Hi, I have a Remington 700 Adl 7mm mag with 26 inch barrel. I really like the rifle as it is a less than 3 inch shooter at 300 yds. But it is godawfull heavy . I have a Leupold 6 power with a leupold dot reticle mounted in Leupold dual dovetail mounts with a Quake claw sling .I figure the rifle so set up weighs about 9 1/2 pounds give or take a couple of ounces. I would like a lighter weight rifle in 7mm rem mag caliber. Does any one know of a rifle that would weigh less than this one in that caliber ? I like the caliber because i can find the Blue box federal for less than $20.00 at our local wally worls .or can but premium ammo for $35.00 at the same place. The catridge kills deer great and has a considerably flatter pointblank range than 30-06 270 etc. in fact the catridge even with the blue box federals still outruns the 270 with premium ammo. anyway bottom line is I like the catridge but just want a considerably lighter rifle. say a pound or so lighter. I have even thought about changing the scope mounts, scope ,sling etc in an effort to reduce the weight . which would be the better route get a different rifle in same caliber or change some things around on the present rifle?not in a big hurry as our next deer season is about a year away just something to talk about and contemplate. Thanks,Craig

If you're hunting in AR, a 7mm08 would kill anything that lives there and the new Marlin XC comes in at 6.25 pounds driving tacks.
A "light" 7 Mag will kick the piss outta you and, unless a real premium priced one, will never shoot as well as you good old 700.

Actually the pointblank range of a well handloaded 30-06 or 270 is so close to yours that no deer at 300 would know the difference, especially running against Federal blue box.
The 150 blue box when sighted in at 200 drops 6.6" @ 300, ft lbs 1834
Federal Premium 270 130 Sierra BTSP 6.4" ft lbs 1703
FP 30-06 150 Nosler BT 7.2" ft lbs 1756
FP 7mm08 140 NBT 7.7" & 1587 (a handloaded 120 will do much better)

The FP 06 load is only starting at 2900, 3100 with handloads in a modern rifle is easy.

Any of the 4 will kill any Whitetail at 300 that ever walked the earth.
Sounds like a great reason for a new rifle and scope to me. Tell your bride you're just protecting your health.
Good hunting!

I'm not sure you'd notice a whole lot of difference between 9.5lbs and 8.5lbs. I have a Savage 111 in 7 Mag, it weighs in at 8.5lbs with 24" barrel, scope and bipod. I wish it had a 26" barrel. I wouldn't even care if it weighed a pound more to get it.

I have a 7mm Rem Mag that's an even 8lbs with scope....don't think I'd want it much lighter..

Craig:
You could pick up a Ruger Hawkeye,7RM;this rifle has one of the lighter barrel contours available on factory offering.

If you want to spend some dough to get a good light stock,get a Brown Precision for the rifle.Been awhile since I've had one like that but I suspect you will come in right around 8 pounds scoped.

If you want to revamp you ADL to make it lighter you're gonna have to rebarrel it and I would go with something like a #2 Krieger,etc,and drop it into a light stock such as Brown,McMillan,or Bansner.You should have no problem coming in at about 8 pounds scoped,maybe under that by a bit.

I completely understand wanting lighter 7 mags;I've built several over the years and used them extensively.

Cut 4" off the barrel and go with Talley mounts...that should get you where you want to be for $75. A lighter stock will get you another pound but cost as much as a new rifle.

TC

As Bob points out, drop it into a Brown or McMillan Edge, but Talley's, go with a 2-7x33 Leupie VX II and a generic uncle Mikes sling (rubber padded). You should be under 8lbs at that point.

Or buy a Kimber Montana LA ( I think they make a 7RM....) with the same mounts/glass.

I have a 8 lb 7 mag with a 24" factory barrel. It sports a 4.5-14 x 40 non AO scope and is in a Rem Ti stock.Rings are Rifleman with alum weaver bases. It is a pussycat in the recoil department. Kick the p--- out of ya? Not really. This rifle had a second barrel made for it in 7 STW and even with its greater recoil it wasn't that bad.

A Remington Ti stock will help you loose quite a bit of weight. They weigh right around 28 oz. They sell for $175-$225.

