Lightweight Rifles

[mcseal2]

The rifle I use on most of my western and all my Alaskan hunts is a LW70 build by Rifles Inc in 300 win mag. I went with a slightly heavier 23.5" #3 fluted barrel instead of their standard lighter one. With it's scope, level, rings, ammo, sling, etc it's 8.5lbs ready to hunt. It seems like a good weight to me, not terrible to carry and I shoot it well. I've taken moose, caribou, elk, whitetail, blacktail, and muleys with it. It does have a brake on it.

I may someday have a lighter hunting rifle, but if I do it will be a shorter one in 308, maybe 6.5 Creedmoor. I have some shorter rifles for varmints or plinking and I seem to shoot them well offhand and from field positions. As a rifle gets lighter, I like a lot of the weight it does have to be between my hands, not in the barrel. I have a Savage Hog Hunter in 223 that shoots great I usually have in my old beater truck on the ranch. I shoot it really well from a rest, but not as well off-hand as my 223 16" Ruger American Ranch rifle. It's more accurate but less shootable for me if that makes sense.

I think it's more about finding what works for you and practicing with it than anything. For me I like lighter guns to be shorter and lower recoiling.

 

[Fartrell Cluggins]

Specific would be something like Young’s Modulus.

I am pretty sure I caught that in college. Penicillin is your friend.

 

[thinhorn_AK]

If you think a lighter rifle is the same as shooting a heavier one you are sadly mistaken. Lighter rifles are harder to shoot accurately, there’s no arguing it. They just aren’t as planted and stable in whatever you’re resting them on. Can they be shot accurately though? Yes, but not as easily.

Obviously. Point is that people should be able to figure it out. Lots of people can’t or won’t though and they blame the gun while swearing up and down the gun isn’t accurate.

 

[KenLee]

About half my rifle shots are at moving game. Swinging a heavy rifle sucks, but so does swinging a super light rifle. Figure out the right fit, weight and balance for you and quit worrying about building a 5 pound rig if it doesn't fit your needs.

 

[Coopsdaddy]

Im dealing with decisions on this right now.
I dont plan to use a suppressor but i do prefer a shorter barrel for handling in the woods.Lots of deer hunting with possible shoots to 500 and would like to start practicing at dialing at some distance further.
6.5 fieldcraft is #2 24 inch barrel but considering trading for a #1 21 barrel or cutting down the 24 inch i have to 20 inch .
Would you rather have a
Factory fieldcraft 21 inch #1 barrel -5.4 oz
Factory fieldcraft 24 inch #2 barrel -5.12
Fieldcraft modified 20 inch #2 barrel approx 5.8

 

[wind gypsy]

Im dealing with decisions on this right now.
I dont plan to use a suppressor but i do prefer a shorter barrel for handling in the woods.Lots of deer hunting with possible shoots to 500 and would like to start practicing at dialing at some distance further.
6.5 fieldcraft is #2 24 inch barrel but considering trading for a #1 21 barrel or cutting down the 24 inch i have to 20 inch .
Would you rather have a
Factory fieldcraft 21 inch #1 barrel -5.4 oz
Factory fieldcraft 24 inch #2 barrel -5.12
Fieldcraft modified 20 inch #2 barrel approx 5.8

3rd choice.

 

[BjornF16]

Im dealing with decisions on this right now.
I dont plan to use a suppressor but i do prefer a shorter barrel for handling in the woods.Lots of deer hunting with possible shoots to 500 and would like to start practicing at dialing at some distance further.
6.5 fieldcraft is #2 24 inch barrel but considering trading for a #1 21 barrel or cutting down the 24 inch i have to 20 inch .
Would you rather have a
Factory fieldcraft 21 inch #1 barrel -5.4 oz
Factory fieldcraft 24 inch #2 barrel -5.12
Fieldcraft modified 20 inch #2 barrel approx 5.8

I would cut and thread (so 3rd choice)

 

[Formidilosus]

Serious question.

Can it be that the barrels aren’t properly made and prone to stringing when heated?

Absolutely it’s possible. If you are shooting a Savage, Ruger, Kinber- your chances go up that you have a barrel that has stress in it. Though none of them as much as they used to.

Do manufactures make as many bad barrels that aren’t properly stress relieved as they do scopes that don’t work? Or is bad barrels not a common thing anymore?

I haven’t seen any decent aftermarket barrel that exhibited signs of stress in it. That’s hundred of barrels. It’s is something that I check with every rifle/barrel by shooting 10-20 shots quickly. A barrel that “walks” when hot is a bad barrel and should be replaced.

 

[Choupique]

A barrel that “walks” when hot is a bad barrel

Correct. It has nothing to do with barrel profile.

 

[ldmay375]

At what point is having a light rifle a liability?

