I've always loved to experiment a little and this is an idea I've been kicking around in my head for a while. I wanted to see how light of a rifle I could build on the cheap if I thought outside of the box a little. The goal was sub-5 lbs. and it had to come in well under a grand. I'm pretty happy with what I was able to come up with.

Started with a barrel, .35 Remington, 21" tapered, bought out of the classified for $150. Then I found the butt stock which was a GSI brand I believe it was, unfinished blank for $35. Added a $30 Pachmayr declerator at the proper length then went to town with a drill and a router. Foreend is a factory ryanite ($35), that I knocked the rough edges off of. Found a full rifle that I bought local and sold off all the parts to get into the action for right at $100. Met a local forum member for the 4x Leupold Compact for ~170 and added the XS ghost ring set up for just under another $100. Base and rings are Weaver bought local for about $15. Add on some money or so for paint, sandpaper, etc. for a total of about $650. I cut off the part of the base that hung out in space and added it inside the butt stock to hold the XS ghost ring when not in use. Also inleted a couple of bolts in the side of the stock to hold my homemade shell holder. Wood is finished with Krylon and Rustoleum textured. Barrel and action finished with 500 degree cermaic engine block paint.

Rifle with 3 rounds of ammo and scope on board weighs 5 lbs. 6.5 oz. and with just ghost ring set up 4 lbs. 11.6 oz. Having done it all now I'm sure a lighter scope, mount, ring set up could save me about 3 oz. Forgoing the ghost ring set up could also save me 3 oz. Also going with a larger caliber like a .375 winchester could get me under 5 lbs. scope, but I'm happy with what i came up with.

With scope:




Ghost ring mode:




Detail of sight holder and shell holder:


Thoughts?

That is awesome! You did a great job with the painting. I have been thinking about doing something just like this but with a 500 S&W barrel, now I am going to have to do it.

I like it. One nice feature is that you can break it down, so you can stow in inside you pack. Some of the places I go I walk in the day before the season, or use a trail where there are nonhunters/families and something like this avoids the looks.

In your experience,does the scope hold zero when remounting?

Haven't gotten to test zero with the scope yet, but that's first up on my list. Folks using the weaver rings say they are pretty good about it. I figure this is a 200 yard rifle and should be close enough to get the job done. I should have a better answer for you this week.

Forgot to mention the take down aspect. Also one of the plans of this project, nothing on this set up can't be worked on with my Swiss army knife that I always have with me, taken down to.

I think if I was looking for a purely scoped set up I would go with a dead nuts mount and 2.5 Leupold compact, that should be about as light as you can go.

I UBCd the bore as well, forgot to mention that.

Looks great, let us know how she shoots.

Looks great. What brand and color of paint did you use on the metal?

Nice work and very capable package. You could shoot cast 357bullets for small critters pretty economically and tackle big game with full power loads. A huge power spectrum.

Very cool sir!!! I have a couple lightweight rifle projects going on myself, but at double the budget. Very nifty little idea indeed, especially given the coin you threw down on it....Thanks for sharing!!!

That's what I'm thinking. Still have about. 500 .358 pistol bullets that should be fun with about 10 grains of unique.

I seem to recall the brand of paint being duplicolor, and color cast iron. Only brand I've ever seen around here and seems like every auto parts store carries the same. Tried to pick a color closest to stainless but it kind of looks more titanium. Was 7 bucks a can, I've run it before on a shotgun for work and it seems to hold up as well or better then anything else I've tried.

Thanks for the reply. I've got a few Rem 700 SPS's that I'm tired of babysitting to keep rust at bay. I've been debating Cerakote vs. Molyresin vs. Krylon. The paint you used seems like a very good compromise, and worth trying.

Wicked neat!! A former poster (JimF) here did a similar project, but I don't think he got quite that light.

I'm seriously thinking of getting a Contender for the boys to use in 3-5yrs and a project like that would be fun until then.

Thats slick, an all around, easy handling, killin' rig. Great job

That is, to use an overworked word, "AWESOME". Well thought out and very usable package. I'm kind of envious and wondering why I have not thought of that. Way cool. I may have to start gathering parts and pieces.
Take care, Les

Really nice work there B-Man. Thanks for the inspiration.

I like what you did with the stock, but I can't seem to google up anything about GSI stocks. Are they still around?

www.gunstocksinc.com. this started as a high comb model but I've filed if enough its probably close to a factory stock. Factory G2 stock seemed to fit me very well for scope use, i just got in to this one to cheap not to use it.

I confirmed the paint is Dupli-color, de1651, cast iron.

Appreciate it.

Nice little outfit Brad.

I used to have an early carbine kit that went with the G1 TC. Traded into a 16" 30-30 barrel and put Williams peeps on it. It was a handy rifle... I know it was sub 5Lbs. Nasty little [bleep] to shoot off of sandbags though.