A 24" barrel is quite adequate for this chambering. You could cut off some of the existing barrel.

Another scope mounting option is the aluminum Leupold rifleman rings with either the steel Leupold Weaver style bases or the aluminum weaver bases. Why when you can get talleys that are a bit lighter, weighing a total of 2 1/2 oz? The rifleman rings come in several heights one which is lower than the Talleys.

----------------

If price is no object you can go hog wild. A buddy had a model 700 which is chambered in 257 weatherby lightened considerably. He had the 24" #3 Lilja fluted and the action/bolt machined to minimize the weight. A McMillan Edge stock and Talley one pc aluminum rings. End result was a rifle WITH a 3.5-10 x 40 VX3 that weighs under 7 lbs.


Hope that helps to answer a few of your questions.

Ruger Hawkeye, or you can spend some coin on the Weatherby Ultra Light as they chamber them in 7 Rem Mag too.

Good luck.

When you have a rifle shooting that good, don't mess with it.

Rifles in your weight range really shoot well, and when you make them lighter, things can really go to pot unless you have a muzzle break added.

Do you realize just how much many folks spend to get a rifle that will shoot 3" at 300 yards...and with a 6x scope???

Throw a look on a Tikka. I also know where a 7mm rem mag chambered Colt Light Rifle is. I'd say the money would be about the same on either of those.

"Does any one know of a rifle that would weigh less than this one in that caliber ? "

Same rifle, but take some steps to lose weight from it;


1.) Drop weight in the stock...depends on what stock it is wearing now (the plastic factory stocks are heavy also) but look at the Bell & Carlson TI alaskan stock (avail from stocky's for around $203.), you can get lighter stocks but it will either cost you more or require more work on your part (glass bedding)...save 8 ounces plus (depending on the stock you get.

2.) whatever stock you get remove the existing recoil pad and use a flip-flop pad ...save a couple of ounces OR get one of the Pachmayr Decelerator pads that doesn't have the steel backing plate and you'll lose about an ounce (MPI Stocks has them...about $25.00). The steel backing plate isn't necessary if you glue (superglue) the pad to the stock vs using screws.

3.) Replace the existing bolt shroud with an aluminum gre-tan ...save a couple of ounces (about $50. from Brownell's)

4.) Talley Lightweight rings will lose some weight for you.

5.) If the triggerguard is steel...go with an aluminum one.

6.) What does your scope weigh? look at the leupold ultralights, the fixed 4X is pretty light...but you may want more magnification than that.

Except for the stock a lot of little things that add up.

A 7 1/2 pound 7 Mag won't kick the piss out of you with a well designed stock...specifically one that does not have much if hardly any drop in the butt.

I've got a Colt Light Rifle in 300 WM... in the tupperware stock they come with, they weigh 6 1/2 pounds... I modified a Bansner Hi-Tech Specialties Rem. 700 stock to fit it, now weighs 6 lb-1 oz with the Talley rings it came with. Also, They have a reputation for shooting (mine consistently shoots 1 inch or minus (at 100 yards).

Jerry

Bcraig.....................Altering your rifle like what "jerrywoodswalker" mentioned is a good alternative.

However if it were me, I`d itemize the cost of doing those things vs the cost of simply buying another new or used lighter rifle chambered in a different cartridge. You have a very good excuse for buying another rifle, and you may want to keep your 7 mag as is to use in easier or on flatter terrains.

There are lots of lighter, handier, easier carrying and more compact rifles out there to choose from. For most of your purposes for the game hunted and hunting distances, do you really need a 26" tubed 7mm Remy mag?

Cost out what the differences would be and go from there.

Az - is your 7RM a stock BDL model?

I know what you mean. I don't want a heavy rifle any more and sold my very accurate 700 7RM. I now have the Tikka T3 SS/Syn in 7RM. Light, accurate and doesn't kick, IMO. My guess is under 8# ready.

I recently tried a reduced 7RM load for deer. 45.0 gr. IMR 4895 under a 140 gr. Sierra was stunningly accurate and to the same point of aim as my full power load! I'm hooked.

If you can't handle that then you don't want a 708 either.

My 7SS in 7SAUM weighs in a tidge over 7 pounds all up.