Is cutting weight on your rifle really the place to be shaving ounces. Yes, you carry your rifle more than you shoot it, but isnt hitting what you are aiming at when you finally do shoot more important than you comfort leading up to that moment?

I think, that is purely an individual choice. All depending on the rifle's & shooter's capabilities.
Personally for me a little over 7 lbs with scope is as light as I presently care to go. That is due to my limitations not the rifle's.

 

[Reburn]

Im dealing with decisions on this right now.
I dont plan to use a suppressor but i do prefer a shorter barrel for handling in the woods.Lots of deer hunting with possible shoots to 500 and would like to start practicing at dialing at some distance further.
6.5 fieldcraft is #2 24 inch barrel but considering trading for a #1 21 barrel or cutting down the 24 inch i have to 20 inch .
Would you rather have a
Factory fieldcraft 21 inch #1 barrel -5.4 oz
Factory fieldcraft 24 inch #2 barrel -5.12
Fieldcraft modified 20 inch #2 barrel approx 5.8

#3 I added the weight right back though adding a face mount brake from thunderbeast to use with my ultra 5.

 

[Reburn]

Absolutely it’s possible. If you are shooting a Savage, Ruger, Kimber- your chances go up that you have a barrel that has stress in it. Though none of them as much as they used to.


I haven’t seen any decent aftermarket barrel that exhibited signs of stress in it. That’s hundred of barrels. It’s is something that I check with every rifle/barrel by shooting 10-20 shots quickly. A barrel that “walks” when hot is a bad barrel and should be replaced.

Thank you for clearing that up sir.

 

[Deywalker]

Absolutely it’s possible. If you are shooting a Savage, Ruger, Kinber- your chances go up that you have a barrel that has stress in it. Though none of them as much as they used to.






I haven’t seen any decent aftermarket barrel that exhibited signs of stress in it. That’s hundred of barrels. It’s is something that I check with every rifle/barrel by shooting 10-20 shots quickly. A barrel that “walks” when hot is a bad barrel and should be replaced.

I saw this awhile ago and I was wondering, is it more likely that the barrels aren't being properly stress relieved which is causing a shift, or is zero being lost by the optic after two mag dumps?

 

[Formidilosus]

I saw this awhile ago and I was wondering, is it more likely that the barrels aren't being properly stress relieved which is causing a shift, or is zero being lost by the optic after two mag dumps?

No. The shift is from mirage after 20 rounds being shot rapid. That they don’t understand that is telling. If you take the same rifles and put a mirage band, or a strip of cardboard on top of the handguard, there wouldn’t be a shift.

 

[Eldis]

I have zero issues getting this one to hit what I’m aiming it at.

I think people who claim that light rifles don’t shoot well just aren’t as good at shooting as they think they are.

What gun is that?

 

[thinhorn_AK]

What gun is that?

Kimber Montana 308 with one of my silencers on it. It’s had the barrel cut to 18”.

 

[Tango_41]

I think your rifle needs to be comfortable enough to shoot regularly and proficiently. If it's light enough that the recoil means you don't want to spend much time with it at the range, that's too light. If it's light enough that you develop bad habits from shooting it and getting beat up, that's too light.

I do think there are other factors to consider, but I'm even rethinking this 8.5lb .30-06 because of the above two points. I've never felt the recoil shooting an animal, but it's no fun on the range. I'm either moving to a lighter recoiling caliber, or to a heavier rifle.

Edit to add: I know there are guys who will chime in that their 6lb 300 win mag is a tack driver. Congrats. I'm just saying that's not me, and it's probably not the norm.

Know your tool. Simple as that.

 

[Macintosh]

About half my rifle shots are at moving game. Swinging a heavy rifle sucks, but so does swinging a super light rifle. Figure out the right fit, weight and balance for you and quit worrying about building a 5 pound rig if it doesn't fit your needs.

And yet competitive sporting clays shotguns—shot from a low-gun position on non-repetitive moving targets in all sorts of positions, ranges, combinations, speeds, etc—almost universally are a pound or more heavier than any gun made for hunting, often much heavier. A few obvious reasons for that (cumulative recoil from hundreds of rounds in a day and no need to carry far with your fancy golf cart, etc) but it does not seem to me that weight alone is at all a hindrance in shooting moving targets in general. I think you touched on some thing with “balance” that is a bit lost on most rifles, which is that weight distribution matters a lot, almost as much or more than weight alone, when you are talking about speed of handling the gun vs the trade-off of light versus heavy as an aid to stability and recoil control. Weight distribution and balance are related, but they are very much NOT the same thing. One of the best-handling shotguns I’ve used weighed 10 pounds and had 34” barrels, it was NOT a pig and handled faster than many gun that weigh 2 full pounds less. Keep both ends light, and the bulk of the weight between your hands, and you can make a very heavy gun still handle very quickly.