Hunting & Fishing Good light weight hunting rifles

#3
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I like Remington.
Kimber Montana but its a bit more pocket change.
Also, if money is an issue, the TC Encore with a 24" barrel and synthetic stock is short and light. I can't speak for their accuracy, but if it is to be a light weight, utilitarian hunting rig, you may give it a look.
I also hear excellant reports on the Tikkas.
Again can't speak for their accuracy, but for short and light, the Ruger M77 International or Ultralight.
 
#6
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I have two Kimber 84M's and have had 5 different Tikkas. Tikkas are half the price of the Kimber. Kimber is a little lighter and the action is a little daintier.

The Tikka action is nicer. Accuracy is more predictable with a Tikka.

The wood is better on a Kimber if you are getting wood.

I've had issues with Kimber accuracy and NEVER with Tikka. I will never buy another Kimber rifle but would not think twice about a Tikka.

Kimber customer service sucks. I've never had to use Beretta/Tikka customer service.
 
#7
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

Look for a lightweight M70 chambered in .30-'06. That's what I use, and I think it's flatly the ideal hunting rifle.

It may also be pretty close to the ideal as a lightweght tactical rifle. Think of it as similar in configuration to an M1903A4, only with better optics and better ergonomics.

In terrain which negates the distance advantage, I use a Win '94 chambered in .44Mag, with a dot scope mounted. Wieldy, effective, quick.

Greg
 
#9
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

A couple of my relatives I hunt with frequently run Tikkas and they are very nice rifles. Lightweight, tend to be very accurate and have nice stock triggers. I run a Weatherby Ultralightweight that came out of their custom shop and I am in love with that. It is under 9 pounds with optics so very pleasant to carry. I know the Weatherbys might sometimes have a spotty reputation for accuracy but I am very happy with mine. With the right handloads it is exceedingly accurate.
 
#11
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

If your around a grand in budget another option.

700 action $350
Pacnor action work and barreling $300
Pacnor barrel $260
Bell & Carlson stock $200

You could build it as light as you wanted and you'd have a custom built your way.
 
#12
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

if you want find one, the remington 700 mountain guide is a great rifle.

i paid $500 for mine in 243, then had it punched out 243ai it shoot great for such a lil gun.

it is all you need. i didnt see any on gunbroker, but they are out there


or you could try and find an old rem lvsf then drop it in a old style ti take off stock or mcm

or here is a 308 in a mcm

http://asrealasitgets.net/forums/ubbthre....html#Post87701
 
#14
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I had PAI (now APA) build me up a 7-08 off my old Seven carbine .308. Now it is a 7 lb. TSX launcher and an absolute dream to carry & shoot...
 
#15
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I forgot to mention this before but the Browning BLR 81. I have one in .243 and .308 and they both shoot under 1 MOA with factory loads. They are light, short, nimble and look right in a scabbard.
 
#18
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: rcr</div><div class="ubbcode-body">I have two Kimber 84M's and have had 5 different Tikkas. Tikkas are half the price of the Kimber. Kimber is a little lighter and the action is a little daintier.

The Tikka action is nicer. Accuracy is more predictable with a Tikka.

The wood is better on a Kimber if you are getting wood.

I've had issues with Kimber accuracy and NEVER with Tikka. I will never buy another Kimber rifle but would not think twice about a Tikka.

Kimber customer service sucks. I've never had to use Beretta/Tikka customer service. </div></div>

Bought a Kimber super america and the gun would not even shoot when I got it. Had to send it back and then when I got it the second time it shot, but with very poor accuracy. Ordered a Tikka T3 lite and it has performed excellent with far superior accuracy to the kimber.
 
#20
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

<div class="ubbcode-block"><div class="ubbcode-header">Originally Posted By: Chris Snow</div><div class="ubbcode-body">The Mod 7 is also a fun little rifle. You could pick up the SS ones in mag cals CHEAP last year. </div></div>

+1 model 7----Dedicated hunting rifle= SS, decent synthetic stock, light weight, cheap enough, and pretty good accuracy out of the box.
 
#23
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I sold a kimber .260 and ended up with a Tikka T3 lite in .270. Out of the box it is a more consistent performer than any rifle I have ever had. Literally mount a scope and add powder till I got the speed I wanted and stopped with great accuracy.

Even when I was building the load by running a ladder to find max velocity I had problems "reading" the results. the entire 10 rounds over a 2gr spread was submoa at 200.