Just right.

bcraig,
I went the Colt Light Rifle route in 7 Mag too. I sent mine to Melvin Forbes and had him put his graphite stock on it as well as a couple of other mods. I have about $1100 into mine and it weighs a couple of ounces over 7 lbs. with a Burris 4.5-14x / AO "Light Mag" scope. The recoil is not an issue at all. With the 24" barrel, I still get acceptable velocities and it handles nicely. It shoots MOA or slightly less to 800 yards off the bench and that is with limited load development. It may someday become a .264 Win. Mag. with a Douglas barrel when I wear the Colt barrel out, but for now I am very satisfied and feel it is a great value for the $$$! Good luck in your quest.
BTW, I had a new 700 ADL 7 Mag. like yours with the 26" barrel that I sold to a good friend recently. I had him get a Bushnell 3200 10X fixed scope w/ turrets for the gun. We sighted it in, chronographed some factory Hornady 154 SST's, and ran some ballistic data for the load/conditions. On a beautiful, still October day we shot the gun @ 925 yards off the bench for fun... 10" 3 shot group with factory ammo. He was shocked! He initially did not want to "just waste the ammo"! Now he is a believer in the gun's/cartridge's potential... pretty awesome value for under $600.
I felt bad for a couple of seconds about having let the rifle go... then I remembered how much nicer the Colt will be to carry at 9000' now that I am approaching 50!

bcraig:

running a 7RM M-70--with a Zeiss 3-9 goes 7# 7oz all up--

the recoil with 140g feels about the same as my similar weight 30-06 shooting 180g--not bad at all

Don't know the girth of that 26" barrel but that sounds awful heavy--just to be the stock.

Do you know what that stock weighs?

A Bansner for example will finish out around 22-24oz. Do the math. If it is still pig heavy, I'd think maybe starting from scratch.

A 270W in a M700 LSS with a McMillan, or McMillan Edge, or Banser, or one of the B/C stocks. Heck, a model 700 with a 22 inch sporter contour barrel in any of those stocks will be lighter.

The Montana rifles. The new Ruger M77 Hawkeyes.

Lose the 26 inch barrel, replace the dovetail mounts with Weaver bases, Burris rings, or Talley mounts. A half inch Decellerator pad will lighten things up--even lighter is a flip-flop recoil pad--and they work great.

Given equal barrel length, and shooting bullets of equal Sd, there is essentially no diff between a 270 and 7mmRM.



Casey

Casey, thou art a true dyed-in-the-wool 270 slut...:)

there is no redemption for hijacking...

Casey: would like to add that maybe there is a degree of redemption considering the post directly below

Guess I don't know why anybody would want to mess with a tack driver....changes that would end up costing several 100 dollars or more, might screw up the rifle, would certainly decrease Fps and increase muzzle blast and kill the rifles value as a "stock" 700. Can anyone "splain" that to me?

What lives in AR that a 7mm08 or 308 won't hammer down?
The Marlin XS (cheap) or the Kimber 84 (expensive) are both available in those calibers and quite light.

That way you'll still have the big 7 for when you come to hunt Elk out our way. (We ride horses, so rifle weight is a non event).

3" at 300 with blue box ammo? I'd be down kissing that rifle's butt(plate)!

Think long and hard before messing with a winner.

Last Walmart ADL in 7 Rem Mag I owned 26" barrel came out to exactly 7 lbs on my postal scale. I don't want a 7mm REm mag lighter then that...

Guilty!

I would think twice about messing with a tackdriver too. If it was too heavy (and anything approaching 8 lbs is too heavy for me to take hunting on any hunt I'm halfway serious about), I would find that to be the perfect excuse to buy a........lightweight 270!

I have a 243 that I did a rather ugly bedding job on--but it shoots so well I'm scared to re-bed it.............


Casey

Now you know who not to listen to.

Next thing you know he'll be trying to sell you a 243.

Well, so far a 243 kills the elk about as dead as other cartridges do...


Casey

Good luck with that . . . . cause one day it won't.

Then you'll be wishin you brought the right tool for the job.

When everything else is equal, there ain't enough diff ballistically between the 270 and 7RM. Even less when considering its effectiveness on deer and elk....

