The handy to carry rifles ; post your pics

[Float Pilot]

Some rifles are just a dream to carry. They balance well and weigh less than 8 pounds. Usually they point fast as well.

I was going through the safes during the quarterly oiling and weighed a few.

Here is a good classic example to start with:

A 1940 Model 94 Winchester in 30-30.
6.5 pounds empty. Balances right under the forward action.
2 MOA accuracy and since it is an older M-94 it does not jam.
OK for a 150 yard woods rifle. The only down side is the problem with mounting optics for those who need them and mounting a sling.

 

[Float Pilot]

Here is another rifle that is a dream to carry and hunt with;

A 1957 Husqvarna Lightweight (1640 action) in 30-06.
This classic rifle weighs 7.3 pounds with the sling and scope attached.
It balances right at the forward action screw and points very well.
It will also shoot SUB-MOA groups with the right hand-loads.
Yes that is a double set trigger.

 

[Ditch-Tiger]

C-Z 527 carbine chambered in 7.62x39. Leupold 2.5x compact scope.
Short, light, points well, accurate (set trigger) and fast. Everything you want in a stalking rifle.

 

[nastynatesfish]

I've got a small ring mauser in 8mm it's got a 22" barrel instead of the 29". It's drilled and tapped but I really enjoy it open sights. Not sure of weight but it's pretty light. I shoot factory Remington 170gr core locs out of it and it's a damn fine carry gun. I've killed a hog with it only to date but it's always in the truck with me
It's the one in front


Oh ya and I got it for 100bucks lol

 

[Roadkill]

Armalite M4 w/ACOG - maddog sent me some 77g V max bullets and I got this doe stalking with the first shot. Very easy rifle to use in brush. I like that CZ 527.

 

[Float Pilot]

While ARs in 5.56mm are pretty marginal up here, there are some critters for which they will work. I made up this little Bushmaster AR ( simple Israeli Style ) with a 1 in 9 twist for my wife ( she is former Army). I used an A1 style upper and a pencil thin barrel.

It balances better with a 20 round mag. But I had a 30rd handy for the photo.

It weighs 6.70 pounds with an empty 30 round mag. Balances around the mag well area and since this one is pretty tight it shoots really good groups at 100 and 150 meters. It likes the old flat base 60 grain soft points and will shoot MOA from a bench until the barrel heats up...

 

[Float Pilot]

Here is one that is marginal.

A Browning model 1886 Saddle Ring Carbine in 45-70.
It weighs 7.95 pounds empty and balances right at the action.
But the factory sights are marginal and do not lock into place.
A peep sight would be better.
PLUS, while it balances for carry right at the receiver, it just does not shoulder and point well with the darned butt-plate design. AND, the stock is a bit fat...
When the mag tube is loaded it begins to be a bit barrel end heavy. Attaching a sling goofs up the stock, so I use a scabbard for this rifle.

This rifle was SUPER picky about what loads it liked. Finally I found a hand-load using a 350 grain jacketed soft point, loaded with 53 grains of BENCHMARK, a CCI-200 ( WW Brass) and a Lee Factory crimp.
That load gives 1,940 fps and a half inch group at 100 yards. Recoil is stiff due to the butt-plate design but manageable. Other loads are hotter or heavier, but most of them are in the 2 to 4 inch group range.

 

[sappyg]

Ruger International in 308. I need to take some other pics but, it's fast in the woods and hits like a hammer... On both ends.
I have no idea what it weighs. Though its very accurate with 150 gr Nosler BT I prefer 130 gr. Speer bullets. From the bench it can get up in your face.
This is my close range reach out rifle. Quick to the shoulder this is the rifle I carry most often when I'm not sure where I might wind up.

 

[Float Pilot]

That is cute... I have handled ( fondled ) couple ....I always wondered how accurate they were....
All the reviews I have read about them say they weigh between 6.9 to 7.1 pounds depending on the wood density.

 

[witchhunter]

I love the Winchester 1894, but the '92 balances better.

 

[351 WINCHESTER]

I have hunted deer since the mid 1960's. To me nothing carries and balances better than a Marlin or Winchester lever. An added bonus is how quickly they come into action. I can shoulder my marlin and cock the hammer much quicker than I can bring any other rifle into action.

 

[jstein650]

Another lever fan here. The Puma .44 on the right is about as handy as they come for close deer.

 

[TheHappyGunner]

That's a beautiful rifle, jstein.

 

[tahunua001]

for me, that rifle is the type44 arisaka carbine.

