Yeah, I've seen that number, but have weighed a bunch of NULA rifles and haven't seen that difference, and suspect the listed Model 20 weight is from one of Melvin's early .284's, perhaps the first very first one.
Once owned a M20 in 7x57 with a 22" #1 which with a 7.5 ounce 4x28 Leupold Compact weighed 5 pounds 10 ounces. My wife had a M24 .270 Winchester with a 22" #1 that weighed 6 pounds on the nose with a 11.5-ounce Bausch & Lomb Compact 2-8x. The barrels would weigh just about exactly the same, due to the similar calibers. Subtract the difference in the scope weights and the difference in the rifles themselves was only two ounces.
My present M24 .30-06 with a 24" #2 barrel also weighs 6 pounds on the nose with a 6x33 Leupold weighing 8.5 ounces. My wife has a Model 20 .257 Roberts with a 24" #2 barrel that weighs 6 pounds 10 ounces with a 12.5-ounce 3.5-10x40 Leupold VX-3. The VX-3 weighs 4 ounces more than the 6x33. Subtract that from the .257 and it still weighs 4 ounces more than the .30-06. Half of that is the approximate 2 ounces of difference between the .25 and .30 caliber barrels, but the fact is that Eileen's .257 Model 20 actually weighs a little MORE than my Model 24 .30-06.
I could provide other examples from actually weighing a bunch of NULA's, but the truth is a Model 20 does NOT weigh half a pound less than a Model 24, and sometimes doesn't weigh any less. The scope mounts on all those rifles, by the way, are the standard NULA rings.
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