I once had a 20" .375 Jdj, that thing was brutal. This one is funny I've shot it 10-15 times with the hotter leverloution. Quite pleasant during, but I seem to be more tender then usual the day after. Not a lot of meat on these shoulders!

Mine was the same story...

I was shooting 125 Ballistic Tips out of it, didn't have a chronograph, but they were cookin'

At the time, I had a scout rifle I'd built on a Model7.


However, I could see that rifle having some use, for say a bear rifle when you're bowhunting in the fall for Elk

Kinda what I was thinking!

I like this overall concept too.

What does an Encore action weigh? Compared to a G2 action?


Also, Norma offers 7X57 Rimmed brass, which could be used as is, or necked down to .264 or even .257, with or without an "A.I." shoulder.

Barrel would be limited to 22" max, unsure about brand and contour for now.

Optic would be a ltwt 6X or 2X7X compact with ltwt steel mounts (I never trust aluminum!). I'm partial to Leupy's, and invision using such a rig in idaho and surrounding states, mostly for stuff smaller than elk, altho the right bullet could work wonders!

Thats pretty much how I get into all mine. Get somewhere where you can glass through the middle of the day and glass when you're not taking a nap.

Putting a good stalk on a bear with a recurve is always a challenge. It usually ends with an educated bear, but its ooberfun.

Can't say on the encore. Don't have my notes in front of me, I seem to recall this G2 contender being 19 oz.

Working on the mini-Mauser for a similar rig. Interarms imported version, 7.62x39. Factory stock (walnut), Buehler rings and bases, old Japanese Bushnell compact 4x, belly full of 123s, and a sling... weighs 6.5#.

Eventually, she'll be wearing a Bansner (blind floorplate), UL rings and bases, Leupold rimfire 4x parallax adjusted to 150 yards with a CDS or M1 turret, LR duplex or dots, and the load will be 174ish grainers done up close to .303Brit territory (yes, it'll get there). Projected all-up weight is 5.5-5.75#.

I've got $300 in the rig, as it sits right now.

VA, I've often considered a similar rig, please let us know how it turns out.

I'll tell you this much... that little mini-Mauser is already one of my favorite rifles. It handles, carries, points, and shoots superbly, as is.

If you run up on an Interarms mini-Mauser in 7.62x39, don't hesitate, just buy it.

That said, the Contender rig done up like that is a cool one.

Neat package.

I'd be tempted to add a threaded barrel in .38 Special.

For even more cool.

Threaded in .45LC...

For elk, maybe.

For garden pests ...

Thinking ill just shoot .38 bullets out if this one. A .357 Max. Could be really versatile too.

The .357Max, in a carbine length barrel, will damned near equal the factory .35Rem ballistics, and do so far more efficiently.

That is a really beautiful job...I only wish I was that "artistic".

Bob

Artistic I am not, slinging krylon ain't rocket science. I do appreciate the comments though.

I wish it was possible to use a suppressor here in IN for hunting. That would be sweet with a rig like was posted on here or in 22lr for squirrels.

The closest we can come for hunting with a rig like that would be a setup like Digital Dan's.

.22 short chamber with short CB caps. Super quiet.

He kills hogs with his.

Yeah, it's pretty sad when they are considering allowing High Fence game ranches in the state, but not something like suppressors.

Very cool. I like it. Good job.

JimF got his rifle down to under 5 lbs. with the scope. It was a .260 built on a Remington 600 action that was drastically lightend. I might not have the details right, but I seem to recall a very slim 21 inch barrel and an off brand, very light stock that he modified as well. He showed me the pieces and later let me handle it when it was assembled but w/o the final finish on the metal.
My impression was it it was a bit too extreme for me. I like some weight, especailly out front. on light rifles to help them settle down in the field. He also had a 6 lb. .338-08 wildcat that did feel and handle well. I got to shoot that one. It shot quite well from field positions. E

BM............Awesome job grasshopper.......

I think my ears musta been burnin' or something......

The Sub 5# rifle was a 6.5X284 and yeah.......it was too light even for me. The 338X308 is just a tich over 6 lb and the 284 is about 5.12. Those are the two that I've kept over the years since I last posted.

Funny thing about rifle weight. Sometimes it clicks just right, other times notsomuch. The 284 was intended to hit right at 5 lbs. It didn't get there for a variety of reasons with the most important one being a bad guess on the barrel contour.

I was dithering about barrel contours and Brad suggested that a Win Fwt. contour would hit about what I was looking for. I bit and although it missed the mark.....that was the best bum steer I've ever gotten. When combined with the rest of the build, that barrel contour gave the best balance I ever got with one of my many UL builds.

Just shows to go ya............

Yep.....it's really me, I'm just to old and fried to remember my old login info......Duh!!!!!

JimF

Jim,

Welcome back and don't stay away so long!

Welcome back Jim, you've been missed!

Thanks guys.......don't even know why I looked in at the fire after sooooo long but I did and there was my name being taken in vain by my ol buddy E. (welllll sorta in vain maybe)

Welcome back!