Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Long Action Build - Light(ish) Hunting Options?

I am building my own "custom" hunting rifle with the intention of taking it out west to take gane up to Elk sized. I want this rifle to be one of a kind to my specs. With a prefit barrel, I plan to do most of the work myself.

Action: Big Horn Origin Long Action with a magnum or standard bolt face.
Stock: I'll be looking to use a lightweight synthetic stock with BLD style bottom metal.

Goal: reasonably lightweight - not a heavy pig or specialized LR only gun. Of course, if I really wanted to build it ultra light mountain rifle, I would have gone with a short action. Indeed, I have a M70 Featherweight in 308 in the safe.

To keep it reasonably light, I plan to select a contour just heavy enough to have it threaded for a suppressor. Since I want it stiff enough to handle the weight on the end of the barrel, I don't want an overly long pencil barrel either.

I was thinking either a 280 AI or 7mm Rem Mag with either a 24 or even 22 inch barrel.

Thoughts.

I couldn’t want a suppressed rifle with a barrel longer than 20”.

I had one put together that's pretty close to what you're looking at.

Defiance anTi long action
Hawk Hill 7mm barrel turned down to KS contour, 1/8.3 twist, 22.5", 280AI
BDL bottom metal
Bansner stock, also have a Manners EH6 but the Bansner is a touch lighter...I could swap them at some point as I like both of them.

I didn't ask for this, but I'm guessing if you have one turned down you can have a section near the end left larger and threaded. Another option on the prefit barrel is a Proof Sendero/Sendero Light. I'm using one on a short action Defiance and it was a super easy install and has been very accurate. The proof would come threaded but it does change the options on choosing stocks.

For my taste it would be .532” bolt face 3” custom WSM type action/magazine. 22” barrel is more desirable carry at 6.5 lbs all up and the chamber would be 6.5 PRC. A long range, low recoiler with a big bite. But that’s just me. The 7mm Rem Mag is a great round but deserves a 24” barrel due to powder capacity and bore size. Have no desire to own or work up loads on an AI cartridge even though the 280 AI is a good one. A 6.5mm SA magnum with efficient case and powder supply for carry all day is a fine mountain/alpine rig. Good luck on your choice and build.

Greg has a Bart' 8" RPM #3 on the shelf and I'd short shank it and turn to .640" at 20",then chamber in Vanilla 280 to Smooch a 180 ELD at 3.600" COAL. Thread 5/8x24 and you are there. Hint.

RHR BDL bottom and GB Outlander handle. It'd be barking in a week,at most. Hint.............

I recently had a couple of rifles rebarreled to a 308 Norma Magnum.Both of them have 26" barrels.I would put it right between a 300WSM and a 300 Win Mag.It's really the same as a 30-338,only the 308 Norma Mag has just a little longer neck.I can buy factory Norma brass,or I have the option of necking up 7mag brass,or I can neck down 338 Win Mag brass.This cartridge is quite capable of pushing a 168gr bullet to 3200fps or a 180gr bullet to 3100fps.Another thing I like about it is,it works well in rifles that have shorter mag boxes that can sometimes limit your seating depth.Published load data is kinda limited because when it came out in the late 1950's,there just wasn't a lot of powders to pick from.With the modern powders we have now,it's better than it ever was.It uses a few less grains of powder than a 300 Win Mag and the recoil is similar to a 7mag.I had a guy run a Quick Load for my rifles using a 180gr Ballistic Tip.Here is a sample page of the QL.

Now THAT is fhuqking HILARIOUS! NO schit,a fhuqking 180 Nuzzler NBT?!? What scope(s) are on said Pieces Of Fhuqking Schit? Things don't get ANT fhuqking worse,than Norma belted brass. I DARE you to dangle pics of said Goat Fhuqks! Hint.

Smelling like a fhuqking DELETE,to me. Hint.



Fhuqking LAUGHING!..................

22" is going to be your max barrel length in a long action unless you are a very large person. On a 7" can I don't go much over 20" unless it's something I never carry around. With a 22" barrel I run 5" cans.

As Stick said, for contour a turned down short shank #3 (bc you can get it right now) would work, what I generally run is in that area. The best contour to hang a suppressor on is the boring old Rem Sporter contour. It's not too heavy, it's plenty stiff for a lightweight can, and bc of the taper it gives you enough barrel shoulder in pretty much any caliber for a 9/16x24 muzzle thread.

Caliber choice is going to be based on whether you reload or not. But I'd be looking at something in the 30-06 case class, Stick's 3.60 coal long throat 280 idea is a cool nice if you reload, but a boring ole 30-06 or 7 mag is going to be the easiest to feed if you don't reload.

A 22" 30-06 gets damped fairly okay with a 5" can...a 7 mag really needs a 7" can, whether it's cut to 20" or 22".

Rem Sporter contour is the bees knees if you can wait, but a turned down #3 will work, or a #2 will work too but it won't get you much past 20" with a short shank (most number 2's at 20" are at about .60-.605 at the muzzle... enough shoulder for a 9/16" mount, but sort of barely). I flute all the above contours, in addition.

In the end, your choices are pretty narrow, bc the whole build needs to be aimed at saving weight to make up for the added weight of the suppressor. The lightest 5" cans now run about 7 ounces, maybe 1.5-2 oz for the mount, maybe a half oz of carbon buildup once you've shot it for a while. All that is going on the very end of your rifle so..weight must be saved elsewhere. Stock and barrel contour will be the main focus esp if you want a scope you can dial, which is going to add weight.

Meant to add: You might have trouble finding a light enough pre-fit unless you get someone to make you one. Most of them are too heavy for your intended purpose. If your stripped barrel (when removed from the action) weighs much more than 34-35 ounces, you will be sorry when you hang the added weight of the can on it. Most people learn this the hard way and have to buy stuff twice.