lightweight hunting rifle

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dylanbrink

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Hi Im looking at purchasing a new lighter weight hunting rifle. I've already got the caliber picked out, .300 WSM, but need to choose between the kimber 8400 montana, the remington 700 alaska TI, or the browning A-Bolt TI. All are close in weight and similar on price, with about a $300 spread. I like a couple of features about each one but am having a hard time choosing. Any thoughts reccomendations or even other rifles I may have missed would be appreciated. Thanks
 
dylanbrink,

i am no where close to a rifle expert, but i know what i have and works for me, so i will be happy to tell what little info have to offer. i have hunted with the remington 700 mt. rifle in .270 win for almost 13 years. it is light, maneuverable, and very quick handling. i can reccommend it with confidence, and i'm sure the alaska ti would also serve you quite well. some folks like a-bolts, and there is nothing wrong with em. i just never liked the way they felt in my hands. that is purely subjective. i have absolutely no idea of the kimber.

another model you may look into is the winchester model 70 extreme weather stainless, though i'm not certain if it is availabe in .300 WSM. bell and carlson stock, free floated, stainless fluted barrel, it is a mighty nice rifle and one that i intend to purchase in 30-06.
 
Look at the Tikka T3 Lite or it's slightly more expensive cousin the Sako A7. Decently lightweight, lots of great hunting features, even cheaper than the ones you listed.

If you like Glocks you'll like a Tikka. If you worship the 1911, you'll hate it. Show pieces they are not.
 
My primary hunting rifle is a A-Bolt Stalker with the synthetic stock in .300 WSM. Lightwieght, fast, and feels very good in my hands. Comes up and shoulders just right for me. I really like the tang safety, it is fast and very quiet. I haven't found anything to not like about it.

Hopes this helps a little,
Marty
 
Of your 3 choices the Kimber is the clear winner. If you can live with the non traditional styling and plastic parts the Tikka is a lot of gun for the money and something to consider.
 
Kimbers, while nice, seem to be hit or miss accuracy wise. Sometimes it's just rebedding other times it needs a new barrel.
Remington seems to be pretty good accuracy wise and the rumors say the action are basically a semi-custom. But they are not as trim as they could be.
Brownings are nice except not as well known. They also are difficult to change the barrels on.
If it was up to me and was looking to spend that much money on a 300WSM....I'd look at a Sako Finnlight.
 
If you can feel and fondle, you'll find more "shootability" with whichever one fits your body dimensions the best. Length of pull is easily changed, but drop at comb and heel is not.

Mount the rifle to your shoulder with your eyes closed, and a good cheek weld. When you open your eyes you should be looking right through the center of the sight, whether scope or irons.
 
another model you may look into is the winchester model 70 extreme weather stainless, though i'm not certain if it is availabe in .300 WSM. bell and carlson stock, free floated, stainless fluted barrel, it is a mighty nice rifle and one that i intend to purchase in 30-06.

It does come in .300 WSM. I have it in .30-06. I highly recommend it. :)

It's light, but not ULTRAlight. I put Talley lightweight one-piece ring/mounts and a 2-7x33mm VX-II on mine, and it's a nice, light package that shaved at least a pound and a half off the rig it replaced. However, some of the Titanium guns could be done up to be yet again a pound lighter, I think. Depends what you want, and what it's worth to you.

I'd consider the Kimber, probably not the others, and I'd look at some other things. The others are push-feed rifles. A higher-end rifle to be used on foot in serious terrain ought to at least have a serious action, and to me, that means CRF. There's something to be said for "3 Rings of Steel":) in a Mark V in some fun plinking caliber like .338-378, but for the most part, CRF is a design meant for real field use, not just the simplest and cheapest one to make without screwing up.

Tikka has done quite admirably, for a cheap gun, but the T3 Lite is not in the same class as the rifles the OP listed, so I have to assume that's not what he's looking for. A Remington doesn't even have a bolt lock; IMO Remington doesn't make any rifles I'd want for hunting on foot, out of the box. It's gotten hard for me to take them seriously.

For the money any of the Titanium rifles cost, there could be some interesting options out there.
 
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I can't see the point of a 300 WSM in a long action rifle, so that would rule out this combination in the Tikka T3 for me.

I'd go for the Kimber.
 
I have a canoe paddle Ruger M77 in 270 and its not dreadfully heavy but its not super light weight...the Tikka T3 "feels" about half the weight but that was without glass
 
The new Kimber in .30-06 throws some of this in the Look Again mode. It's significantly lighter and trimmer than a Win 70. The review in American Rifleman had the writer thinking his 70 was a block of wood, and moving the Montana to back up gun status.

Not to spoil the plan - just thinking about all the .30-06 I've seen on the shelf during the so-called ammo scare the last two years, and wondering where someone can buy .300 outside of the internet or a specialty shop. .30-06? Crossroad gas station or country stores have it.

Take a look at the 84L and handle one, if it's not quite right, ok, you did cover it.
 
I'm happy as a pig in a corn crib with my 700 Ti in 7mm08. 6.5 pounds, all dressed to hunt. Crisp trigger. Sub MOA from the git-go. Excellent butt pad; no recoil hassle at the benchrest for my arthritic shoulder.
 
For ultralight, I'd go with the Kimber 8400 Montana. The 8400 model is a little chunky though, make sure you've handled it and not just a more svelte model 84M! For just a few extra oz. and a couple hundred less $$, the M70 Extreme Weather SS is a mighty nice rifle though. :D
 
7mm-08 and 280 Rem are my favorite calibers. I really like the Rem Model 700 Mountain Rifle weighing in around 6.5lbs for the bare rifle. You have a great gun.
 
One aspect of the Ti is the 22" barrel. From what little I've read about the various light weight rifles, most seem to have shorter barrels. Seems to me a number of folks who want the light rig are talking high country and game where longer shots are likely. So, longer barrel = more velocity. Maybe not a lot, but sometimes every little bit helps.
 
They're all nice rifles. You should go to a large gun store and fondle them all and then decide for yourself. I don't think you'll go wrong with any of them. FWIW, I own an Abolt Medallion, several Rem Model 700's, several Wiin Model 70's and a Kimber 84M. I like the M70s and 84M the best as hunting rifles. I like that 3 position safety and CRF/claw extractor, I guess!
 
The benchmark of lightweight rifles is the is New Ultra Light Arms.(NULA) They cost more of course but else nothing comes close, especially when you add accuracy to the equation.www.newultralight.com
 
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Thanks for all the replies. The T3 is nice, my buddy has one I looked at yesterday, seems very nice, just not to big a fan of the magazine. I'm leaning towards the kimber now, gonna go fondle one again and find a remington to check out too before I make my purchase. Thanks again for the info.
 
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