Foul weather/short range/lightweight rifle?

[Jimbob]

I have a tikka 30-06 with VX2 2-7x33, Tikka .308 compact with a VariX III 2.5-8x36, Ruger american compact in 7mm-08 with VX2 in 2-7x33, and a .243 savage lightweight hunter with 3-9x33 ultralight.

The short barrel on the compacts really makes them handy and I love having that option. For lightweight scopes I love the 2-7x33 VX2. Weight is great, optics are good and the price is exceptional. I have no problem shooting 8" steel plate at 400 yds with 7 power. In the thick bush for deer and moose 2 power is awesome.

So many great options for lightweight rigs in all price ranges as well. I think my dream gun is Brendan's adirondack up above, what a beaut that is.

 

[b0nes]

I'm probably beating a dead horse here but I have a rem 7 youth in 7-08 (308would be a tad lighter) with a trigger job (3lb crisp break)and a decelerator butt pad which increases LOP that I paid 450 dollars for and I topped it with a 4x12 vortex diamondback and all up its 7lb 1 oz. I'm about 700 hundred bucks into it, if you add a $150 cerakote job your at $850 and 7lb 2oz? That's a few hundred bucks shy of a used kimber Montana unscoped. My m7 shoots at 1 moa like clockwork.

 

[GKPrice]

Little common sense and pointing the barrel in s safe direction may mitigate the need for a three position safety

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your point ?

 

[GKPrice]

I have a tikka 30-06 with VX2 2-7x33, Tikka .308 compact with a VariX III 2.5-8x36, Ruger american compact in 7mm-08 with VX2 in 2-7x33, and a .243 savage lightweight hunter with 3-9x33 ultralight.

The short barrel on the compacts really makes them handy and I love having that option. For lightweight scopes I love the 2-7x33 VX2. Weight is great, optics are good and the price is exceptional. I have no problem shooting 8" steel plate at 400 yds with 7 power. In the thick bush for deer and moose 2 power is awesome.

So many great options for lightweight rigs in all price ranges as well. I think my dream gun is Brendan's adirondack up above, what a beaut that is.

but the Adirondack has a 3 function safety ! Jimbob, do you not have any common sense ??

 

[GKPrice]

Was that style of safety a requirement?

Seems like there's several really good options. I'll be following along as I've always liked that this same concept of a short and ultralight 308 for backpacking (that would wear a can potentially). I'd be looking real hard at the Tikka and Kimber models as well as the Savage 16 Lightweight Hunter (5.6lbs, 20", ss/synthetic etc).

The OP prefers the Vanguard/Howa platform which DOES sport a 3 function safety - I was merely attempting to parallel the thread's original direction and not "hijack" it

 

[realunlucky]

your point ?

Not everyone needs a three position safety.

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[GKPrice]

I was looking at the Backcountry's for awhile, and still may go with one if I can find an older stainless model in .308. The short action ones come in at 6.5 lbs stock, but they all have 24" barrels, which is overkill for a .308 IMO. I'm not sure if the barrel could be cut back to 20" without getting into the fluting, I was considering having the barrel threaded and the thread protecter machined from the fluting transition to keep a clean look, but it's probably not worth the $.

I wish there were more accurate weight specs available on the Vanguards and their components, there are a lot of areas to shave weight but it's hard to compare/estimate without a baseline. The magazine box looks like it is made from 3/16" steel, it could be Swiss cheesed and save close to half the weight, or a new one bent up at home from 16 ga aluminum if your stock was pillar bedded.

Anyone have an idea how much weight is saved from a .308 bore compared to a .224 bore in the same barrel contour? It may be minimal, but it seems like quite a bit of material looking at it from the muzzle end.

I'm glad to hear everyone agrees with the 20" barrel .308 choice. It makes the most sense to me given the trade offs/compromises. For a lightweight gun, a short barrel is an easy way to get there. With a short barrel, you lose velocity/energy, but it's minimal to non-existent in a .308. Lightweight rifles can also kick like a mule, but a .308 is on the mild side of things that are still capable of taking an elk. Go any shorter than 20" and the muzzle blast becomes an issue also.

Any more thoughts on a 180 Partition at 2600 fps or so? Or the VX-2 2-7x33 scope given that it's under 10 oz? I realize it's not too-notch glass but they seem decent to me for shorter range uses, reliability, service, and weight. I'd rather put my optics budget into a pair of binoculars that works with all of my rifles...

I need to go somewhere where I can handle a Kimber in person and see what the weight difference and balance feels like in hand. The newer ones have solved the previous accuracy blunders, or is it still hit and miss?

VX2 2-7x33 not top notch glass ?? then go ahead and spend another $1000+ for glass you'll not need or buy a V***** and trim some more weight off the rifle - VX2 ultra lights are wonderful hunting scopes and any VX2 is as big a bang for your buck as you'll find anywhere - FX2 3 x 36 will kill anything you need to, I dare say

 

[GKPrice]

Not everyone needs a three position safety.

