small light repeating rifle?

looking for something small, light, and easy to backpack. also want something that is a repeater... Might just end up going with the lever action marlin 30-30, but would rather have something with a little more oompf...

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Alaskan Co-pilot from Wild West Guns. Available in .457mag, .50 Alaskan, or if you don't need that much oompf, 30/30, .35 Rem, .44mag, 357 and .45 Colt.

Might just end up going with the lever action marlin 30-30, but would rather have something with a little more oompf.

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If you want a small light repeating rifle forget about a levergun. When the myth meets reality the lever ain't really that good. If you want a light compact repeater you have to go bolt action. Half the bolt rifles in my safe's weigh less with scopes and mounts on them than any levergun in my safe's with only the iron sights. Including a 16" trapper. They carry, point and balance much better as well.

Almost all levers come with 20" barrels and cutting them any shorter is a major ordeal since the mag tube has to be cut to match. Bolt guns are readily available with barrels ranging from 16"-30" and any can easily be cut to the length you want.

At around $1,100 the Kimber is the king of lightweights. Mine weighs under 6 lbs with a scope and ready to hunt. A Remington 7 is a good choice as is the Tikka, Remington MT rifle and several others.

You can put together a semi-custom lightweight pretty easily as well. Buy a Remington 700 or Savage rifle used in the caliber you want. (they have the lightest actions, Howa/Vanguard are the heaviest) Order a "TRUE" lightweight stock for it, cut the barrel back if you wish and you could knock off a full pound or more of weight.

Choose you scope and mounts carefully as well. A Leupold 2-7X scope in Talley lightweight mounts will be nearly a pound lighter than many other scopes mounted in steel bases.

Find a savage donor short action with a bolt head for a .308 and rebarrel to a .358 win.

I had the same question. This was my answer. Load with Lever Evolution ammo and you have A 200yd packable deer killer. around 7 lbs

Saw a well-used Savage 340 bolt action in .30-30 the other day at the local pawn shop, $300. Very light. If I were looking for a trail rifle, that would get a serious look.

Q

Noveske 300 ACC Blackout Rogue Hunter.

The complete rifle weighs 5.5 lbs. One could set up the lower to save some weight I would think. In fact, if one used a polymer lower it would knock a lbs off of that.

It could easily take a deer at 200 yards. The cartridge is up to it and Noveskes are accurate weapons.

It might not meet your high dollar standard (high dollar is relative and varies widely from one person to the next). Something similar from other makers could probably be had for less.

Light, handy, and potent enough. Its lighter than a lever gun, pounds lighter than some of the other suggests. Its a repeater. Its reliable. Only downsides I see are that it needs a tax stamp and its not particularly cheap. To me guns are something I'll have for a life time though so a few hundred dollars one way or another rarely sways me on a purpose driven purchase.

Badlander, what scope is that, and how do you find the field of view to be mounted that far forward?

I have the same set up, nearly the same exact rifle, but I've not located a scope that will give me a clear view through the scope because the eye relief just isn't right, yet.

I like that Alaskan Co-pilot. Not sure what cartridge I would pick.

I would prefer a 45-70 just because I already have guns in that, but not sure it would fit.

Sam1911..... Thats A leatherwood Scout scope 2-7. FOV is 18' at 100 if I remember right. Only had this A few weeks but I like it very well. I have A leupold Scout on A 45-70 That I love. The Leatherwood is nicer than the $120 price would indicate.
I tried pistol scopes twice, they are just not scout scopes. Give the leatherwood A try.

The leupold gives 22' at 100.

I have some experience with the Leatherwood (which is now owned by Hi-Lux); great little scopes, and worked well on my brothers Steyr scout when he couldn't locate a Leupold M8 for it...

Ah ha! Thanks! $120 is a great price for such a thing! I have a T/C brand pistol scope that was advertised as having quite a range of eye-relief, but if I don't put it on the very most forward location on the mount, and also keep it on the lowest power setting, it blacks out a large portion of the view. Instead of having something like ~8-20" of useful eye-relief as advertised, it has more like 18-22" so I've been looking for a better scope for quite a while now.

Much appreciated!

One of my "someday maybe" projects will be an SMLE or No4 cut down to 16", while maintaining stock length out to the muzzle. I think that would be a super neat carbine repeater.

hipoint said:

...anyhow, we'll see what comes up, likely I'll buy whatever I can that's suitable and cheap, even if it isn't my all important .30 caliber bullet diameter ;-)

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Well, if it doesn't absolutely, positively have to be a .30, consider a used youth model rifle. Those are already short. I was going to suggest that before, but most of them are in calibers smaller than .30. There are a few in .308 but more of them out there in .243. You may also come across 7mm-08.

For the use you describe I would think .243 quite enough, but that's going to have to be your call.

Ummm... mosin nagant M38 or M91/59?

Just get a used Remington Model 7 in .308 and be done with it!

Something else to consider: Many folks have gone to what would normally be considered a very short Length of Pull. 12" or even less. That is great for packability and weight savings (and has some other advantages). You might find that it isn't very good for using in your traditional stances.

If you do shorten the stock that much, you'll want to study the stances and techniques used by shooters who are going that way. Mostly very squared-up (related to the isosceles pistol stance) instead of the traditional "bladed" rifleman's stance. This may not work for you in all hunting situations, so you want to know what you're doing before you take the saw to the stock.

I am A die hard lever action guy. Butt.......Skyshots idea of A cut down savage in .358 win has much merit.
I have A Marlin 336 ER in .356 Win, and it is A hard hitter. The .358 is nearly the same cartridge without the rim and can be loaded A little hotter than the .356. Your light packin rifle would be A true elk rifle and the cost would be reasonable. To do the .356 Win in A marlin would be better ( in my mind) but not as cost efecient

http://jerkingthetrigger.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2011/09/AAC-Micro7.jpg

AAC Micro-7 in 300 BLK:

Paintballdude902's and fatcat's suggestions of a cut-down Mosin makes a lot of sense. Cheap, utterly reliable and as hard-hitting as anything out there. You could even re-stock it with a hunter's type stock from Boyd's; makes it even lighter. They have a nice one on sale right now for $64.

Winchester Model 94 in .30-30 !

Just get a used Remington Model 7 in .308 and be done with it!

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For the money, best advice yet.

Rossi Ranch Hand? Maybe? http://www.rossiusa.com/product-list.cfm?category=17

or maybe I was just trying to justify a reason to get one.

Badlander - Don't know much about lever action, what rifle is that? Thanks.