small light repeating rifle?

Status
Not open for further replies.
H

hipoint

Member
Joined
Apr 17, 2010
Messages
614
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... Prefer 30-06, but .308 is good as well. I don't want anything smaller than a 30 caliber bullet.

any suggestions? I prefer a bolt action, but will take what I can get. Not looking for a high dollar nice gun, just something very small, packable, and capable of taking a deer at 200 yards.
 
I have an M1 Carbine. It's very light and short and also is a .30 cal...but it doesn't have the oompf to take out a deer at 200 yards. The only short rifle that I can think of is a scout rifle. The Ruger Gunsite scout rifle is a short .308 and is highly advertised to be an excellent "go to gun".
 
This could be a fun project gun. There are millions of old bolt-action .30 cal. deer rifles out there on the dealers' "used" racks, and many can be had for ~$200-$300, especially if it's a little knocked around and not a collectible.

As you aren't looking for maximum accuracy or velocity, have a 'smith cut the barrel and recrown at 16.25", add a light weight synthetic stock with the LOP cut down to 12" or so. Maybe add some fast iron sights like the XS Ghost ring sights. Voilà, a short, light carbine.

Personally, for whitetails out to 200 yds, and with a target weight probably around 6-7 lbs, I'd go for a lighter cartridge than any of the big .30s, but that's up to you.
 
that is very cool, but I'm also looking for $1,000 dollars... I can't seem to find it anywhere ;-)

Does anyone have any experience with chopping the barrel on a full length rifle? what does that do to it's accuracy? I'm not looking for a paper puncher, just a good hunting gun. After giving up on my circuit judge, I'm looking for something I can put in my pack and it not take up a huge amount of room. Weight is a concern, but not as big of a concern as size.
 
also, just call it foolish, but I'm partial to 30 caliber cartridges... I certainly don't want anything "smaller" than a 30-30. One of those is a perfect size, but I'd honestly prefer a bolt action in 308, or 30-06...

I am very interested in finding some facts on cutting the barrel down on a flea market rifle, If I've got 4-6 inch grouping at 200 yards I'd call it as good as it gets for something like that. I'm no precision shooter, so I'd be surprised if I could do 3 inch grouping at 200 yards consistently... Minute of Deer is what I'm after here.
 
Does anyone have any experience with chopping the barrel on a full length rifle? what does that do to it's accuracy?
Click to expand...
Ironically, sometimes it improves accuracy noticably, as it changes the barrel's harmonics. (Plus, get rid of any muzzle erosion and get yourself a fresh new crown.) It will reduce the velocity you're getting from the cartridge, but at 200 yds, that won't matter with any round you're considering.

I'm not looking for a paper puncher, just a good hunting gun.
Click to expand...
A good hunting gun for whitetails at 200 yds or less? Just about any .243, .257, 7mm, .270, .30 or any common round in between those would work great! A bonus would be finding one of the sorter cartridges in a shorter action-length rifle (not the big .30-06 length action) for an even more compact package.

Weight is a concern, but not as big of a concern as size.
Click to expand...
Sure, but the gun could actually be very light as well, depending on some of your choices. And, if you go with aperture sights instead of a scope, there's a significant size and weight savings right off the bat.
 
also, just call it foolish, but I'm partial to 30 caliber cartridges... I certainly don't want anything "smaller" than a 30-30. One of those is a perfect size, but I'd honestly prefer a bolt action in 308, or 30-06...
Click to expand...
Sorry, posted the above before you commented. Then stick with a .308 length for most compactness. Overkill for the purpose and more recoil than you need, but if you're partial, you're partial! The .30-'06 round is wonderful, but you really don't need its extra case length/volume for the rifle and the task you're planning. It's just a longer action and more recoil, for velocity gains and/or greater bullet weights that you can't take advantage of.

If I've got 4-6 inch grouping at 200 yards I'd call it as good as it gets for something like that.
Click to expand...
That's certainly good enough for the task at hand, and I'd be surprised if you couldn't achieve that, with practice.
 
Actually it isn't $1,000.
Only $720 or so. :D
http://www.budsgunshop.com/catalog/product_info.php/products_id/73924

Cutting a rifle barrel has no affect on accuracy if it is done right and the new crown is cut correctly.

It will have an impact on muzzle velocity and muzzle blast though.

However, if you have to buy a used rifle, then pay a gunsmmith to cut the barrel and mount sights?
You probably aren't going to save much money over buying a Scout in the first place.

Unless you are going to scope it?
I'd seriously consider a Marlin 336 or Winchester 94 carbine in .30-30.
They will stomp a deer as far as you can hit them with open sights.

They been doing it for 100+ years just fine.

And you should be able to find a nice used one for well south of $400.

rc
 
I'd seriously consider a Marlin 336 or Winchester 94 carbine in .30-30.
They will stomp a deer as far as you can hit them with open sights.

They been doing it for 100+ years just fine.

And you should be able to find a nice used one for well south of $400.
Click to expand...
rcmodel is absolutely right, of course.

There's nothing wrong, and a whole lot RIGHT about the 94 and 336. I'd expect to find a 336 about $100 cheaper than a 94 these days, and I actually like them a little bit more than the 94, but they are a hair bulkier.

And, make it a .35 Remington! :) Then you're BETTER than .30 cal! (Though there's really no practical benefit over a .30-30.)
 
I'm sure I'll get a bashing for this... but, does a gunsmith have to cut the barrel? I'm pretty handy, my shop is bigger than alot of people's houses and full of just about any tool you can imagine, ( no lathes or cnc stuff though )...

