Tricks to lighten up a mountain rifle???

[Mckinnon]

I would be cautious about making your rifle lighter to some degree. .300's will generally shoot better when of moderate to heavier gross weight. This keeps the felt recoil down and allows you back on your scope quicker. If you lighten it up a lot, I would look into a heavier bullet to compensate for what you took out of it. That heavier bullet will assist with keeping the recoil more manageable with the lighter gross weight.

If you like how your rifle and bullet combination shoots right now and I wouldn't touch it. Changing things up will ultimately change how it performs. It may be better, but it may be worse also. It is pretty close to hunting season for rifle guys and I would conduct this experiment after the season. I would try and cut a pound out of your other gear and stick with what you got if it performs well for you.

Just my two cents though....

I love what Rosin says here. Makes perfect sense.

 

[AZ Vince]

I tend to favor shaving weight elsewhere as opposed to the gun.
Saw the toothbrush handle in half, or better yet skip packing a toothbrush, and pare the weight from other gear is my advice on the matter. I'm not a fan of "lightweight" rifles but that's just me. The downside to my approach is that my rifle weighs a metric ton. The upside, it's not a beast to shoot but I do resemble a wimp at times so take what I say with a grain of salt.

 

[Justin Crossley]

+1 on the Tikka idea!

 

[philw]

I just went through the same exercise with a Vanguard but stopped short of pulling the trigger, pun intended. The Howa action is not a good one to start with if you're looking to build a lightweight mountain rifle. And you're right about the Edge, McMillan doesn't make one for that rifle. Go with a High Tech Specialties stock, they make one. You'll likely want a gunsmith to do the inletting/finishing because they are unfinished but with the money you'll save over the Edge you can pay for that and have some left over.

And I think the suggestion on a heavier bullet to reduce felt recoil was a typo, since the heavier the bullet, the heavier the recoil.

If it was me and I really wanted a lightweight mtn. rifle, I'd sell the Vanguard, keep the money I'd spend on the stock, and buy a Kimber 8400 in .300 WSM. It's designed from the ground up to be a lightweight mtn/ rifle.

 

[bbrown]

Thanks for the insight fellas - I figured the costs and I might as well keep the .300 (just cant bring myself to sell it - shoots good and has taken its fair share of game) and pick up a T3 in a mid-range cartridge if I really want to go lighter.
My pack weight for 3-7 days is any where from 32 to 41 pounds so I think I have shaved as much of the weight as I can without spending a fortune.
Thanks again

 

[philw]

Sounds like a good plan, I like my Vanguard too!!

 

[luke moffat]

my lightweihht mnt rifle.....just over 5.5 lbs all up scope and rings

 

[TwoTikkas]

Tikka T3 338 Win Mag. Field ready at 7-3/4#. Kicks like 2 sons-a-bitches,but it's handy and potent. Other T3s will compare if you prefer a milder round. I also have it in 7 Rem Mag and 25/06. All are good shooters and not a bad value. Could be a viable option if you want an accurate lightweight hunting rig out of the box.

 

[Ryan Avery]

"Kicks like 2 sons-a-bitches". Exactly how hard is that?? LOL

 

[fillthefreezer]

hahahahahaha! well id guess my T3 SL in 300WM that goes 110oz ready to rock might be 1.5 sonsabitches in the kick'o'meter

 

[TwoTikkas]

Oh about like Mike Tyson with a dash of Missouri mule thrown in for good measure. I have a M700 300 Ultra that goes 9# plus that doesn't kick any more than the T3. I do love the handiness of the Tikka. I affecionatley call the Ultra "Cruncher". The 338 is known around the house as "Clubber".

 

[fillthefreezer]

ah man, i cant get enough of your analogies! theyre awesome!

 

[HOT ROD]

I am looking at the tikka lite. I am left handed. And they make one in 7mm lh. But I would need to put a brake on it. Sinces I am a little wimp. When it comes to recoil. What brake does every one sujest????

