Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Light weight bolt action for old guy

All my old rifles are getting to heavy. I turned 70 last year, and have a bad Knee from the Army. Possible surgery next month. I,m thinking
a lighter rifle would help. The lightest rifle I have now is a Ruger M77 in 270WSM with a 2X7 Nikon Monarch scope. It weighs about 2lb.
less than my other rifles. I,m thinking Tika 3Tx, Light weight 6 lug Weatherby , or Kimber Hunter. I,m not crazy about the M77 with those
fat shells. Not as smooth a action as my model 70,s and Weatherby Vanguards. I was thinking 30/06 as I don,t have that Cal. What advice
do you guys have?

A Tikka is never a bad idea. My 25-06 is a pleasure to shoot, but a 30-06 would be at the top of the cartridge range that I would want in that light of a rifle. I prefer light recoiling cartridges in light rifles. I've got a Marlin XS7 in 7mm-08 that I also really like. With the same scope and rings as the Tikka, it weighs just a couple of oz more. It is just as accurate as the Tikka for a lot less money.
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CLR?

Browning X-bolt, mine is very light and the ergonomics are nice.

CLR,NULA,Barrett.

Kimber Montana

Tikka T-3 Lite. 30-06. Never a hicup. Shoots great out of the box. With scope and sling around 6.5 lbs. Inexpensive too.

The Kimber Ascent is insanely light but who would want to shoot something that light?

If you have not shot a real lightweight you may want to try shooting one in 06 before committing. For myself about 7lbs scoped is really as light as I'd want a 30-06 and what stock it had on it would play a significant part in deciding if even that was a bit much.

I love my Savage lightweight hunter. It's proving to be pleasingly accurate and it's a joy to handle. The price is right too. 30-06 in a lightweight rifle will get your attention when you pull the trigger. For a not too light lightweight look at the Ruger ultralight 30-06 that CDNN has for $499. I have one and it's manageable. Dressed out with a scope it's about 7.5 pounds. Not super accurate, but certainly deer accurate.

For me personally, '06 level recoil in a 7 lb rifle is too much. Lot's of nice lightweight rifles chambered in 7-08, 6.5cm and 243 out there.

Kimber MT in Creedmoor or 7-08.

"Light" (sub 7lbs all-up) and "30-06" aren't my idea of fun anymore, and I'm younger than 70.

Weatherby Mark V Six Lug ULW 5 3/4 LBS
I bought my 30-06 here on the fire sent it to
Hired Gun also here for complete Cerakote and Micro-Slick
With Leupold FX-3 6x42 with Custom Shop German # 4
Is the best option for this OLD REDNECK from bama!
AMRA

Unless I just wanted to spend more money one of the Ruger Americans in any of the short action calbers will come in under 7 lbs with a Leupold scope. The 7-08 or 308 won't beat you up in a rifle that light. You'll never notice the difference in performance compared to 30-06 which will beat you up in a 7 lb rifle.

Can't say a bad thing about the Tikka. In fact it might be a smidge more accurate, but we'd be talking fractions of an inch in group sizes. The Ruger is just as good IMO for a lot less money in a hunting rifle. If my goal were tiny groups at long range I'd give the edge to Tikka..

The Kimbers are great rifles, I have one in 308. Mine is just a hair under 6 lbs including scope. Recoil is exactly the same as a 7.5-8 lb 30-06, which ain't too bad. The mechanical accuracy of the rifle is every bit as good as anything I own, but I simply shoot something around 7 lbs better. I've chased light weight since a backpack hunt in the 1970's with a 9 lb rifle. The Kimber is a great choice where every ounce counts. But as a general purpose rifle I find a weight of 7-7.5 lbs to be a good compromise.

If deer is the biggest animal then a 243 is plenty I think but if you want to step it up a bit he 7-08 is a great choice. As to which brand you will have to handle them and figure out which fits you best which will help with the recoil. Tikka is great but it seems to be a waste to have a short action cartridge in a long action, I would look at a Sako finnlight or an A7. My dad just did what you are wanting to last year and went to a 243 finnlight which he uses for everything. Light and compact, fits him excellent and little recoil.

If you like vanguards, you could check out the vanguard back country/wilderness.

I guess I'll be "that guy" and suggest a low serial number forbes.

I am now 70 and bought a Kimber M84 in 7mm-08 for the same reason. I have hunted with it for two years and love it. It weighs about 6.25 lb with sling and scope. Great gun!!! Don't get too heavy a caliber for a light weight rifle.

I agree with Jerry. If going light, keep it 7mm-08, 6.5Creed, or something along those lines. I've had a couple 7mm-08 rifles that went under 7lbs scoped, and while they were fairly shootable, I'd really not want any more recoil in a package like that that.

This
http://www.winchesterguns.com/produ...tion/model-70-featherweight-compact.html

This
http://www.ruger-firearms.com/products/HawkeyeCompact/models.html

And this
http://www.kimberamerica.com/hunter