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I have been on the hunt for a light rifle, since I shattered my right leg and resulting in a fused ankle. I notice weight a lot more whe hunting, so I've been trying to cut weight both from myself and my gear.

So I went to town the other day to search for a light rifle, the CA Mesa FFT and Howa Superlite were the two I was most interested in. I couldn't find the Mesa but got to handle the Ridgeline as well as the Howa. It ultimately boiled down to budget and convenience as I took a 300 mile round trip to find these rifles, so the Howa in .308 Win came home with me for $920 out the door.

The rifle is touted to weigh 4 lbs 7 oz and thats a bit of false advertising my rifle, as my rifle weighed 4 lbs 10.6 oz.



The next issue was the bolt cutting into the scope base.



I got the base back last night, my GS milled off the base and recoated it for $25. I mounted up my 4-20X50 Helos BTR Gen 2 on it and that made the rifle weigh 6 lbs 9 oz. I then configured my suppressor as light as I could get it and threw it on the scale and the rifle weighed 7 lbs 7.1 oz.



I don't know what scope for sure is going to end up on this rifle, as I bought the one I mounted for my 6 Creedmoor. I was going to use my NF 3-10X42 SHV which would shave a couple of ounces off. Or I might look for something different that gets me under 20 oz.

Any which way you slice it, 7lbs or so with a can and a solid 30mm scope is a pretty light package for a bolt gun.

would be interested in how it shoots... However, no offense intended, but you are buying a rifle for weight savings and then putting a heavy scope on it and a suppressor. That seems kind of counter productive. I would downgrade that scope to something realistic for a light rifle setup and also make sure to go aluminum rings and drop the suppressor if you are really concerned about weight... Going with a simple 3x9x40 or 4-14x140 you 1/2 to 3/4 of a pound just in the scope... Removing the one piece base and going with Talley lightweight rings would also probably save you some weight

Best of luck and please let us know how it shoots.

A suppressed rifle with a scope you like under 8 lbs seems like a success to me. You could certainly save som weight on the scope & drop the can but to get similar recoil reduction a brake would be needed - not the same pleasant to shoot rifle at all.

My elk rifle in 300 Weatherby is over 9 lbs & I really shoot 8+ lb rifles better so I’d call your build good & start hunting.

Good set up. Looks pretty damn cool to me.

From what I'm gathering, taylor bought the super-lightweight so he COULD enjoy the suppressor.

I like buying a new rifle, congrats, hope it shoots well for you!!!

Exactly

Really whish Howa would make a run of these in lefty.

I'd be on one without hesitation.

nice looking setup!

I don't expect my decisions will agree with everyone, this one may not even agree with what I'm wanting to do. However, I invested money and time into getting a suppressor, so I want as many rifles as possible I can use it with.

I went out and shot it this morning to break in the barrel. I put 32 rounds down the tube, 20 150gr PPU, 6 Hornady 150gr AW, and 6 wincherster 150gr PP. It's a pretty lively rifle from the bench as I shot it without the suppressor because of cleaning between shots.

It took three shots to get the rifle centered somewhat on target, if I hadn't been distracted (moved elevation wrong way) by a phone call I'd have done it in two. I'm not going to proclaim it's a shooter yet, but it shot the PPU better than my other .308 Win. I managed to keep the group 2.25-2.5" at 100 for 14 shots, my other rifle shoots this ammunition about 4 MOA. The AW shot slightly better (3 rounds 2 MOA) with approximately same POA/POI, but nothing to brag about.

I then screwed on the suppressor, and all heII broke lose. I shot 3 rounds of AW and 6 of Win PP, and was lucky to stay on paper. The nine shots went over 8"!

I can't say I didn't consider this might happen. I'm hanging 14 oz of suppressor on a very thin barrel. I would like to invest in a lighter suppressor, but this may not be a good platform for any suppressor. Plus it'll be a 9+ month wait and another $1500 to get a suppressor that weighs less than 7 ounces.

I recently purchased some virgin Lapua brass and have several bullets to choose from 125-168 grain. I'll be happy if I can get this rifle shooting consistently 1.5 MOA at 400 yards, very happily if it's that suppressed. It's pretty lively from the bench, but not as bad as I thought it might be. I probably won't be shooting a lot of 180s anytime soon.

Bummer. I hope you get it to work. I never considered the possible negative effects of a heavy suppressor on a light barrel.

You could tie a large helium birthday balloon to the suppressor to offset its weight. Or a camo one when hunting. 🤣

I have a Ridgeline FFT that I put my suppressor on and the first shot was 6-7" high and 5-6" to the right. Like you not what I expected. I have heard suppressors will change POI and just didn't know how much. I made my adjustments to the scope and as it turns out the rifle shoots better with the suppressor.

I like around an 7-8 lbs all up rifle for hunting. My current .308 Win goes almost 10 lbs all up suppressed. My goal wasn't to have an extremely light rifle, but an under 8 lbs or under suppressed rifle.

