barrel and Mark Bansner stock built by Tip Burns and it is one of my favorite rifles all around.
23 August 2023, 12:39
Saeed243 Ackley home built!
23 August 2023, 23:34
Michael RobinsonI have several rifles weighing from 6 to 7 lbs. and I do like them all.
They range in caliber from .300 RUM (Christensen) to .22 Long Rifle.
The lightest rifle that I own, at 6 lbs. even, is a Marlin Model 93 sporting carbine in .30-30 caliber.
I'm not necessarily saying that it's my favorite, but it handles and shoots like a magic wand!
Mike
Wilderness is my cathedral, and hunting is my prayer.
24 August 2023, 00:23
Joe DeanHusqvarna 1600H or 456
25 August 2023, 21:59
AtkinsonThe new Ruger 77 Hawkeye ultra-light stainless steel, composite slim stock in 6.5 Creedmoor at 6.5 lbs looks nice, so I ordered one yesterday. Also Win 70 fwt came out in a creedmoor also, nice gun but at $1100 the 866. Ruger got my bid for an inclimate weather rifle.
Almost impossible to find a bolt action 250-3000, but the Creedmoor seems to be close enough for the average deer..
Ray Atkinson
Atkinson Hunting Adventures
10 Ward Lane,
Filer, Idaho, 83328
208-731-4120
rayatkinsonhunting@gmail.com
26 August 2023, 05:30
HasherRay
I lucked into a Ruger 77 international a number of years back for a crazy low price
I topped it with a Luepold 2-7x33.
I have no idea what it weight but it’s trim, handy and a pleasure to tote around.
Did I mention it’s also a whitetail hammer if you do t stretch the range?
DRSS
Kreighoff 470 NE
Valmet 412 30/06 & 9.3x74R
26 August 2023, 09:55
BoxheadYes, most all are. I just picked up my 416 Rem M70 from Karl Fampfeld's shop nearby after a barrel flute and Cerakote job. With the McM stock I used it lost just shy of 8 oz in weight from the factory walnut stock and as you know factory Win large bore barrels are heavy. It feels great now and I am guessing maybe a bit under 8# 8 Oz with steel bases. It was 8# 13.5 oz prior to the fluting.
27 August 2023, 04:09
dogcatGreat set up! Easy carry, likely a bit of recoil. Need to see that on a 100 mile ele hike and hunt.