I have two questions: what are you going to so with this rifle, and how do you define "light"?
I hunt blacktails an island in western Washington. The typical shot is about 35 yards, fast, and offhand, and it often comes toward the end of 10-12 hours of still-hunting on old trails in dense brush and pouring rain. I tried a lot of different things but the best rifle I ever found for that was a pre-64 M-70 Featherweight 308 in a Pacific Research stock with a 4x Leupold in Weaver rings and bases. Ready to hunt, it weighed 7.5 pounds. It balanced perfectly for close, fast shots, it was easy to carry for long stretches, and I put a lot of meat on the table with it.
There are plenty of ways to minimize the weight you add to a heavy action, but at the end of the day, that's still what you're doing. So rather than locking in on weight, what if you build a rifle that works for the way you hunt?
Instead of trying to turn a M-70 in to something it was never meant to be, maybe use it for a cartridge that needs some weight like a 35 Whelen, 9.3x62, or 338 WM. A lightweight stock like the Brown would help the rifle balance so the weight isn't all in once place. As long as you don't go crazy with the optic, you could come in around eight pounds scoped with a 22" barrel.
That's light for any of those cartridges, which you'll learn as soon as you touch one off in an eight-pound rifle.
Okie John
Last edited by okie john; 11/10/22.