 

[big10hunter]

You are going to hear a lot of things from a lot of great minds on this site, and most are true. My rifle is give and take. I started with a T3, very light and accurate for the price, but then I put a Luepy 4.5X14 on it. Like you, I like the ability to see what I am shooting at and be as accurate as possible, so the scope is a winner for me and I won't go lighter. You can't go wrong with a Tikka, but if you really like your gun, you might want to try to put the money into some lighter weight equipment you might be better off sticking the money into a lighter weight stock, bag, pack, pad, or clothing. I hump the rifle around (even though mine is still pretty light weight) and spent my money on light weight gear. I just revamped my list of gear this year to lighten up. For a new bag, pack, pad, boots, etc. I dropped about $1500-2000 more than my original investment. Significantly dropped my overall weight by pounds, not ounces. It seems like in backpack hunting, cutting ounces costs about $100/ounce. LOL

If my goal was a lightweight rifle, I would get something with a 20" barrel, make sure it is short action, a stiff lightweight stock, and a lightweight scope. If you look at it, you are talking about ounce savings. Not sure if its worth giving up accuracy or hitting power. Did not mean to get off topics with you, but if you like your rifle this might be in your best interest.

JMHO! Good luck.

 

[Mckinnon]

Actually, just looked at McMillans website and I don't think they even make a stock for the Vangard unless I missed it.

I know this is old, but i just saw it. I just checked and McMilan makes stocks that fit Howa, and your Vanguard is a Howa, so that stock should be perfect...

 

[crazy_davey]

If you want a true mountain rifle(lightweight, stainless, synthetic) buy a mountain rifle. I have played with many rifles trying to lighten them up and make them handy in rough country. I learned the hard way, by spending lots of money and time and never really coming up with what I wanted. IMO the best deal on a an actual lightweight mountain rifle on the market right now is the Kimber 84L. I have owned a pile of firearms over the years but I personally don't think you can beat the 84L Montana out of the box, and no I am not talking about the 8400 Montana that so many people had problems with in past years.

Lightweight, great synthetic stock, three position safety, control round feed, nice to shoot and accurate. I currently have a 06 84L with a Leupold FX-II 6x with S&K rings and it is about perfect, balances nicely and shoots 3/4" groups with 168g TSX hand loads and weights 6 pounds 7 ounces. I have a 84M in 257 Bob as well...

 

[bbrown]

Rock 2.0 - Thanks. I looked and missed that somehow.

 

[Mckinnon]

Rock 2.0 - Thanks. I looked and missed that somehow.

No problem bbrown.

 

[Mckinnon]

If you want a true mountain rifle(lightweight, stainless, synthetic) buy a mountain rifle. I have played with many rifles trying to lighten them up and make them handy in rough country. I learned the hard way, by spending lots of money and time and never really coming up with what I wanted. IMO the best deal on a an actual lightweight mountain rifle on the market right now is the Kimber 84L. I have owned a pile of firearms over the years but I personally don't think you can beat the 84L Montana out of the box, and no I am not talking about the 8400 Montana that so many people had problems with in past years.

Lightweight, great synthetic stock, three position safety, control round feed, nice to shoot and accurate. I currently have a 06 84L with a Leupold FX-II 6x with S&K rings and it is about perfect, balances nicely and shoots 3/4" groups with 168g TSX hand loads and weights 6 pounds 7 ounces. I have a 84M in 257 Bob as well...

My pockets don't go that deep unfortunately, but I can scrape a bit for a new stock to lighten up my current setup. However, I do completely agree with you, htis would be 100% ideal way to set up a true mountain rifle. Sounds like it shoots sweet too!

 

[mtnkid85]

Does anyone have any experience with the B&C Carbelite stocks? Im still casually looking at stocks for my Ruger M77 mkii and this seems to be the only stock that I could find that "might" be a lighter quality stock.
From what Ive been finding though, they seem to have very mixed reviews. And Ive yet to find an actual weight for a long action Ruger model.