Creative ways to cut weight?

[Oregon Hunter]

Depends on what you really want in a rifle and how light you want to get. 4lbs is possible in a bolt action repeater.

You don't need a forearm on a rifle. That can be cut off and inch forward of the recoil lug. Insert a flush cup or T bar for the sling, or go with a barrel mounted swivel.

Barrels don't need to be fat, or long. A 20" barrel in a tiny contour can be accurate and light. Most carbon covered barrels don't take the concept to the limit for light weight. Take a look at double rifle barrel profiles. The muzzles are typically 0.070"-0.100" wall thickness. You never see bolt rifles that thin. My 24" 30-06 double has 0.095" wall muzzles and the entire barrel set weighs 4.5 pounds.

Many stocks can be inlet or skeletonized to shave weight.

Like I started. What do you want the rifle to do? If you require things like a bipod, then you will limit how light you can go.

Jeremy

That's really cool you have a 30-06 double. I've never seen one in a non dangerous game caliber before

 

[Oregon Hunter]

a big ol butt bag hanging on the stock full of ammo just seems wrong.

I always thought that would add some awkward bulk too

 

[Oregon Hunter]

You described a lot of how I intend to skeletonize my stock and chassis. I will only have room for a 4 inch ARCA rail on the forend in front of the magazine well. I am probably going to run the cheap plastic AR stock on my chassis cause it is the lightest option I have found.

I already leave my bipod behind, cause I can shoot off my pack or my tripod in prone. And, prone shots are much less common than having to get up off the ground.

I may as well list everything I am doing for my rifle, as some has also been mentioned already. I have given it a lot of thought. It won't be a "pretty" rifle, and it won't be traditional. All customish and purpose for long range backpacking for deer and javelina.

My elk/long range rifle is 7 sherman short mag rifle with suppressor and it weighed 11 pounds 4 oz for the match last weekend, with my sling attached. I haven't figured out the weight for my little pack rifle I am building, but it will be significantly less, and is maximized to cut weight AND cut recoil so it can remain accurate. I haven't even an educated guess as to what my pack rifle will come in at, but it will be as light as possible.

For the light weight build, my smith has a Howa Mini action that is shorter and lighter than even some TI actions. I chose a full sized so he is opening the bolt face from a Grendel, but it is still a short 6mm BR case that saves weight on brass but performs pretty close to a .243 with a 20 inch barrel. Bullets will be 95 or 87 grain hunting bullets and will be above terminal velocity on game as far as I am planning. The barrel is a Sendero Light profile Proof Carbon Fiber 22" and will give a conservative effective range of 600 yards for the canyons here in AZ. I will run a suppressor sometimes. If not for long range capability, it would be a lot shorter. The magazines are also small and plastic, might even be lighter than even aluminum BDL bottom metal. I won't give up magazines to save weight...

Someone mentioned the scope. I am also dropping from 35 mm tube MK 5 to a 30 mm tube and went with the 44mm LHT from Vortex. And, I am planning on direct mount Hawkins Precision rings to cut out the weight of a picatiny rail, though I will probably have to modify the rings or my action. That saves a good proportion of weight.

Also on barrel length. I run longer barrels on my long range rifles for velocity. But, for anything inside "normal" hunting ranges I would run between 16 and 20 inches for sure. And, I would not go magnum and carry the extra weight of the brass and bullets. A .243 cartridge can weigh a LOT less than a 300 win mag. A shorter barrel can also be smaller profile because there is less whip. A 7-08 ackley improved is a solid option, just behind a 280 and 284, and can run in short action for sure. You can save pounds if you go with a shorter/smaller profile barrel and short action cartridge.

The difference in velocity between an 18 inch .243 and a 20 inch is negligible for any ballistic or terminal effect inside 400 yards on a typical short action cartridge. Even down to a 16 inch its not very material. The only thing is you get a lot more muzzle blast with short action cartridges below 18 and magnum cartridges below 20-22 inches depending on the size of the powder charge. My "coyote" bolt action barrels are a .243 shooting light bullets and 16.1 inches long and threaded for my suppressor.

For my next 7 sherman short mag, I am cutting 4 inches off the length and going to a 22 inch. The powder charge in that caliber is significantly less than a 7 rem mag, so 22 inches is a very effective barrel length and doesn't have the muzzle blast like a 7 rem mag.

When I went buffalo hunting, which is from a blind or in a meadow at most 200 yards up in the Kaibab, I found the shortest .308 barrel I could find. I wish it would have been 16, but it was 20.

Dang, I could sure learn a lot from you about rifles. I'd love to see some pictures because it sounds like you've done some interesting builds!

 

[hereinaz]

Dang, I could sure learn a lot from you about rifles. I'd love to see some pictures because it sounds like you've done some interesting builds!

I read more than I build... I have just played around enough and when I want a perfect solution, I DIY it to my liking, lol.

I am a bubba gun smith with a dremel at heart!

 

[Caleb Miller]

How much weight do you think the adjustable cheek piece added?