I dont know what they are doing to get them to preform with an injection molded stock but they are doing something right. The only Tikkas I have ever seen that did not shoot well were all modifed by someone who was trying to play with the admittedly unconventional bedding.
 
#27
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

Not once did I notice anyone ask the man what exactly it is that he is hunting before offering their caliber recommendation. I saw everything from .243 (great white tail pronghorn) to .300RUMs. But you did say .308.

They make AR-10 in .308 which is a strong, dependable platform which is nearly infinitely customizable. Mag cap could be an issue in some states but they got that covered with smaller mags as well. Its a good lightweight repeater with sub-moa and integral rail for your scope. Field strip in seconds, dust cover for those nasty conditions. You can collapse it for carry or adjust the LOP for smaller arms. .308 is a good round for just about anything short of elk IMO.

I reccomend the AR-10 platform or any AR chambered in .308 because you were looking at the Mountain TI in a 700. Its a 20" barrel, and titanium receiver-not barrel which is stainless. I can't recall if the TI comes with their trigger xmark pro or not. Your AR is lightweight (no idea on the lbs, but my m-16 weighs less than my Springfield and I carry it all day long at 9k feet), good steel protected parts, parkerized (kind of a powder-coating I think) or stainless optional on some and its parkerized aluminum for the lower and upper. The AR platform is one of the most common platforms on the market. I would wager that 1 in 4 rifle owners on here own an AR. Its dual purpose of tactical ready and hunting make it a superb choice. When more calibers start coming out you can switch the upper and you have a new gun. The 308 being a short action you can have a .223 upper with one lower. About 3 years ago there was a COBB multi-caliber rifle-MCR which you could get chambered anything short of a wildcat. They have AR platforms you could hunt cape buffalo with. That is insane. Maybe someone will come out with them again only to have Bushmaster buy them out again, but that's another thread.

So many magnum junkies want to sell you their Ginsu bullets because you NEED them to make a good kill. You don't. I want one myself because I'm a gear-dodo; but my 30-06 suits my needs just fine. If I were to make a caliber recommendation '06 would be it for just about anything in North America. It can load light for pronghorn and has taken their share of moose. Some would say a bit light, I would say shot placement. Nothing under God's green earth can breathe with its lungs full of blood. There's plenty of opinion for both sides of the fence. I think I heard it best on here when someone said pick your mission for the bullet, the bullet, then the rifle for that bullet.

Hope I didn't step on anybody's dicks here, but I've been on here quite a bit past few months. I sincerely appreciate everyone's enthusiasm to help eachother out. I enjoy guns, but this reload, smith, choose barrel action stuff is something that I could not have even come close to comprehending without you guys. Thanks a bunch. But I recall an individual who asked for a long range accurate rifle some time ago, and was told to go buy .22 longs for target practice...kid. If the boy/man wants a 300, 338, 408 or even a 50...let him. His mistake. I don't know anyone who is going to want to listen much when they ask for one thing and get something else from strangers. It takes a father or friend to say...maybe a bit overboard there bud. A perfect stranger is in no position to convince that person otherwise unless they bring it up in the first place.

Im one of many NCO's over a bunch of sissy ass Airmen in Iraq right now. Well 60% of them are the wuss type. I hate these kids sometimes. But I tell myself that I'm here to make them better men. *Sigh* You ask them to do their job and they look at you like you are singling them out. I find that motivation tends to work better with young men when they think its their idea. Heh...same way with my 4 year old. Its my natural tendencies and honest desire to share my insight and previous experiences; but you can't just come out with that if they're not looking for it.
 
#28
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

From Savage; the 11FCNS chambered in .308, or 111FCNS chambered in .30-'06, would get my vote. They are also available in the Weather Warrior line as stainless arms. The AccuTrigger, AccuStock, and Detachable Magazine options are all pluses in my book.

Fara;

I appreciate the criticism about intended use, and agree. The .308 limitation would reasonably define the rifle's intended use as medium sized big game, and my suggestion of the .30-'06 is based on its long proven record as a ubiquitous dispatcher of game, both large and small.

Further, I like the AR-10 platform, seeing it from semi-up-close-and-not-really-personal. I just see it as a bit heavier (mine were all .223's and surprisingly heavier than they looked, anyway. Maybe that's because I always chose the HB target models.) and pricier, possibly taking it a bit wide of the mark we are currently discussing.

NCOs have cherished your views since Christ was a Corporal.

