I�m closing in on choosing a light weight mt. gun for eastern whitetail. Mostly shooting under 150 yards. I've decided on 7mm08 or 308. Has anybody got in any experience with, or informed thoughts on my final three?

Rem. 700 Titanium
Lightest and priciest of the three, longest barrel at the wt. I've always had good Remington's.

Tikka T3 Lt. Stainless
SS and cheaper. I've never owned one but they get good reviews and the ones I've seen seem high quality.

A-bolt Stainless Stalker
I love Browning A-bolts. My favorite carry deer rifle for 20 years was an A-bolt Stainless Stalker in 30'06. But at under 7 lb.s loaded, with heavy loads and at longer ranges, the recoil interferred with accurate shooting...
and loosened teeth.

I like the .308 caliber gun..I believe 30 calibers and up leave better blood trails for one thing and the .308 has a reputation for accuracy for another, however it may not be much different in recoil, but I consider the 06 and such all light recoiling rifles..I guess because I shoot so many larger calibers such as the 404 and 470.

Since you say you like a couple of those rifles your almost home. Of those three I would go with the titanium Remington only because it's kind of special and if it needs help at least your investing in a unique action.



I have just got into lightweights myself and I favor the Kimber 84M's. These little Kimbers may seem pricey at first but when one add's up the features it turns out they are ready to go out of the box. On the intrinsic side the Kimbers have the look and feel of machinery to me and made in the USA is more than a plus.



Of the four I would get a Kimber 84 Montana in 260 Remington and shoot the 125 gr Partition or the 120 Ballistic tip. Such a rifle will weigh 5 lbs., 3 oz. with a 22" barrel.

Browning Abolt Stainless Stalker 7mm08. Or, if you don't mind a wood stock and blued barrel, the Abolt Micro Hunter is a sweet little rifle. If you don't believe it, ask my Dad. I bought him the Micro in 7mm08 and he wouldn't part with it "for any price" (his quote)

None of the above, and...I'll second the Kimber recommendation.... I own a Montana and its about as perfect out of the box rifle as you will ever buy. Mine is a 7-08 and there is nothing wrong with a .308 either. If you shoot quality bullets you won't recover many of eihter caliber...

Whichever fits you the best. 260, 7mm-08, or 308 doesn't matter, all are excellent choices. I love the kimbers, but their stocks do not even come close to fitting me. Probably a good thing - I'd be broke trying to buy a bunch of them.

Browning made a a walnut-stocked A-bolt a while back that had a monte carlo style stock that I found very comfortable - I don't see them around anymore though...

Good luck.

I'm a 6.5, 7-08, 308, 30-06 guy. I'm also a rem guy. I'm also a lazy guy. That said If your not realy into reloading, buy a 308. I can buy, and practice with, milsurp ammo ($.17 each), cheaper than I can reload. This stuff shoots well and encourages a lot of practice. Just my $.02. capt david

What mountains do you have to climb?

It isn't like you'l find one of these but a few years ago I had arthritis quite bad. Don't spell well either. At any rate, I needed a light weight gun the wouldn't punish me. Ended with a Browning Low Wall in 260. Its a pleasent gun to carry, has little recoil and does alright with deer.

I hunt some in Pulaski (my home), Bedford and Wythe Co.s in VA. The steepest place is a down-on-all-fours bluff that is real butt kicker.

hey holzauge,

i've got a brother in law who is pretty happy with his tikka t3 in .308... i've shot the thing off the hood of a pickup, and agree that it is a lot of rifle for the money... good trigger, smooth, sure operation, and for me, at least, it handles and shoots very well...

and i know that you listed your final 3 picks, but did you ever consider a savage 99??? i recently aquired one, and am very happy with it.... i have several times now shot fist sized groups with it to 75 yds or so, from field positions, and with factory iron sights... last wednesday i took it to a friends house, who has a good bench rest on a 100 yd firing point... my first 3 shot group off the bags was a triangle centered in the "10" ring with an outside measurement of < 1.5"... once again, this was with factory iron sights, and winchester 150 power point .300 savage ammo... this is a light handy rifle which would remain so even if scoped... and surely a great 250 yd hunting rifle..... john w

oh, and holzauge,

you didn't mention trying a model 70 classic featherweight... this is my pick of the mass produced bolt guns, far and away... i have had one now for 4 years, and it has proven itself over and over...

all of my hunting partners here at home, save one, were remington shooters, just like i used to be... the one exception was an older friend who has 2 pre 64 model 70s... all of them, including my friend with the pre 64s are now shooting m70 classic featherweights... and i just ordered my second one..... john w

Major C, A lot cheaper? I assume you must use Surplus brass, bullets and powder? capt david

Ruger No. 1A in 7X57mm, .270, or .30/'06!

Holzauge,

I dont' think you can go wrong with any of the three but I'll add my .02 worth.

I have the 700 Titanium in 7mm-08 and I love it. It has been very accurate out of the box and spits out the 140 grain Barnes TSX to less than .5 MOA @ 2889 fps.

Have a friend that has a Tikka (not SS) and likes it.

Several friends with regular A-Bolts and they all shoot good.

My brother bought the Kimber 84M in 7mm-08 last year and it is really nice. I would prefer the same in the Montana as I like the composite stocks.

I had the same decision to make last spring when I bought my Ti. Was looking at the 7mm08 and .308, I like that the 7mm-08 shoots a little flatter with the 140 grainer than the .308 with the 150 grainer....no big deal really. I also likes the Remington reputation for accuracy out of the box and my gun lives up to that rep and the Montana was not yet available. My next gun will be a Kimber though. The lightest gun in any make will be the .308 (barrel hole just a little bigger ).

johnw,
I like M.70's myself and have a couple. If I could get a stainless Featherlight I would.

For blacktail, I shoot a Dakota Model 97 Lightweight Hunter in 7-08. I would think it would be a great Whitetail rifle as well. If you look around, you might be able to find one in the $1,500 to $1,700 range.

Mike

Blacktrial,
I checked out the Light Hunter and it looked great, but it didn't make my final list. I decided for my purposes it was overkill in terms of the weight and price. I think I can buy this gun, tweak it and scope well while keeping the weight to no more than 6.25 lb. and the total price to about 25% less than the Light Hunter with the same scope.

I love to try hunting blacktail sometime just to see the country up there up close. 25 yr.s ago as a bachelor I toyed with moving to Bend OR just to be in the general region.

I have a Kimber 84 in 7-08 and absolutely love it. What a pleasure it is to look at and carry.

A friend of mine bought a 257 wby mag to go on a deer hunt. He has a bad back and can't handle anything with to much weight. I bought one also but would guess the weight to be around 6lbs.

I seem to have lost a posting. The short version is I shopped all the guns yesterday I was looking at but the Rem Ti which I couldn't find. The stainless Tikka is not available in 6.5x55 and I didn't like the Tikka or the Model 7 nearly as well as the stainless Kimber Montana. I really like the Montana. I also shopped and found out that 7mm08 is much more available than .260. Unless I find a Ti 700 and it's amazingly wonderful I'm going with the Kimber in 7mm08. Thanks guys for all the info and help.