The scope isn't staying on this rifle, it is for my 6mm Creedmoor. I just couldn't resist not shooting the rifle, and that one was handy. I've thought about throwing a FX3 6X on it and seeing how light I can keep it.

New rifles, or new to you rifles are always exciting - congrats!

My one 308 sits at 7 lbs with no ammo, other one is 8 lbs or a bit lighter.
Still carry heavy 375 and 300 magnums, but light rifles are nice.

That's a dang bummer about accuracy falling apart with the suppressor mounted. I hope you can get it sorted. I'd be tempted to piddle with trying to find a way to put some temporary barrel pressure on the fore end. Some "pencil" barrels prefer that pressure. Some don't.

Regarding the addition of the suppressor (even without) it might be good to:

1. Bed the action/lug well/stress free , check barrel clearance and forend stiffness, then see how it shoots with the suppressor.
2. If it's still not what you want, full length bed the barrel channel.

I'm beginning to become a fan of full length bedding with light barreled hunting rifles. I've not had any drastically change from being free floated, they were already shooting well, but of the couple I've done they've seemed to be less picky about holds from the bench. I'm not sure if it's the best way to do it but on already bedded actions (action and lug), I've just taped off the sides of the barrel channel, put enough bedding in the channel to fill it, then tightened the actions screws the same amount as I'd normally tighten them, and wipe off the excess bedding that squeezes out. Again, there may be a better technique but that's what I've done with already bedded actions. I'm not going to go through all my rifles and full length bed but I haven't found a downside yet and I really like less trash/water getting in the barrel channel.

It's not bedded, and I'm just trying to get a baseline accuracy with the rifle before I do anything to it. I've thought about shimming the barrel and see if would calm things down. However, I'm glad it rained and my range is muddy as honestly 32 rounds mostly unsuppressed with a 6.5 lb rifle and my shoulder is feeling it today.


There isn't much clearance in the forend, I wouldn't call it free floated at all. There is some flex, but not like an injection molded stock. I've had full length bedded stocks, and those rifles shot well.

I'm hesitant to mess with action screw torques too much since the TG/BM is polymer and I dont want to crack it. Still I might have the stock pillared as well, though I don't know how much the CF bedding block will compress. I wish there was an alloy option after market TG/BM, I emailed DIP and Oregunsmithing and they have no plans to manufacture it.

First thing I’d do is bed the action and float the barrel. Then I would recheck my scope for level and redial. Fine tune at the range minus the canister. See what she’s actually capable of doing after bedding and floating. It’s fairly easy to get a 308 WCF to shoot sub MOA in any turn bolt gun with just about anything you feed it. Possibly knowing you may have a .75 MOA shooter, I would then work on the canister and play with tensioning as necessary on both canister and barreled action. At least you’ll know what the rifle is capable of without the suppressor.

By bedding the action and floating the barrel the canister weight and carry is predominately on the barreled action. In having it that way the moment arm is on the action and action screws, the stock should play little to no part in adjustment. The goal is to alleviate variables as best as possible. Thankfully the Howa has a very large, flat recoil lug and beds nicely giving very good accuracy. Once bedded the tensioning of the action screws (tang and recoil) alone may allow you to dial the suppressor in for greater accuracy. In the end it’s a game of trial and remedies until satisfied with results.

Some may disagree with bedding the action and floating the barrel but the probability of gaining increased accuracy has been shown time and again by doing so. I like a fixed 6x on a 308 WCF, my Howa 308 WCF wears a Springfield Armory Gov. 6-40.

Only my 2 cents.

Yeah, the bottom plastic changes things for tightening the action up. I'm glad there's options for the mini, I didn't realize they used it on the other actions. You could use guide screws and bed the action/lug alone or neutral full length bed right from the start. I've been considering what to do with the mini and I'm leaning towards full length from the start.

Would a floor plate from a standard Howa/vanguard not work? I don’t know what type of metal they are but the ones I have seem stout. I don’t know how easy they are to source though.

You should consider getting one of these: https://www.cabelas.com/shop/en/cabelas-rifle-recoil-pad
I use one and can shoot my .340 Wby for an hour with no soreness or bruising of the shoulder. It's still loud and pushes on the shoulder, but there is no pain or bruising.

Naw, I'm just a puss! I spend most my time shooting rimfire and .223 with some 6mm Creedmoor and .300 BO mixed in. I'll be alright after I spend some more range time with it. I have a PAST pad already.


Think Model 7 and Model 700, the SL is shorter in length and smaller in diameter. The SL action screw spacing is 7" vs 7.25" for the 1500 SA, and the mag well is about 0.025" narrower at the widest point in the SL stock. I imagine I'd have to pay more to have bottom metal built than I did for the whole rifle.

Nice rifle

Ouch. I assumed the SA 1500 was the footprint/design on the action used. Howa does some neat things but bottom plastic is heavy on the suckage.

When do we start talking about Tikkas?





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What does Tikka offer at 4lb 11oz ? Maybe the T1X in 22lr ?