The difference between an effective NCO and a busted private usually boils down to motivation, as you say. My CO used to send me the busted privates for evaluation, and recycling where possible. My experience as an NCO was founded on my Father's advice; 'Profanity is the last refuge of the illiterate', and 'Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent'. A leader leads, not orders, and can be confident because he can personally replace any of the people he leads. A leader never risks insubordination, because a good one never gives his subordinates the opportunity. It's either that, or he's in over his head.

Finally, never kick your Geeky Privates; they grow up to be 2nd Lt's.

Greg
 
#29
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

Personally, I have a 26" Krieger / ABS .308 target barrel that weighs under 3 pounds for a Krieger #7 contour. Yeah, it's light, accurate and really rocks!


If you really want a truly awesome lightweight hunting rifle, take a look at these.

<span style="font-weight: bold">338 Edge: Custom Jense Precision receiver, 5S Satern 28" Ultra lite ABS wrapped barrel,PTG Bolt. Total weight 9 lbs with optic. </span>

daedge7.jpg


Jense Precision
 
#31
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I sold a 308 model 7 and boght a Kimber Montana. The Kimber wouldn't extract ANY factory ammunition, had to use a rubber mallet to open the bolt. Sent it back, and the CS guy was an asshole. I got it back, and it works fine, but I traded it back for my model 7. That little 308 with a 20" barrel is a deer killing machine.

I vote Model 7
 
#33
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I see hunting guns differently.

I consider them as a tool, and I like my tools relatively straightforward and basic.

Back when they were available, I thought that Remington's approach with the M710 was a sensible one. Upgraded to the M770, at MSRP $460/$540 with scope, it's still not a bad solution to questions about furbishing an annual detour from the match/precision/practical competition treadmill.

Other companies also offer basic hunter packages that make for an affordable implement delivering the kind of performance that's acceptable to a very large market.

That market does not demand ultimate performance, appearance, or resale value. It's about harvesting the game, and not much else.

It includes me.

Greg
 
#34
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I mentioned the Howa earlier. If anyone is interested I was able to order one locally with the Hogue stock for right around $460. Pretty good deal on a pretty good rifle.
 
#37
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I sure like the weight of my Cooper Jackson Hunter 25-06AI when my heavy long range bomber isn't needed.

The Cooper is precision accurate to boot.
 
#38
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

Not to be the odd asshole out...... BUT........ Anywhere you will be packing that light rifle you will be packing meat out on your back. If two pounds makes that big of a difference then perhaps you are not in the kind of shape to be in that environment in the first place! These were my Uncles words when I tried to talk him into building me a custom lightweight. I know... every little bit helps. I hunt a quick 8 mile hike into federal wilderness area here in Oregon and that gun feels like a lead brick at the end of the day. It weighs 9 pounds. I suspect it would feel like a lead brick if it weighed 5 pounds.

I would get something that I did not feel as though I had compromised anything as confidence is important.Jeff
 
#39
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

i like less than 7# in the mountains and shoot it enough that confidence is there.

packing meat out is all the more reason for a light weight rifle. less rifle = more meat.

i was a wildland firefighter for ten years and can pack a lot of weight, but i can travel farther, faster, and quieter with a light weight rifle.
 
#40
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

My buddy has had the Remington Mountain rifle in 7mm08 for years. It has been a great rifle. It was a little longer than I liked for carry in the deer woods, so I opted for the Remington model 7 LS in 7mm08. I think the LS has been discontinued now. The older Model 7 rifles were great before the cheap synthetic stocks and X Mark triggers. They were available in 308 in the model 7 as well. The old triggers were very tunable and the rifle is very compact in overall length at about 38" and mine with 4x-12x-50mmSF Nikon Buckmasters weighs about 8.5# with scope bases, rings, sling, and ammo cuff on the stock. Mind you this is with the laminate stock too, synthetics will weigh less. Although it is light and short, to me it shoulders like a fullsize rifle and not like the Ruger 77 compact or the Browning Micro medallion that feel small to a full sized shooter sometimes.
 
#42
Re: Good light weight hunting rifles

I have a rem 788 in.308 that I got in 1980 and a re3m 710 I got in 2005 or 6. both used rifles. both have taken deer with head shots or heart shots up to 120 yds. All game was DRT. These 2 little rifles came as a package with a scope from the factory. 4x fopr the 788 and a 3-9 for the 710. 788 was 180.00 in 1980. The 710 was just under 300.00 they will both print under moa at 100yds. Cand beat them for the money of the weight.
 
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