By the time your done trying to make a 10 lb rifle lite you will have essentially replaced most of the hardware.
I did exactly the same thing when I had a custom 280 AI built. I shortly after learned that I much prefer a lite rifle. I chose to leave the 280 AI as is rather than rebuild the entire rifle.
My solution to the problem was to buy a Tikka T3 lite and top it with a lite scope for my mountain rifle excursions. A Kimber Montana would also do rather nicely. In the end you'll end up with 2 nice rifles for what you would have spent on one.
I use my 10 lb 280 AI for a number of hunting situation, just not mountain excursions. In the end I have discovered my heavy 280 AI is indeed very useful for a some of my hunting situations. My barrel is 23" and in my opinion gives 99% of what the 280AI has to offer.
Shod
