Hey guys, am using my tax return to prioritize my guns and hunting for the year. Sending off some stuff this week and while talking to a friend yesterday was thinking about this...

I usually carry rifles that I'd guess weight 9lbs or more. (i.e. my 35 whelen is a 1917 rem with 26" douglas tube and long forearms 80's style stock with rollover etc.)

And although I can handle them I did make the mistake once of carrying my brother's win 70 featherweight. wow, that's nice.

Here's my question, where do they take the weight off at? is it that stock with the schnabel forend? I have a 03 springfield 30-06 that has a 22" barrel on it, the stock fits me great. I've been planning to have it duplicated to a better blank. but if the stock is where a lot of the weight comes off, is there a featherweight stock that's inletted for the springfield?

any other ideas on lightening it? I'd like one reasonably light rifle for local hunting.

Thanks gents.

Red

'Bout the only way you'll get the weight down in an '03 is a lighter barrel and like you say a "featherweight stock". I have one that's right at 8 3/4 lbs with scope (3x9 Leupold). I had the original barrel shortened to 22" and contoured to closely match a Winchester Featherweight. An original barrel for the '03 weighs 2lbs 13oz. The chop and recontour brings it down real close to 2 (+/-). I used a Gary Goudy style stock from GAG, plenty of wood to get rid of if you want.

I don't know the numbers, but I'm gonna guess that the '03 action is heavier than the Win.

According to Stuart Otteson in his book The Bolt Action (Xolume 1), the complete Model 70 action (standard weight) is heavier than the Springfield, while the complete Model 70 FW action is lighter. The difference is in the M70 FW magazine & floor-plate assembly.

On the M70 actioned FW the magazine and floorplate assembly weighs 6.3 ounces, while the standard weight action's magazine and floorplate assembly weighs 9.2 ounces.

The whole model 70 standard action and bolt weighs 45.2 ounces, while the FW weighs 42.6 ounces complete.

The Springfield '03 weighs 44.3 ounces complete.

That is for the all-milled Springfield. No weight is given for the 03-A3 Springfield, but with its stamped trigger guard and follower assembly, I'd bet it may be as light or lighter than the M70 FW.

I know no one would use the 03-A3 mag assembly for a custom, but if they procured an aluminum aftermarket triggerguard & floor-plate assembly for the Springfield, I suspect it surely could come out as light, or even lighter than, the Model 70 FW, given the same barrel contour and length.

I have (or rather Duane Weibe has right now) a Springfield which seems to weigh about the same as my pre-'64 Model 70 Winchester FWs in .243, .270, .308, .30-06, and .358, or maybe a hair less...and it has a 24" barrel.

I just weighed my pre 64 M70 std, 9 1/2 lbs, scoped.

Excellent info Alberta, thanks man. I definitely would stay with the 03 bottom metal, but if I could just whittle down the forend of the stock on mine it would take some weight off. The scope arrives this week for it, I'll put it all together and see what the weight is.

It would be great if a company had the featherweight pattern and could inlet it for any action type a person had. I envy these guys that have a hundred patterns to play with. And of course, the time to actually work on their projects.

Red

What do you guys think, if not a "finished stock" as the goal, but one to later use as a pattern, would somebody with semi-competence in using tools be able to duplicate the featherweight forend if they had one for reference? I could borrow my brother's 06 featherweight and try to copy it over to mine. I even have one of those thingies with the pins that you can use to verify you're matching a profile exactly (now the name escapes me as to what it is called) from back when I thought I'd actually have time to do stockwork.

Red