Hey guys, I don't want to be ungracious, but if you read the original message carefully, you'll understand I've given this rifle a LOT of thought. It is not my first custom build and I realize that a #1 contour is lighter than a #4 fluted, and that if I put a Bansner or Edge stock on the Model 7 barrelled action I currently have that I could easily make the weight I'm looking for. That is not what I'm looking for.

From a strictly utilitarian standpoint, what I want to do is a waste of money. My current Model 7, 7-08 stainless/synthetic currently shoots about .75 with 140 Sierras and Varget. Of a pretty sizable number of whitetails I've shot over the past couple of decades, maybe one was over 100 yards. That one was not 150 yards. The last 2 I shot were with a 6x223, one at about 100 yards and one at about 20 yards. The closest was shot at about 6 yards with a .250 Savage.

I'm looking to build the rifle I want, not the rifle I need.

So, has anyone built a sub 6 pound rifle on a stainless model 7 action with a fluted 20" barrel? If so, how satisfied were you with the finished rifle in terms of balance and accuracy?

To OregonMuley above who suggested having Mr. Kampfeld fluting a completed #3 contour barrel, Thank you for that input and that is an option. The gunsmith who will do my work builds benchrest competition guns as well as hunting rifles and built a rifle that placed in the Benchrest Supershoot within the past few years. He knows what he's about. His position is that any external barrel work that's completed after the barrel is finish lapped will have impact on final bore /groove dimensions due to removed material affecting internal dimension. As I understand it, all the top barrel makers complete all eternal contouring work before the barrel is finish lapped. This may have negligible impact on accuracy, I don't know, but because my funds are limited, I'm looking for maximum achievable accuracy without making any mistakes.

YukonAl's sheep rifle above is beautiful and will probably be very similar to what I end up with if I can't make the fluted barrel thing work

Thanks again,

Frank Shaw