Good Hunting,

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Andy Cooper

I plan to stock it in a fiberglass Rimrock stock as soon as they fix their SA Win 70 mold (late spring)... total weight should come in at 7lbs. 14 oz's (give ore take)... that's light enough.

My smith here locally is nationally known for his lightweight mountain rifles. We were talking one day a few months back about rifle weights. After hunting sheep in AK with a very light, muzzle-light rifle, he's settled on a muzzle-heavy rifle with a weight of about 7 3/4 lbs (all-up) as an ideal compromise... enough weight in the muzzle (and all around) to "settle down" for the shot... that pretty well fits with my ideas, so of course, I liked what he had to say!

BA

McMillan Mtn Rifle Stock (Blue w/grey,blk gelcoat)
Rem 700SA(teflon-coated) in ADL repeater configuration
PacNor bbl SS 2.5 contour, 22.5", chambered in 7-08AI, 11 twist
Optics are Leupold 2.5X8 in DD mounts(lapped)
Whole pkge weighs in at 7lbs 15oz

Load is 140gr Part,BT or Hornady 139 Interlocks at 2950fps. H4350 powder

sure-shot

Brown Precison African walnut

270 in a Lilja tube (.67 at the muzzle)

2-8 Leo

"GET TO THE HILL"

Dog

A blueprinted Winchester M70 classic stainless short action, Pac-Nor stainless super match 23" #1 contour with 1-10 twist chambered to 284 Winchester throated to take advantage of the 3" magazine length. 0.610" at the muzzle. It looks quite heavy compared to the typical 1/2" light weight rifle barrel! Makes the rifle balance perfectly on the front guard screw, not butt heavy like the factory featherweights. All pillar bedded in a Bansner stock. We kept the factory trigger, perfectly adjusted to 2-1/4#. With a Swarovski AV 3-9X36 with 4a reticle in Conetrol mounts, it weighs just under 7#. It's steadier offhand that some 9# rifles I have.

1/2" groups are a matter of course for the rifle, I'm not always as good. I can't imagine a better sheep rifle. Actually, with 140 failsafes or XLC's, I can't imagine a better all-around rifle. I plan on hunting with it as my primary rifle for a very long time.

I still pack a Pre 64 Win. M-70 with a Custom stock in 300 H&H and it suits me fine at 9-3/4 lbs...I also have a Brno 22F in 7x57 and it probably weighs 9 Lbs. with scope and loaded...

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Ray Atkinson

ray@atkinsonhunting.com
atkinsonhunting.com

Here we go again.

Atkinson, I back you up.

It's better if the gunowner becomes lightweight than the rifle.

I like rifles with some weight "8-10 pounds" Loose the "funnypacks" you have around your waist and things will go much easier.

/ JOHAN

I did answer the question, but realized I mis-read it... I gave what I have, not what I think is the best.

What I think is best would be:

An all-stainless Model 70 with the featherweight bbl. contour (22") chambered in 270, stocked in fiberglass with a Leupold 2x7 on top (in light mounts)... nigh ideal.

BA

If I were going to buy a backup gun to the 700 described above, I would opt for the Remmington model Seven in .308.

My 2 cents....

I started backpacking seriously in 1975, and have since that time loggged thousands of miles with heavy packs, including one three-month stroll with a pack that went near 70 lbs at times and winter trips with a pack in excess of 75 to 80 lbs (I'm a glutton for punishment).

A rifle is a particular problem, as unlike weight in a pack that, if properly loaded, is bearing down through your body's center of gravity onto your hips and legs. A rifle is a fairly heavy piece (no matter the weight) that is generally carried away from your center of gravity (if not slung, and carried "at the ready" as it should be while hunting). It has to have enough weight to mitigate recoil and "settle down" for the shot, yet can't be so heavy as to be an undue burden. Everyone finds their "compromise weight" to accomodate thes conflicting needs. The old packer's axiom "one pound on your feet is like five on your back" is utterly true... I believe, more or less, the same holds nearly true for rifles.

Enjoyable backpacking is an excercise in reducing fatigue and discomfort in every way possible as backpacking is, by its very nature, fatiguing and uncomfortable! This usually means aquiring and using the lightest, best made, best-fitting, most comfortable gear possible... the rifle is no exception.

BA

So much of what passes in these forms is presented as gospel and applicable to all, when it's really a matter of personal taste, and in extreme cases, a tolerance for masochism. (RUM, Weatherby, Ectc.)I will make trip number 22 to Colorado for elk and mule deer this coming year. The discomforts and aches are part of the ritual, as much as campfires and the BS that crosses them. Wouldn't it be a godawful world, is somebody invented the perfect rifle, at the perfect weight, with the perfect calibur, firing the perfect bullet into the same hole every time. It's a world I wouldn't want to live in.

I just brought my new custom rifle home today. I had a M700 built into a 338-06AI with a 23.5" barrel and topped with a 2-8x Burris Signature. Fully loaded, this jem balances perfectly and tips the scale at 9.8lbs. Recoil is reminiscent of a 3" 12ga.

Now I don't claim to be superhuman, nor do I need a mountain rifle of this weight to counterbalance an excessively large head. But in my experience, any rifle is heavy at the end of the day. Regardless of elevation, fitness, etc, etc. I opted for the extra poundage for two reasons: First, I'm made several successful shots at big game while extreemly winded/fatigued. A heavy rifle helped make those shots possible. Second, balanced gun is easier to carry than an unbalanced gun of equal weight. Also, they are easier to shoot off hand or in awkward/spontaneous situations.

I've hunted high country before with heavier guns. And I don't feel as though the weight diminished my odds. Even so, I learned what my personal limits are and I think like most of you all, I've found something that fits me.

But in the light of all the 6.5-7.5lb discussion, I can't help but wonder, "am I crazy?"

quote:

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Originally posted by fredj338:
RogerK,
Try a business card folded once & place it under the front of the bbl. for a bit of upward pressure. Sometimes this helps w/ the thin bbls.
I like the M70 as a light weight rifle. If I didn't have the rifles I do, I would probably buy one in .330WSM & that would be my new mountain rifle.

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I tried pressure on the barrel. A little. A lot. It didn't help. Any other advice is too late. My new barrel should have been installed last week if the gunsmith is on schedule.

I do most of my hunting on my hind feet w/backpack. I've owned, built, bought swapped, etc a boatload of "mountain rifles" over the last 25 years.

My current project is a Rem 700 short action with a 21.5" bbl. in 338-08. The rifle is done now and weighs 5lb. 11 0z. w/Leo VX-II 2X7. The rifle is done but the dies won't be here 'til next week, then I'll start shootin'.

If anybody is interested, I'll post results as available.

Jim

I mounted a Matte Leupold Vari-XIII 2.5x8x36 on it and it shoots great and is easy to carry.

I hunt in New England. We have mountains here too but most of them have trees everywhere. This means that it's really hard to see more than 75 to 150 yards.

My favorites are my M99's in .358 Winchester. I may not carry the rifle all of the time in my hands while I am still hunting but it's most of the time. The scopes are Lyman 4X non permacenters with Weaver mounts. The rifles groups into about 1.5" at 100 yards with the 180 gr Speer flat nose.

I have shot whitetails running, walking, bedded and standing at all ranges from 20 feet to about 200 yards with one of these game getters. Such a rig weights 8 lbs full up. I like the featherweight bbls for running game.