Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Which Lightweight 30-06 Bolt rifle ?

Yup.

I would not be unappy if the action were a M98 Mauser at similar weight/balance either.

Lightweight 30-06? Unless you are set on a bolt gun there are a couple of very high quality single shots out there like the Merkel Stalking rifle and the Blaser K95 that are light, relatively short, and very handy. And they are nice to look at while you are taking a break, sitting up against an old oak.

I have a Husqvarna marketed by Tradewinds in Tacoma WA as the Tradewinds Husky. Recoil was much reduced when my gunsmith cut off the stock to remove a lot of the pitch and installed a thin pad. It is accurate, light, simple and absolutely reliable.

I had the pleasure of purchasing a Kimber 84L rifle in 30-06 from our local Rocky Mountain Elk Chapter Banquet this March.

I may never shoot it, as it is a first run RMEF rifle, and I have a Remington 700 in 280 Rem and Kimber Montana in 300 WSM that I like very much. However, with that being said, I love the feel and balance of the 84L. It is just a great rifle to handle and IMO, about the perfect weight.

I don't know when they will be available on store shelves, but you may want to hold off a bit.

donsm70

"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 ?"

I'm seventy now. When I was a mere youth of fifty two I got a Rem Mtn. Rifle in -06 and have never regreted it. Even with it's light weight it's accurate and the attractive stock design is so good it's pleasant to shoot hot 150 gr. loads. Deadly on deer, easy to carry.

For affordable, I'd go a Rem M700 in ADL config, buy a Bell/Carlson Ti stock (Stocky's for ~$200). Sell the original stock for $35-50, put Talleys lightweights on it and a Leupold 2-7 VX II. You'll be ~ 7.5 lbs and out ~ $800-850 if you buy the gun used. You could save a few extra bucks and buy everything except the Talley's used and save a bit more. I'd also bet you get close to 7.5 lbs with an M70 Classic as well but will cost you an extra $1-150 to acquire the M70 and another $200 for a McM Edge.

Or a Kimber LA does have some appeal. My Kimber Montana in 300 WSM weighed 6lb 15 oz with 3-9x40 Leupie. You'll be out ~ $1250-1300.

A lightweight 30-06 do have much appeal. If it was me, I wouldn't chase the last couple of ounces. Anything under 7.5 lbs gets expensive quick - getting to 7.5 isn't all that hard. If you're worried about 3-4 ounces, buy yourself a postal scale and weigh everything you "normally" carry with you. I guarantee you can trim more than 3-4 ounces once you assemble and weigh the pile of stuff you take.

Depending on your recoil tolerance, the 30-06 is rather mild mannered but when you get under 7lbs and shoot full power 180's, recoil is much more noticeable. I have an M70 in stock config but with Talleys and 3-9 Leupie on it. It weighs right at 8lbs. 180's at 2800 to 2850 are noticeable but certainly not objectionable. My 7lb 300 WSM was uncomfortable to me. My current 300 SAUM at 7.5 lbs isn't objectionable but you need to have good shooting form or it will bite you with full power 180's (2950 ft/sec). For me, I've settled on 7.5 to 8.0 as a good compromise between portability and shootability - bench and field.

A new or used Weatherby Mark V ultra light weight 30-06 5 3/4 lbs!!!!

http://www.weatherby.com/product/rifles/markv/ultralight

I have seen these under $800 used here in Alabama
AMRA

I have a original 700 ti in 308 and if I were going to go for a LW 30.06 I would wait to handle one of the new kimber Montanas,

If you haven't shot a light rifle before you might want to borrow one for a range session before you spring for one.

I can shoot my Ti about as good as anything from the bench or prone supported, but its no where close to a 7.5lb rifle offhand. Could I practice myself to the same level of skill, maybe, maybe not

Does this matter? depends on your ability to shoot a 6lb rifle from the field positions you use. Around home I shoot a good number of deer on the ground off hand and while carrying my Ti felt good it just wasn't as effective in my hands as a rifle weighing a pound or so more.

If I hunted in more open terrain where more(most) shots would have a rest than I would be tempted to take the Ti.

Just a thought.

Tikka T3 SS, Tikka T3 Lite, Sako 85 Finnlight, Sako 85 SS or a synthetic A7.

Kimber made the long action Montanas several years ago. I handled one in .270. They were getting bad press because they used the same size action for the 06 parrent cartridge as they did for the .375 H&H cartridge. Some felt that this made the rifle unnecessarly too long.

I do not know if Kimber is currently listing the Long Action Montanas.

GB

That was the Model 8400. It is the new Model 84 long action Montana that folks are waiting on now. You probably knew that....

bcraig,

The Ruger M77 MkII is a relatively lightweight rifle of high quality. It's about the lightest 30-06 I would want. I won't trade mine. A 6-pound 30-06 shooting 180 grain bullets slaps a shooter pretty hard. If you want a lightweight rifle, I suggest you get it in a lighter caliber, like 260, 7-08, or 6.5x55.

An excellent lightweight 30-06 is the Weatherby MkV Ultra-Light. Very good rifle that weighs 5-3/4 lbs bare, but the stock design mitigates recoil to a great degree.

I am not really looking to get kicked silly but really dont think it would be a huge issue either as once I sight it in and shoot it at various yardages to see where it actually hits I wont be shooting it much, maybe two or three times a year if I am lucky enough to get a shot at a deer.Plus I dont think it would be any worse than the 12 gauge turkey loads out of a pump 870 shotgun ! In addition by the time I add scope mounts and a 10 ounce scope(either Leupold 4x or 6 x,plus 4 or 5 rounds of ammo(bout an ounce a round) and a sling and swivels(5 to 8 ounces) ,I will have added between 1-1/2 and 2 pounds to the base weight of the rifle.Plus I have a fondness for the little stretch ammo carriers that fit on your buttstock to carry an extra 5 rounds or so of ammo.I like them because the rifle and ammo are all one package and I could just grab the rifle and have ammo to hunt with even if I was dumb enough to forget and leave ammo box at home.I always leave the ammo in the loops of the ammo carrier and then load the gun when I go hunting so that 5 ounces or so is in reality for me an integeral part of the rifle weight.
SO the reality of it (for me and the way I hunt anyway)even if I start with a Rifle that weighs 6 pounds by the time I add everything else to it I am talking about at least 8 pounds and probably a little more.

Craig,

If the question is light with rifles, then the answer is New Ultra Light Arms.

My M24 .30-'06 in particular...jim

Tell me about the rifle Jim.

+1
Also, how does it compare to the Steyr Scout?

Will my 50+ years old Husqvarna Fwt with Denver 4X Redfield work?



Seven and a half pounds all up, with five in the magazine and leather sling. Still puts a magazine full (5) of 180 Partitions into less than three inches at 200 yd.

Ted

Nice rig there Ted!

Dober

I recently bought a Marlin XL7 with a walnut stock.The rifle sold for $364.00 new,they went up a little since https://www.wholesalehunter.com/searchResult.asp?keywords=marlin+xl7 .I am impressed at the quality for such a low price.The rifle weighs 6.5lbs,trigger is great right out of the box,22" barrel,shoots great groups and what also impressed me was the recoil pad gave me the feel of mild recoil with the 30-06.

I just bought a used Rem 700 FS in 30-06. Jim in Idaho is dead on. Completely factory except for trigger it goes a hair over 6 pounds. So far it has shot 165 bt, 180spbt, and 180sp into an inch with initial test loads. Going to play with the 180SP a bit more. Bought it used for less than $300 and I like the Brown Precision stock a lot.