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don't tell ME that, tell everyone else - BTW, who made you the safety officer for the group ?

 

[Stid2677]

I really don't want to pull my pecker out in this pissing contest, but the reason I myself prefer a 3 position safety is that I can lock the bolt and not have it come open and possibly have it fall out while beating through the thick stuff. Has nothing to do with my inability to keep the muzzle in a safe direction or not carrying with a round in the chamber.

I remember when we used to be able to have adult conversation here.

 

[gelton]

Get a weatherby backcountry if you like weatherby, want lightweight, but dont want to spend 2K on the markV lightweight, it is exactly what you are describing. Cerakoted, three position safety and all. Oh, and this one is in .300 WM.

 

[realunlucky]

I really don't want to pull my pecker out in this pissing contest, but the reason I myself prefer a 3 position safety is that I can lock the bolt and not have it come open and possibly have it fall out while beating through the thick stuff. Has nothing to do with my inability to keep the muzzle in a safe direction or not carrying with a round in the chamber.

I remember when we used to be able to have adult conversation here.

Great point Stid and correct as usual. Guess I've never considered it a selling point of one model over another. The OP never mentioned this as a requirement

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[theleo91386]

BTW, who made you the safety officer for the group ?

There was a memo about a week ago that you had to place a vote between 12:00 AM and 12:12 AM on December 12th for it to be counted towards the safety officer election. Guess you didn't get the memo, realunlucky won.

 

[GKPrice]

Get a weatherby backcountry if you like weatherby, want lightweight, but dont want to spend 2K on the markV lightweight, it is exactly what you are describing. Cerakoted, three position safety and all. Oh, and this one is in .300 WM.

gelton - I had not EVER realized the Backcountry model came in that light and I've handled one twice at least at SW - The also come in 300 Wby, or did - this is an eyeopener

 

[GKPrice]

There was a memo about a week ago that you had to place a vote between 12:00 AM and 12:12 AM on December 12th for it to be counted towards the safety officer election. Guess you didn't get the memo, realunlucky won.

just like me to be suckin' hind tit !

 

[gelton]

gelton - I had not EVER realized the Backcountry model came in that light and I've handled one twice at least at SW - The also come in 300 Wby, or did - this is an eyeopener

Yeah scoped and all...I wouldnt want any lighter in a .300 WM that I do know.

 

[CorbLand]

I really don't want to pull my pecker out in this pissing contest, but the reason I myself prefer a 3 position safety is that I can lock the bolt and not have it come open and possibly have it fall out while beating through the thick stuff. Has nothing to do with my inability to keep the muzzle in a safe direction or not carrying with a round in the chamber.

I remember when we used to be able to have adult conversation here.

This the exact same reason that I like a 3 position safety. I have lost a couple of shells out of the Rem700 because of this.

 

[Brendan]

I think my dream gun is Brendan's adirondack up above, what a beaut that is.

Keep an eye on Gunbroker for a deal. That's what I did - and very happy with it!

 

[Gatorgrizz27]

VX2 2-7x33 not top notch glass ?? then go ahead and spend another $1000+ for glass you'll not need or buy a V***** and trim some more weight off the rifle - VX2 ultra lights are wonderful hunting scopes and any VX2 is as big a bang for your buck as you'll find anywhere - FX2 3 x 36 will kill anything you need to, I dare say

I'm a huge fan of VX-2's and the glass has been good enough for my needs. I was just pointing out that I understand it's not on the level of a VX-6 or Swarovski, but I'm not field judging full curl rams through my scope. I'd prefer solid mid-range scopes on all of my rifles and then a really nice set of binoculars rather than one top of the line scope and everything else suffering.

 

[Gatorgrizz27]

I really don't want to pull my pecker out in this pissing contest, but the reason I myself prefer a 3 position safety is that I can lock the bolt and not have it come open and possibly have it fall out while beating through the thick stuff. Has nothing to do with my inability to keep the muzzle in a safe direction or not carrying with a round in the chamber.

I remember when we used to be able to have adult conversation here.

Interesting. My early (pre-S2) Vanguards have 2-position safeties, but the bolt is locked when it's on "safe". I had assumed other rifles had the same setup. I never heard much about the 3-position safeties until people started ripping off rounds when they would click their safety off to unload guns with faulty Remington triggers. I thought the reason everyone wanted a 3-position these days was to be able to cycle the bolt with the trigger still locked out.

I don't care for it personally. At some point I'm likely to snap my rifle up and click the safety to the middle position rather than all the way forward to fire. I may convert it back to a 2-position.

 

[ezmorningrebel]

Same on the tikka. Safe position locks the bolt. I guess I could see the appeal of a half safe when you go to unload but I just practice a little common sense and keep my finger off the trigger and barrel pointed at the ground.