I knew it wasn't, I also knew there might be some issues. I'm keeping optimistic that this rifle will work for my needs.

I contacted LSI and they recommended 30-35 in-lbs on the action screws. They also recommend I shoot Hornady ammunition loaded with either 155 grain ELDM or BTHP bullets to test accuracy.

Nice! memtb

Shot 10 rounds this morning, it shot just okay again. Scope could be part of the problem, it didn't give a warm and fuzzy feeling. I didn't use my suppressor either, as I probably wont attach it until I get the rifle figured out.

Shots 1-6, fed from magazine let barrel cool 10 minutes between 3 shot groups. POA center of large diamond. Groups measured with Range Buddy app.

Group size 2.04", Group Area 1.35" Wide 2.01" High, Mean Radius 0.84", and POI 2.65" Left 2.54" Low.

Adjusted scope 6/10 mil up and same adjustment right, shot 7-10 same POA as shots 1-6. Shots 7-9 from magazine and single loaded shot 10 from the top with no cooling time.

Group size 2.27" Group Area 0.82" wide 2.24" High, Mean Radius 0.81", POI 2.65" Left 0.28" Low.

All shots at 16X as it bracketed the target the best at 100 yards. I'm not happy the scope didnt obey inputs. All shots with hand resting on top of scope, and not having my thumb wrapped around grip.

Not saying I am right, but I don't like putting hands over the tops of my rifle scope with lightweight rifles (or any rifle actually), I'd rather pull them into the pocket of my shoulder firm and control the pistol grip rather than gingerly holding them. Your results sound about like mine when I started with my 7-08 Montana. Held loosely it was a scatter gun, pulled in firm and handled like I would when hunting it decreased group size by 1/2 for me.

I often shake my head when guys say to grab the scope or any other ridiculous thing like that. The problem is they just don't know how to shoot and are basically still learning. I shoot like you do Scotty. Just shoot the damn thing and quit playing around. If you are like a monkey fu cking a foot ball off the bench, or in the prone, you for damn sure are going to fall apart when you have to make a further shot at a game animal, in field positions.

Tell me how you really feel! 😁

I'm not going to proclaim I know as much about shooting as you. However, when people like Mark Bansner tells you using your left hand over can help decrease group size from the bench is it wrong to try? I know traditional hold on the rear bag doesn't work, the one shot I took the rifle hit my hat and knocked my glasses sideways.

Mark explains and demonstrates the technique starting about 8 minutes into this video.

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I swapped out scopes this morning, and I tried shooting groups three different ways with the Fed GMM.



1- Forend hold, thumb wrapped around grip. 2.63 MOA, group area 1.85" wide 2.55" high, 1.22 MOA mean radius, POI/POA 1.01 right 2.53" low.

2- Forend hold, no thumb. 2.3 MOA, group area 1.58" wide 1.82" high, 0.97 MOA mean radius, POI/POA 2.41" right .77" high.

3- Bansner Method. 1.5 MOA, group area 1.41" wide 1.38" high, .78 MOA mean radius, POI/POA 2.18" right 1.16 low.

By no means is this definitive proof of anything. I did quit wrapping my thumb around the grip years ago and saw my groups improve and more consistent hits on varmints. So I doubt I'll go back to doing that and it doesn't seem natural anymore.

I did try the suppressor again today and the rifle shot better with it. 6 rounds of Winchester Super X 150 grain wasn't anything to brag about. The Hornady AW 150 grain showed promise and I made an adjustment on the scope after the first group of AW.

I contacted LSI and got the torque specs and went from 25 in-lbs to 35 in-lbs at front action screw and 30 in-lbs on the rear. Groups were shot free recoil, off hand on the rear bag, no thumb grip. The suppressor really changes the behavior of this rifle from the bench.



Swapping for the NF in Warn Mountain Tech rings dropped the weight to 6 lbs 3 oz scoped and 7 lbs 0.8 oz suppressed. How often does switching to a Night Force save you weight?

1.5 with an non-bedded lightweight factory rifle and factory ammo is pretty good IMHO (if it's consistent). A good bedding job is only going to improve accuracy and the consistency of the accuracy. Unless it's screwed up, there's no downside to it.

I found the Bansner vid interesting. I'm a big fan of inline/no-wrap thumb grip. I'll torque if I wrap my thumb and I can see it just by dry firing.

I'm really simple on my bench method...and I make no claim to be a bench rest shooter. I use an adjustable 2 point rest with towels folded multiple times under the front and rear. On lighter rifles I pull the forend into the towel a bit but not heavily...just enough to control the rise. Grip and pulling the rifle into the shoulder like Mr. Bansner noted. I make a conscious effort to slide my cheek down the comb when setting up. I've found it helps my consistency in cheekweld and alignment.

If using the bags Mr. Bansner's using, it doesn't seem like there'd be an option to control rise aside from the top of scope method he shows.

Interesting vid. Don't like seeing swivel studs contacting the bags under recoil, particularly with a lightweight.