I've killed more elk than most, and I know what a 243 will do and won't do--when anything else in needed, I'll just grab my 7RM masquerading as a 270..

Casey

Hi ,I see i have had a lot or replies and advice and I appreciate all of it ! I am going to ponder on this awhile as on the one hand I would like a lighter rifle yet on the other hand as oldman pointed out I do hate to mess with such an accurate rifle .And yes Oldman I do believe a 7mm-08 or 308 will kill deer in Arkansas as i have killed a lot of deer in my 50 years with calibers 30 carbine,270,25-06,30-06, 300 weatherby,muzzleloaders ,44 magnum (handgun hunted exclusively for 12 years) and homemade bows and arrows made from hickory. but that was when I lived within 15 munutes from my hunting area and if i didn,t get a deer that day or it was too far i just went back the next day!! now I live about 1 1/2 hours from hunting spot and dont get to go as much so I want a flat a shooting rifle as i can get and still handle the recoil which is what the 7mm rem mag does for me . Also rangefinders dont work too well for me in the field as often as not I cant find a landmark to range ! You see I hunt not only in the woods but also over large cutover ricefields with shot oppertunities at over 400 yards being very frequent. so way I fiI gure it a 7mm mag will handle the 30 yard shots in the woods and the 400 plus yard shots in the fields with more leeway for error when unable to use a rangefinder. I can find reasonably priced ammo at wally world without ordering it online. and it wont kick me out from under my hat ! I figure it is the best comprmise for deer when all the variables are factored in. I realize that the smaller catridges will do the trick for probably most of my hunting but I have no problem with the 7 mags recoil so why not go for more performance !may have inadvertantly misled about how the rifle shoots as The 3 inch and under groups wre shot with Federal Premium 150 ballistic tips and not the Federal blue box which it will put into bout 4 1/4 inches/ My intent was to say that I could find reasonably priced ammo that was on par with and slightly better performing than premium ammo from the 270,30-06 etc. and cost less than the premium ammo from these catridges. Could I get by without a lighter weight 7mm Remington mag ? well sure I could ! but I suppose i am like the rest of the gun cranks here ,always looking for something that better suits my wants and needs ! or at least what I percieve as needs !! LOL plus I really like talking guns and rifles especially !! I really appreciate all the responces and replies and I will get the perfect rifle oneday !!! Yeah right ,LOL Craig

Well, I certainly employ my 7 for killing deer in those wide open places I get to every now and again...no excuses ever needed.

And thanks to Casey helping us out, am glad to learn that the 7RM is, by reason of comparison, a "damned adaquate coyote rifle".

Saves me from having to trash up my gun case just to fight the yote infestation...:)

So what do you grab for when the 243 is in your hands and you figure out that it "won't do" the job. Your dick?



Bullet selection, bullet weight, bore size, and case capacity all in the 7 mags favor. Sure the 270 is good . . . just not as good.

Why grab the 7RM over the 270? For the same reasons you grab the 270 over the 243.

I had a sps .300 WM I got from close to 9 pounds to around 8 (or a little less). I did this by:

1. tossing dual dovetails and switching to Talley lightweights
2. Getting rid of Zeiss Conquest and going to a 6x36 Luepold
3. Cutting the barrel to 24"

The gun handled much better after these changes. It wasn't much over 8 with a lightweigt sling and 3 rounds. A lighter stock (i.e. Bansner High Tech, McMillan Edge, etc.). with these changes could get you to a nice weight. I am thinking it wouldn't be much over 7.75 pounds plus sling/ammo.

Are you kidding?--that would be like shooting a jackrabbit with a 458WM....




I wouldn't grab a 7RM over a 270--there's no difference, well, except for less recoil, a bit less muzzle blast, etc..........although when camparing the same Sd in the two calibers, there is a bit more mass in favor of the 7mm bore.


Casey

Bwinters:

Rifle is an ADL.

There is no replacement for displacement.

Case capacity grains water:

243 54gr.
270 68gr.
7RM 84gr.

The 270 is what I grab when you grab your 243.

(Not really. I grab a 280 because it's just a little better).

A guy could publish a book or two with tales of your idiocy.

