Light weight mountain rifle.

[H&Hhunter]

I have departed from conventional wisdom regarding the light weight high country mountain rifle. Seems that folks are always trying to reinvent the wheel regarding their sheep/goat/whatever high country back packing rifle. I have taken the old and incorporated the new in regards to my sheep/goat gun.

My quest for the perfect light/short/easy to carry/ accurate long (ish) range rifle was sitting in safe, it just needed to be "primped and polished" a bit. The rifle started life as a stock 22" Winchester M-70 extreme weather stainless/synthetic. After some tweaking from the factory, a bedding job and a re crown the rifle went from a complete turd to a diamond. It went from shooting patterns to nice little sub MOA groups with that first bit of polish.

Next I ditched the boat anchor factory Bell & Carlson stock and replaced it with a McMilliam Edge, this knocked off over 1 lbs making the rifle weigh in at less than 6 lbs. I topped it with a Leupold 2.5X8 VX III. It now weighed in at just about 7 lbs, loaded. The rifle was getting there but I wanted something that slightly better long(ish) range ballistics. The answer was a two fold. First off I started to play around with some of the Hornandy Superformance ammo.

I settled on the 165 Gr GMX load. I am getting an honest measured 2920 FPS with a decent .447 BC out of my 22" barrel. The load also shoots MOA in my rifle. I then installed a custom turret, tailored to my load. Kenton industries http://kentonindustries.com/custom-turrets/leupold made me a dial that dopes out to 1000 yards with this load and scope.

Range results have been excellent. The dial is right on the money out to 600 yards, as far as my range goes out to, and the load has consistently remained within MOA out to that range. In my estimation it is going to be pretty tough to find a more usable, easy to carry, light weight, carbine rifle that is going to perform any better on game in the high country. I can't wait to give her a spin this fall. Now all we need is for the CO DOW to straighten up and send me my bighorn tag this year!

 

[hoghunting]

Congratulations, it's a nice feeling when you can turn a rifle into a real shooter. Guessing it's a .30-06 or .308. Good luck this season.

 

[horsemen61]

What caliber?

 

[H&Hhunter]

Whoops! It's a .30-06.

 

[horsemen61]

Well here is to hoping they send that Bighorn tag

 

[H&Hhunter]

Well here is to hoping they send that Bighorn tag

They oughta if they know whats good for them!

 

[jmr40]

I like how you think. My go-to rifles are set up similar. They ones on the left and center are SS Classics in 300 WSM and 30-06. The one on the right is a 308 EW. All 3 are in Edge stocks with PT&G aluminum bottom metal. All weigh 7.5 lbs as pictured. If I were to swap the Zeiss scopes and Leupold the 300 would be 4 oz heavier, the others 4 oz lighter, but 7.5 is light enough.



My 30-06 hand loads are 165 gr Accubonds at 2890 fps, virtually the same load you're using. I did this a couple of weeks ago at 500 yards using shooting sticks. It is zeroed at 100 yards now and the wind blew it left a bit. I have a Leupold with factory CDS arriving Monday. After I get it installed and dialed in I think I'll be pretty well set up. I need more practice at longer ranges, this was my 1st attempt over 400 yards.

 

[Kingcreek]

Fun! always great to hear about Cinderella conversions.
I have a M70 .243 featherweight that struggled to put 3 shots in 6" at 100 yards until a gunsmith changed the action screw tension and it suddenly turned into a 1 MOA rifle.

 

[agtman]

Nice rifles, jmr40.

Certainly everyone, as we age, prefers a light piece to haul around, but I'm not seeing back-up iron sights on these sticks.

If Bubba fumble-bumbles his stick during a high-country or mountain hunt and it hits hard on the rocks breaking the scope, what's he going to do? Use his guide's gun?

 

[jmr40]

I've had several iron sights fail on me, never had a quality scope not work. The irons just add weight and catch on brush.

I've had the 30-06 the longest, and it has too much history to part with. But of the three, the 308 has become my go-to gun. Longish shots aren't common here and black bear are the biggest game I'll see in GA. Around 200 lbs is average, but there are some 400-500 lb bear killed each year. We had a 600+ bear taken here this year. I still think the 308 is enough locally.

If I were leaving today for a western hunt where longer shots and larger game were possible the 30-06 would get the nod just based on familiarity. But with more time I look for the 300 WSM to fill that role. Accuracy is about the same and it shoots 200 gr bullets slightly faster than 180's from the 30-06 with about the same trajectory.

 

[H&Hhunter]

the others 4 oz lighter, but 7.5 is light enough.

jmr,

You bring up a good point about weight. I find a rifle lighter than 7 to 7.5 to be whippy and difficult to shoot from non supported positions. I like a rifle that hangs well in the hands. An ultra light rifle does not hang in the hands well.

 

[wankerjake]

Nice. Good luck on the sheep tag, that rifle needs to hunt!

 

[3212]

I'm not a high country hunter.Elevations here are less than 2,000 feet but steep ridges.I lug a 10 lb old model 70 up the side because as H&H hunter said " It hangs in the hand."Not much wobble on offhand shots which is the most common on our deer drives.

 

[H&Hhunter]

I'm not a high country hunter.Elevations here are less than 2,000 feet but steep ridges.I lug a 10 lb old model 70 up the side because as H&H hunter said " It hangs in the hand."Not much wobble on offhand shots which is the most common on our deer drives.

Light weight rifles can definitely be a trade off.

 

[jmr40]

I've chased the ultimate lightweight rifle since the 1970's. I got a chance while in college to go on a wilderness hunt in rugged terrain. I was 19-20 and a lot tougher than now. That experience along with backpacking have made me very aware of unnecessary weight. I bought one of the Brown Precision stocks in the early 80's and put it on my Rem 700. Used that rifle for years but have gone even lighter.

I bought one of the Kimbers in 308 a few years ago. With a 2.5-8X Leupold on it it is under 6 lbs. The rifle can be quite accurate, but after using it for a few years I've gone back the other way. It is just too light. I find the 308 EW just about perfect, it has become my hands down favorite. Depending on the scope it'll be 7.25-7.5 lbs and just balances perfectly in my hands. This isn't just my lightweight, but my do-it-all rifle.

 

[Newtosavage]

Congrat's on your rifle!

I've done something similar with a long action Ruger RSI in 7x57. With the 18.5" thin barrel, it was already a very light rifle. But I pulled the stock and sights off the stainless action and dropped it in a synthetic ruger stock, then topped it with a straight 6x38 Weaver (10 oz. and superb optics) for a 7 1/4# total weight, all-weather rifle.

I will keep the original full-length stock to hand down to a grandkid someday, but in the meantime I'll hunt the heck out of it. I love short, light and quick rifles that shoot well.