Thinking about getting a Lightweight 30-06 bolt rifle. I have a Remington 700 Adl with camo plastic stock and 24 inch barrel and an Interarms Mark X Mauser with Mannlicher stock but just thinking bout something a pound or more lighter. No big deal and I am sure that carrying that extra pound or two for the Mile or so I walk(at the most)on any given day deer hunting wont hurt me at all !(Flatlands of central Arkansas )But I am just an old(50) rifle nut who enjoys talking about and shooting rifles.Always in search of the ultimate ,end all ,be all deer rifle ! LOL BUT if a man just had to have a lighter weight 30-06 what would you buy or what would you do to get it ? Thanks for the input.... Craig
First off, why not get a 308? SHoots 150 to 165 grainers right with or better than a 30-06. The short action will save some weight even w/ all other factors being equal.
I've a Winchester Model 70 Featherweight and a Colt Light Rifle. The Winchester shoots well, the Colt is lousy. If I were buying one today, I'd go with a Kimber Montana.
Can only relate my own experience with Remington 700 FS (fiberglass stock) rifles. This is a standard M700 with 22� sporter contour barrel in a Brown Precision stock. The rifle with a Leupold 4X scope and Talley lightweight mounts comes to 6 lbs 15 oz unloaded. Same standard M700 barreled action in a McMillan Edge would probably be within an ounce of that weight. If you wanted to get fancy and put a mountain rifle contour barrel on it that would take off another few ounces. Of course, those are both $450 to $500 options to add the stock.
But used FS models show up occasionally on gunbroker for about the price of an Edge stock by itself.
Another relatively inexpensive option if you are not wedded to the .30-06 is to get one of the Gander Mountain or Cabelas special runs in .308. These mate a mountain rifle barreled action to an original Ti stock from Bell & Carlson. The GM is a stainless model while the Cabelas is matte blued. I have a Cabelas model and with a Leupold 4X scope in Talley�s (hmm, sensing a pattern here ) it weighs 6 lbs 8 ounces unloaded. A bit harder to find but mine was right around $500 brand new.
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery. Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
Another turn key solution is to just get a Tikka T3 Lite, then you could stay with the .30-06. Those weigh something like 6 lbs 3 oz. With 11 ounces of scope and mount you are still looking at under 7 pounds all up.
Gunnery, gunnery, gunnery. Hit the target, all else is twaddle!
I would look for a stainless 700, most likely a BDL SS or SPS SS, re-crown at 22", put it in an edge-fill McMillan handle of my choice, and go hunting. That should make a scoped weight of 7.25lbs or so and be as light as I'd want to go in a 30-06. Balance should be there also, due to the sporter-weight barrel. You could also spend a bit more and just re-barrel/re-stock the ADL you already have. Balance and feel are more important to me than overall weight. (within reason)
The "Faux Ti" approach yields a lot for the money. I like mine just fine, but will likely go to an edge handle one of these days. My hands are on the smallish side and the Ti stock feels a bit chunky in the grip.
Just stick a Basner on that Mauser and you will have dropped more than a pound. I have a Husqvarna 30-06 in a Basner and it is pretty sweet. The barrels on those older Mauser sporters seem to be of a lighter contour than most barrels today (probably because people weren't so concerned with group shooting) and are more like mountain rifle barrels today. Put them in a truly lightweight stock and you have a rifle that seems to be considerably lighter and better balanced than most rifles you pick up today.
I went to the Mcmillan site. OUCH ! dont think I will be going that route ! How much weight does the Ti stock shave off compared to the plastic camo stock I have on the Remington rifle now ? Seems like I saw them offered some time ago on here for a reasonable price. Can any weight be shaved off the stock I have now? BTW I will be using either a M8 4x or Fx II 4x or 6x in either Talley lightweights or Weaver bases and some type of Weaver style lightweight rings. Also wanting to get just a simple lightweight carrying sling just a Lightweight, non adjustable simple strap. Also i am sure the Tikka is a fine rifle but I just dont like Detachable Magazines. I lose enough crap as it is !
A 1st generation Ti style (2950 series) handle should weigh about 26oz. Many of the older "plastic" injection handles weighed 36+ ounces. The Ti has the mountain rifle barrel channel, which would have to be opened up a bit for a standard 700 sporter barrel. Not a big deal.
I don't think Kimber offers a "montana" version of the long 84 yet. Last I checked their site only 84 long versions were blued with wood stock in 2 different grades. When they do, that would probably be my first choice if they did.
If Weatherby makes their lightweight in '06, that might be 2nd choice.
NULA is supposed to be good ... twice the price, it better be good.
For the time being, I have an 84M Montana in .308 and since mine is one of the ones that shoots ok (getting better, in fact) I won't probably need an '06.
Tom
Anyone who thinks there's two sides to everything hasn't met a M�bius strip.
Personally, I'd wait for the Kimber 84L Montana if I absolutely had to have a light weight 30-06. Otherwise, I'm perfectly content with the 'lil sky 84M Montana in .308
Go look at a stainless 30-06 Sako A-7. It will be as light, as durable, and as accurate in the field as most any high dollar rifle you can buy. It has an outstanding detachable magazine system that you can remove and use, or if you choose, in the 30-06, you can completely load the rifle magazine from the top while leaving the mag in place. Just leave the mag box in place and ignore if you so choose. To add icing to the cake, the ergonomics and handling characteristics are outstanding. The plastics used are hell for stout along the lines of a Glock or SigPro capable of taking a good amount of abuse. Probably the best deal in rifles for the dollar going today.
Best:)
�I've never met a genius. A genius to me is someone who does well at something he hates. Anybody can do well at something he loves -- it's just a question of finding the subject.�
Maybe I should have started a new thread, but my comment is about light rifles. Seems to be the big trend around here (northern Wisc). We have A LOT of guys sitting by big piles of corn all day waiting for a big buck. They get out of their vehicle, walk a ways into the brush and sit on their ass all day. So I guess my question is, why do you need a super light rifle for that? If you're still hunting, or making drives or in the mountains, especially with a little age on you, a nice light rifle is the ticket. But for the average 175=250 pound guy, an 8lb rifle should be no problem. I've got one 6.5x55, 94 Swede that I put together two years ago as my light rifle, (around 6lbs) and the rest are 8lbs or so. I actually like a little weight in a rifle. I guess that's my rant for today.
) it weighs 6 lbs 8 ounces unloaded. A bit harder to find but mine was right around $500 brand new.
