Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What 7mm-08 SS lightweight to get?

I want to get a 7mm-08 ss lightweight rifle with detached mag. I will scope this rifle as eye sight is not as good as it used to be. This will be used for hunting deer and elk in heavy timber with shots out to 250 yards max, most will be under 150.Would like it to be as light as I can get it. I can not afford another Nula as that would be my first choice. I would like to try Melvin's new rifle but don't think I want to wait that long besides that means next year i will have to get one when they become available. I know I don't need one but we all know we need more guns.
So a scoped, stainless, synthetic, and with a detach mag in 7mm-08 that is as light as they come. Would like sub moa with factory ammo as I do not reload. I would like to spend $1500 or less on rifle. Don't know if I will be able to turn another rifle next year so is there something out there you would recommend or should I put a order in for a Forbes. Also can you turn the Forbes to a drop mag?

That sounds like a Tikka t3 Lite in a nutshell. Only gripes I have with them is there is not true short action length and the plastic mags, but neither are real concerns. Most shoot lights out with about anything you put through them.

Here you go. Sell the laminate stock to help fund a McMillan EDGE stock.

https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth.../1/remington_mountain_laminate_st#UNREAD

Used Sako Finnlight or a Browning x-bolt Stainless Stalker. Out of all my Tikka's the two I had chambered in the 7/08, were the only ones that gave me accuracy issues. My x-bolt 7/08 is a joy to shoot and carry and shoots little bughole groups. Good Luck.

Go 308 if you don't load,as better ammo and a broader scope of boolits,abound. I'm unaware of anyone's DBM that'll align ULA/NULA fastener spacing. Montucky 84M screw spacing is a far better fit towards DBM and would be perhaps doable in a stock other than OEM(too trite to digest same).

Build a S/S Faux Ti 308,opt Atlas DBM,keep the barrel short and enjoy...while feeding AICS 5-rounders to keep schit "low".

Forget the DBM and go Montucky 308 for the Win.

Hint.

I just sold off my wife's M70 FWT 7-08 and picked up a Sako Finnlight 7-08 for her...what nice little rifle. I really like the stock on the newer finlights and they feel so good. Maybe not the lightest out there but a high end rifle.

Stick recommending 308 over 7mm-08, WTF? It's a mad, mad, mad, mad world...

I have always liked sako but would like a little lighter. So anybody know if you can make a Forbes into a drop mag and what would it take. Also looking at Kimber Montana.

See which one feels right to you. That'll be the best rifle.

If you want to go as light as possible get a compact, lightweight scope... Leupold FXII 4X would be my choice. And if you're looking to shave ounces skip the detachable mag and get a light weight ADL style synthetic stock

Should the OP decide to go that route, don't dilly-dally as it won't last long...
https://www.24hourcampfire.com/ubbth.../1/FS_Rem_700_308_SS_MR_in_Hunter#UNREAD

Nice rifle!

T3 matches perfectly.

If you're willing to spend more and go without DBM, a Montana won't hurt your feelings.

Tom,

If you can skip the DBM, the Kimber makes for a killer timber rifle at ~5lbs. Got mine this past August and have no complaints. Wouldn't go any other way now for a light rifle.

Last year I carried a Tikka Super Light (~6lbs.) and that extra pound of weight was very noticeable on the coast with all that loose ground, vegetation, and steep hillsides. Not much difference in open country like E Oregon, but on the coast a lighter rifle makes more sense to me where you've got plants wrapped around your ankles, and booby traps in the ferns. Very easy to carry in one hand while climbing through nasty crap instead of constantly slinging/unslinging. The Super Light just didn't carry as well in that thick stuff. All my Tikkas (had 5 of them in total) are gone now and I don't miss them one bit.

I hunted E Oregon for elk this year and got tag soup but nailed this blacktail on the coast with a 120gr TTSX.

Jason

Tikka T3 Lite stainless. Look at Bud's gunshop online, they had them for $608 shipped and insured.

Get a set of Talleys from 16bore's dad, then have mudder700 paint the stock. Add a Limbsaver recoil pad and you can kill deer




and elk.





In Oregon, too.



P

Wondering where you get the 'extra pound of weight' from?

How much does that setup in the photo weigh?

The Tikka Super Lights are ~6lbs, bare. Kimber Montana short actions are ~5lbs. The math is 6 - 5 = 1. Same scope on both rifles, 6x42.

Haven't weighed the Montucky but I'm guessing ~6lbs with scope and rings.

If you want to really count ounces, don't forget to add a few for a Limbsaver on the T3. Most guys seem to add a Limbsaver.

Paid $499 for my last stainless synthetic T3 at Sports Authority. Don't know if they still sell them that low or not.

So Tika or Kimber or wait on Forbes. Nice animals Jason n Pharmseller.

Unlike most manufacturers, the listed weight for the sako 85 finnlight is actually significantly more than what it really weighs. From memory, the .308 is only about 5 1/2 pounds in reality. The finnlight really is only a few ounces more than the Montana. Personally, I'd take the finnlight.

My SL in .308 weighed 5lbs 10 oz with rings on my postal scale. Exactly as advertised. Kimber lists a Montana .308 as approximately 5 lbs 2 oz without rings. Assuming the approximate weight holds true (and there is probably variation due to the stock material) if you add 2 ozs for some Talleys you now have a 5 lb 4 oz rifle. You seem to be able to do simple subtraction so I'm guessing you can figure out the Montana is 6 ozs less than the Tikka. What you don't appear to be able to figure out is weight equivalency. 6 oz...ain't even close to a pound.

Montana's are nice rifles. They definitely fit the bill for a light mountain rifle. But they ain't a pound lighter. You may like the balance of the Montana better, but stick to your subjective opinions which have some merit. Your 'facts' aren't--and don't.