 

[Nite Ryder]

I too love a Winchester 94 in 30-30, but a Marlin 1894 in 44 Mag makes a fast rifle for close shots also. When I'm going to be hiking quite a ways I take my Weatherby Ultra lite in 30-06 and hope I don't see a huge deer that I can't resist. It is a fine rifle to carry, very accurate with the small light weight scope that is installed on it, but terrible to shoot. The last Elk I shot was just unlucky. I contemplated not shooting because he was a spike, but a spike was a legal Bull Elk, so after what seemed to be minutes, I squeezed the trigger on my 340 Weatherby. Sorry, I don't have photos of either Weatherby.

 

[tahoe2]

1893 Spanish Mauser

In 7x57 Mauser with a 20" barrel and a Mannlicher style stock, it's a light & handy little rifle along the lines of a "Cavalry Carbine".
It's not scoped, and it produces 1" groups at 50 yds ans 3" at 100, with iron sights and my hand-loads.
It's kinda like "sappyg's" 308 Ruger (post # 8), but of course it's 82 yrs old!
I need to get pics of it.

 

[Float Pilot]

And for those of us who sometimes hunt with Muzzle Loaders...

A 1970s vintage Parker Hale .577 caliber Artillery Carbine. 24 inch barrel. But short overall due to the design.
7 pounds even when loaded.

I have not found the best load for it yet... BUT, So far the best is a 1.75 inch group at 50 yards and a 3.25 inch group at 100 yards using a 510 grain Minie' bullet.

 

[twofifty]

5.5# - now that is light

To me easy carrying in the field includes carrying one-handed with the hand under the rifle's balance point. Usually that's where the mag is. Any mag that sticks out to any extent beyond the bottom metal will be a beatch to carry one-handed.

My easiest carrying rifle is a 5.5# wood-stocked Savage model 11. (base/rings/scope extra weight).

With a 20" barrel, a flush DBM, and cushy recoil pad it is very easy to carry all day long and is an easy shooter in the sub-.30 or non-magnum calibers.

At 5.5#, there is no need to constantly shift is from side to side trying to even the load out. It carries one-handed scope side up or down. On a sling the barrel is so short that you don't get hung up in branches or poke the muzzle into snow or mud. The wood stock almost feels 'warm' to the touch in cold weather. Shoulders and gets on target in a flash. Sweet trigger.

Did I say it weighs 5.5#?

 

[az_imuth]

As soon as I read the thread title, "Handy to carry rifles...", an image of a model 94 Winchester popped into my head before I even opened up the thread. That's gotta be one of the sweetest carry rifles ever designed. In fact, most levers, especially the '86, '92 and '94 all carry really well for me.

Thanks for an enjoyable thread and kudos to all the posters for pics of those fine looking rifles!

 

[jmr40]

Kimber 308. It is a full pound lighter scoped than my lever 30-30's are unscoped.



Out shoots them too.

 

[Shanghai McCoy]

I'll be taking my 1949 Winchester 94 in 32 Special for a walk in the woods on opening day Wednesday...

 

[Esoxchaser]

.308 Browning BLR
.22 Browning BL-22

Not home. Pics later. If I remember.............and can find this thread again. LOL

 

[magnatecman]

Here is my latest, a new Muzzle Loader from LHR Sporting Arms. Rifle alone weighs 7 pounds and balance is right at the scope. 24" barrel gives up nothing to my 28" barrel on my Omega.

 

[Reloadron]

Discounting my AR type rifles which are OK for hunting but not my first choices I have a few hunting rifles that I feel meet the short and handy definition. Living in Ohio deer hunting with a rifle is prohibited so most of me deer hunting was done in a very mountainous section of West Virginia in pretty thick brush country. Seldom is a shot 100 yards with most of my deer taken inside 60 yards of brush.

My old Ruger 44 Carbine weighs in at 6.5 pounds with an 18.5" barrel and an overall length of 37", chambered in 44 Magnum. The Ruger 44 is pictured in the foreground. The second rifle is my Marlin 444 lever gun weighing in at 7.5 pounds having a 22" barrel and an overall length of 40.5". I have a nice Leupold 4X fixed scope I have moved between these rifles but went back to standard open sights, I just figure the scope is a waste on a 100 yard deer rifle.



With both rifles being short I can carry either holding the small of the stock at my side and the barrels don't even reach the ground. Bringing either rifle up and on target is easily done for getting a shot off quickly.





While I have other hunting rifles in large rifle calibers these two rifles have over many years been my favorite go to rifles for hunting deer sized game in mountainous brush country.

Ron

 

[Float Pilot]

Those Ruger 44 mag semi-auto carbines are great and have a cult following. I wish I had never sold mine. I could never figure out why Ruger did not make another run of them. I would stand in that line...