But compression can go a long ways towards equalizing things.

The 270 operates at higher pressures.

And when comparing equal barrel lengths, and equal Sd of bullets, there still ain't much difference between the 270 and 7mmRM...........





Aww man, now yer' digging a deeper hole--a 280 is the wanna-be 270.....sheesh.



Casey

Very cute you 270 guys. You have all of the rationalizations and Clinton-esque talking points down pat.



Maybe according to SAAMI, but there is no physical reason why it should, and it doesn't in my rifles.



Why would I want to saddle a large case with a barrel length appropriate for a smaller one?



So the 7RM is shooting a heavier bullet for your comparison, right?



With a bit more case capacity, better bullet selection, and a slightly larger bore, it is truly the 270 Improved.

_

1. I'd send it to Kampfeld for:
A. Cut a few inches off the bbl.
B. Flute the bolt.
C. Skeletonize the bolt.
D. Maybe flute bbl???

2. I'd drop it in a Ti stock.

3. Talley light weights.

4. Kill lots of stuff!!!!!!

-Roger

Think of it as the Voice Of Experience, it works better that way.......






Oh yes there is--SAMMI doesn't test and publish pressures on a whim. Think pressure spikes, pressure variation.......besides, if I chose to run a 270 ten percent over max pressure vs a 280, we'd be right back where we started.......






You're right, the 7mmRM needs a long barrel more than a 270--another reason I like 270's for hunting in the high country (and as I get older too )






Yes, 10-15 grains heavier--advantage to the 7mm's.





Versus the 7RM, the 270 has less recoil, less muzzle blast, 22 inch bbls are optimum for lightweight mountain rigs, kills elk with aplomb, and same ballistics--it is simply more......elegant.

As for the 280, well, it continues to strive mightily in the shadow of its older and wiser brother...........

But I have to admit I am eyeballing a NIB M700 LSS in 280 if I can get it cheap enough.....


Casey

Once a thread has the useful information out of the way, it pretty much deteriorates into this...:)

Well Casey, just get a 280AI and you will have SAAMI on your side.

I would think that would appeal to you---Monica certainly has a bit more displacement.

I think I'll name my 243 "Monica".........


Casey

Bwahahahahahaha!

Casey, my friend, let me help you by way of comparison. As this is a family forum, I will omit the graphics.

The 7mmRM is like a set of DDs. Impressive performance but may require a slightly oversized package to balance things out.

The 280AI is like a D. It has the ability to be balanced in the smaller package of the C, while possessing the more impressive characteristics of the D.

The 7-08 is a C. Like Mary Poppins, perfect in nearly every way in the lighter weight configurations.

The 270 in not really a C nor is it really a D. It became popular when the C&D were yet to be appreciated for their intrinsic qualities.

The 243 on good day is a B, and is best bored out to a 7-08 to arrive at a pleasing balance, while possessing the potential for more consistant performance.

Hope this helps.

Boy, I really like where I see this thread going.

Sigh!!!

So,it appears that the differences between a C and a D and in your viewing and tactile pleasures,.........are seven-thousandths of an inch......glad I was not callin' them that close when I was bar hoppin'.....

In regard to the OP, I have a terrific half moon scar on my forehead from my 5.6 lb 7 mm mag.

just sayin, don't hold her loose in a pinch like I did.

I would go with the 7mm08. If you were to cut 4 inches off the barrel like was suggested, that is what you would end up with anyhow.
whelennut

True Bob--it was exceeding difficult to get consistent empirical data, particularly from certain well-qualified subjects who definitely should have been included in the sample, as well as the challenges mixing micrometers and beer...:)

tom,gimme the beer.....the beer,man! Haha! Your analogy was very clever BTW!

tomk

Fantastic.

Why didn't I think to discuss this in terms Clinton would understand?

Ok. Great progress has been made!



Casey apparently realizes that as an elk rifle his 243 blows!


_

i have a mauser action 7mm mag with a lightweight barrel that i call "BERTHA" for obvious reasons (about 8 lbs with a 3x9x40 Leu aboard)kills everything DRT but is NOT real pleasant from the bench-whsk

I'm thinking visuals would help...