I understand what a crown is, but is it necessary? I build lots of things from cars and motorcycles to my own camera equipment, but I haven't really done much to guns before other than basic maintenance.

Just to satisfy my ignorance, what would happen if I were to cut the barrel squarely with a metal bandsaw (those move slow so as not to produce as much heat) and just shot it?
 
I think a .243 would be 'ideal' within the parameters you're describing.

Low recoil--great for a lightweight gun.

Great accuracy--great for a shortened barrel.

Short action--shorter, quicker bolt manipulation, etc.

Very common cartridge--to be found about anywhere.

Come to think of it, I wouldn't mind taking on a project of this kind, myself.

Good luck with it.

P.S. If you're pretty set on a .30 cal., have you looked into the 7mm-08?

It's .284 cal., I believe, which is very close and has less recoil than .308 or .30-06. Especially out of a lighter rifle like this would be.

Just a suggestion.
 
both sam and rc are right, a model 94 would be pretty much perfect right out of the box (or off the flea market table)... 30-30 is a fine round, nothing wrong with it and the lever guns have been putting meat on tables since before there were cars... I'm just being a pain in the rear and trying to find out some info here... also, I like odd things ;-) so a tiny little legal .308 would be right up my alley.
 
I'm sure I'll get a bashing for this... but, does a gunsmith have to cut the barrel? I'm pretty handy, my shop is bigger than alot of people's houses and full of just about any tool you can imagine, ( no lathes or cnc stuff though )...
Click to expand...
It certainly is possible to do it yourself. You will want a piloted crown cutter to finish the muzzle. Brownells has them.

I understand what a crown is, but is it necessary?
Click to expand...
Only if you want to HIT what you're shooting at. ;) The bullet needs to leave the muzzle precisely squarely and evenly. A ding or booger at the crown will tip the bullet microscopically off it's spin axis and cause really poor accuracy.

Just to satisfy my ignorance, what would happen if I were to cut the barrel squarely with a metal bandsaw (those move slow so as not to produce as much heat) and just shot it?
Click to expand...
Probably just what I said above. But no reason not to try. You can always come home from the range and order the cutter after you've given it a try.

You can also try a home-brew version with a brass carriage bolt and some valve-grinding compound, but I'd just do it the semi-pro way myself.
 
good to know sam, thanks for that info...

I know enough about guns to know that I'm not competent enough to even think about messing with internals, when I was much younger I got an old mauser from some place that the headspacing was worn out on and I got a punctured primer, I sold the gun to an old man with the understanding that it was just for decoration from then on... thank god it was a mauser so I didn't get a bolt through the eye...

but cutting the barrel sounds like something I might be able to do...

to be sure I'm legal, where to I measure from? I've heard lots of things about measuring barrel length...
 
Barrel length is EASY. No idea how people get so confused.

Close the action. Drop a wood dowel down the bore until it sits hard against the bolt face. Mark the rod right where it disappears into the barrel. Pull out rod, measure from the bolt face end to your mark == there's your barrel length, legally.

Harder to type than to do.
 
A rifle barrel must be 16" long to be legal.
Better make that 16 1/2" just to have a little wiggle room when you cut it off the second time to get it straighter, and then crown it.

rc
 
cool, that sounds pretty legit and hard to mess up. I'd probably go a couple inches longer than legal just to avoid any confusion or possible issues.

I looked up the cutter, 50 bucks + shipping isn't bad... sounds like I might get out of this pretty darn cheap. I'm not looking for a super duper rifle here, just something I can put in my pack for the longer shots that my small game rifle can't handle. I really like to just make a pack and go hunting for a day or two keeping what's in season at the time, but the Rossi Circuit Judge was a HUGE letdown... I was really hoping for a 75 yard gun with that thing, 50 yards is really the max limit for it though :mad:

I figure anything at 100 yards -200 yards should be far enough away to give me time to get out of my pack and grab the longer range rifle.

we'll see where this goes, maybe swing by the flea market this weekend and see what there is to buy. If I go through with this, I'll definitely share my progress on here.
 
There have been a number of high concept carbon fiber/skeleton stocked rifles created for this idea.

None are what I'd call 'cheap'.

But starting with a plain jain Savage bolt gun and a little time I'd bet you could create your own ultra lightweight rifle.
 
that savage levergun looks pretty cool, but might be hard to come by locally. I really don't like ordering things off of the net if I don't absolutely have to.

I'm really liking the idea of just cutting down a cheap flea market gun... that way if it's irreparably damaged, it's not a great loss either. Upon further thought, there's no reason for me to worry about iron sights, since this will be a "long range" gun anyhow... by long range I mean over 50 yards.

Maybe something will present itself in the next week or two. I've already got some good ideas for playing with the stock a bit as well. I had a mossberg 100 atr a while back that was a great little "trash" rifle, I really liked it for what it was, and they are pretty cheap on the used market. Anyhow, it'll give me an excuse to go look at guns at the flea market for a bit!
 
id go for a .357mag or .44 mag lever.

or a compact bolt in 7mm-08



some will crucify me for saying this but what about a sporterized mosin?
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.

Similar threads

J
  • Locked
Deer Rifle Suggestions
Replies
6
Views
509
Art Eatman
A
F
  • Locked
New Hunting rifle
Replies
9
Views
612
hardluk1
H
B
  • Locked
Walking in the woods rifle
2 3 4 5
Replies
117
Views
8K
tjmga
T
A
  • Locked
Need suggestions for a rifle
2
Replies
29
Views
815
TCB in TN
T
C
  • Locked
Best semi-auto 30-06 rifle
2
Replies
39
Views
15K
PurpleProwess
P
Back
Top