I didn’t weigh it but less than half a lb. the hatch out west bipod is a pound heavier than my old one so that’s where most of my weight comes from, but in my mind the versatility is worth the weight penalty.

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I didn’t weigh it but less than half a lb. the hatch out west bipod is a pound heavier than my old one so that’s where most of my weight comes from, but in my mind the versatility is worth the weight penalty.

You've got a good way of looking at it. I try to shed weight from anywhere I can so that I can make Room for other absolute essentials. If you're ever on a hunt were weight is at a premium but you still won a stable shooting rest, check out the Javelin Lite It's basic, but only 4 oz

 

[archp625]

I don't want to give specific names and run down other products, because heavy bipods have their place. I'm referring to some of the more tactical focused bipods, that when combined with beefy mounting hardware, they unnecessarily weigh down a hunting rifle

I’m calling your bluff. Most guys are not hunting with a 2 lb bipod. An altas Cal Gen 2 Tall weight 16 oz with a quick detach. Another bipod I see guys hunting with is the hatch out west bipod. That comes in at 20 oz.

 

[Wapiti1]

That's really cool you have a 30-06 double. I've never seen one in a non dangerous game caliber before

They are more common in Europe where driven game shooting is the norm. You'll find a lot in 7X57R, 8X57JRS and 9.3X74R. Among others. Mine is an Valmet 412S O/U and it has two other barrel sets, one in .375 Flanged Mag and a 12 gauge set. Really fun rifle.

Back to your weight savings, though. Hereinaz makes a good point on saving weight by doubling up on an items utility.

Ditch the bipod and use the tripod you may already have for glassing.

The lightest rifles that I've seen were done by Rick Steinour at Extreme Rifle Works.

Jeremy

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I’m calling your bluff. Most guys are not hunting with a 2 lb bipod. An altas Cal Gen 2 Tall weight 16 oz with a quick detach. Another bipod I see guys hunting with is the hatch out west bipod. That comes in at 20 oz.

You're right, I should have said an extra 1/2 to 1 pound of bipod than needed

 

[Oregon Hunter]

They are more common in Europe where driven game shooting is the norm. You'll find a lot in 7X57R, 8X57JRS and 9.3X74R. Among others. Mine is an Valmet 412S O/U and it has two other barrel sets, one in .375 Flanged Mag and a 12 gauge set. Really fun rifle.

Back to your weight savings, though. Hereinaz makes a good point on saving weight by doubling up on an items utility.

Ditch the bipod and use the tripod you may already have for glassing.

The lightest rifles that I've seen were done by Rick Steinour at Extreme Rifle Works.

Jeremy

You sent me on a fun internet rabbit hole of looking at double guns and Extreme Rifle Works. Couldn't agree more about trying to find pieces of gear that serve more than one purpose. On my last hunting trip to Utah 2 years ago I used the Sentinel tripod for glassing, then popped my spotting scope off and shot off the top of it. Sure was nice to pack less gear on the airplane

 

[Oregon Hunter]

You're right, I should have said an extra 1/2 to 1 pound of bipod than needed. I fixed the original post

 

[JakeSCH]

I saved weight on my tripod by going with a Tricer GTP-III, cut off well over a pound by using trekking poles as tripod legs.

In addition it saves a bunch of pack space.

 

[762 ULTRAMAGA]

Best way to cut weight... Slimfast

 

[hereinaz]

Best way to cut weight... Slimfast

Man, why you gotta bring that up. But, if I have to cut out doughnuts and milkshakes, it will be the 100% carnivore meat diet, not slimfast...

 

[Oregon Hunter]

I saved weight on my tripod by going with a Tricer GTP-III, cut off well over a pound by using trekking poles as tripod legs.

In addition it saves a bunch of pack space.

I love replacing multiple pieces of gear with 1. You guys have any other ideas how to do this?

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Best way to cut weight... Slimfast

Or eat a bunch of bad tacos

 

[AkRyan]

Buy a tikka, cut to 18in, Talley rings, your choice of 3x9 or 2x7, muzzle brake, done. If your shooting paper it should be heavy, if your hunting it should be sub 8lbs fully dressed imo

 

[Oregon Hunter]

Buy a tikka, cut to 18in, Talley rings, your choice of 3x9 or 2x7, muzzle brake, done. If your shooting paper it should be heavy, if your hunting it should be sub 8lbs fully dressed imo

I'm not sure you can find a more cost effective way to go light than a Tikka. Am I right, or are there some other ideas I'm missing?

 

[AK Troutbum]

Maybe the Savage 110 Ultralite? I don't own one, but I've read some good reviews and they come in at under 6 lbs. Magnum cal. is exactly 6 lbs. Or maybe the Lightweight Storm?

 

[AkRyan]

Maybe the Savage 110 Ultralite? I don't own one, but I've read some good reviews and they come in at under 6 lbs. Magnum cal. is exactly 6 lbs. Or maybe the Lightweight Storm?

action isnt smooth at all and savage bolt lift is super heavy unless they fixed it.