Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Ultra light Rifles

Mackay;
Top of the morning to you sir, I hope the day in your part of the world is looking promising and that you and your fine family are well in this runup to Christmas week.

Thanks for your take on the subject, I appreciate and have come to respect your thoughts as they've always been based on your actual experience - and I like the photos too for sure.

For myself, my "walking around varmint rifle" is also the one tossed into the truck for all the trips into the back country when it's not big game hunting season, so December through to September it's riding along. Sometimes I'll have a 92 Trapper clone in .357 along too, but the RAR in .223 is always there.

It's one of the first 1:8 twist models that managed to make it across the medicine line, so it's still the early floopy fore end one. As well I was able to get a couple of the magazine extension kits for it which were made by a 'Fire member here for awhile, so while I've thought about getting a RAR Ranch that'd take AR mags, I do like the extra length that lets me try to make all the 75gr bullets I bought for it shoot.

The scope on mine is a Bushnell 10X which I bought used on a Canadian firearm forum, I want to say it was sold as the 10x40 TAC? It's got the Mil Dot reticle and isn't horrible glass and better still has a reasonably usable eye box.

That said Mackay, it's also not malfunctioned in any way since being installed in 2014 so that's a nice bonus.



As always there's many roads to Mecca, this is just another one and nothing more.

All the best to you all this Christmas Mackay.

Dwayne

All rifles are empty. All scopes are mounted in Talley Lightweights:

Kimber Montana 223Rem factory, 4-12x40 no-AO Leupold w/M-1 elevation turret, FL bedded, 6.3#

Kimber blued action, Kimber Montana factory stock, SS Lilja factory dupe 1:7 223Rem ceracoated @ 22", free-floated, 2.5-10x32 NXS, 6.6#

Kimber Montana 243Win factory, FL bedded, 3-10 SHV, 6.9#

Kimber Montana 84L, Lilja SS factory dupe 1:8 270Win @ 22", free-floated, Hunter Magnasoft sling installed, 2.5-10x42 NXS, 7.25#

Me too and I have an Althon BTR Gen2 2-12X sitting in the box waiting for me to make up my mind on what my next superlight rifle is going to be. Heavy scopes seem counterproductive on light rifles, but so are scopes that don't work...

You will never pack a heavier scope,then one that's Puked. Hint.












Pass rugged reliability and hold The Fluff. Hint..............

I have a 10X SWFA on my main hunting rifle that I use for most everything in open country. I have been chastised for it on this board, but that's OK. No regrets with the 10X, in any way, though I seem to get plenty of shots in open country where a 4X would be fine too. For that occasional 500+ yard shot, carrying the extra weight of a solid scope has been worth it.

I had a Browning A-Bolt Mountain Ti, a beautiful rifle, it weighed 5lbs 5oz. and was deadly accurate with remarkable groups at 500 yards. Topped it with a Huskemaw Blue Diamond 5-20x50.

Hilarious! Hint..............

Maybe not quite a ultra light rifle but at 6 lbs naked its light enough. The last couple of years I've replaced all but one scope with the NF NXS Compact which have worked well for my hunting needs.

My whitetail and general purpose rifle is a Kimber Montana 308. It gets alot of use, gets banged around, strapped to a pack, and in general is subject to 'significant use'. I wanted a scope that was durable, stayed zeroed, and could be dialed if necessary - NF SHV 3-10X42 w ForcePlex reticle. The scope weighs 22 oz but sits in the middle of the rifle making it balanced, plus a bit of weight on a 6lb rifle is not a bad thing. The rifle weighs 6.5 lbs with SHV and Talley LW. That rifle has been backpacking, day hunting, quick hunts, long hunts, rain, wind, snow, ice, hot, humid - every weather NA can throw at it. The scope never moves.

I have a 338 Fed built on a Kimber MT 84m. It wears a 23" Lilja barrel and weighs a shade over 6.5 lbs. It too wears a 3-10x42 NF SHV.

My Kimber Hunter 6.5 CM currently has a Burris Signature but will wear a NF SHV soon enough for the same reasons. That scope is hard to beat for most of the hunting I do.

I have a Kimber MT 270 that isn't exactly UL but does weigh 7 lbs with a 22oz scope on it. I used a Burris Veracity last year but am evaluating a Trijicon Credo or another NF for this upcoming year. I want the same criteria - durability, consistency, repeatability, and dialable.

I think that is the wisest thing you have ever said!

What??? No one running a lightweight Vortex?? I've seen 2 Vortex failures over the last couple months now. One on a buddies Christensen Ridgeline. That may not be considered "ultra lightweight" though. That was the LHT 4.5-22x50. The other one was on a Weatherby backcountry Titanium. That rifle is said to be 4.7 pounds without scope. That is fairly lightweight. Probably the lightest rifle I've shot. That one had a Vortex Diamond back 4-12x40. One a cheap POS Vortex, the other an expensive POS Vortex. If I ever get an "ultra" lightweight rifle, I'll know to avoid those.

Hint............

Not really an ultra light rifle but one of my handiest hunting rigs has a Weaver Classic K6 (11.5 oz.). The balance makes it feel a pound lighter.

For my use, there's not much difference between those two in how I scope them. For me, varmints are mainly coyotes, no prairie dogs/etc.

My preferences for light rifles that I plan to dial:
1. S&B 6x42 PMII
2. SWFA 3-9x32
3. NXS 2.5-10x32/42
4. SWFA 6x42
5. S&B 3-12x42 Klassic with BDC

If I'm not planning to dial (or rarely dial) with a light rifle I'll add:
1. SHV 3-10x42
2. S&B 6x42 Klassic

None of them are truly light scopes, none of them are overly heavy, all of them have been reliable. They all work well for the way I use the rifles.

My most used/abused "work" rifle is a .223 Montana with a 6x SWFA.
My most used hunting rifle is a 6.5 CM Fieldcraft with a 6x PMII.

Al,

That's a sensible little sporter. Do I recall that one being a 250AI?

Lately most of my serious guns have Trijicon's on them. I have the Montana's saddled with 2-12 Helo's and they are a great all rounder as well.

I liked the Athlon enough to stick on my smokeless ML and it's been working quite well there as well. Still have a bunch of 6X and 3x9 SWFA's which sniff fresh air here and there.

As was said, I'll suffer a heavier scope these days to have something that works all day for me.

Those Trijicon's sound great. I'd like to try one, but was sorely disappointed with the first Trijicon I purchased. The worst $600, I had ever spent on a scope. I'm hoping the newer ones are better. If I had a superlite hunting rifle, I'd just scope it like the rest of my hunting rifles and be pretty happy. Set and forget, 13 oz's, and a great useable reticle that works out to 500 yards on most standard cartridges. If you can't get it done with that set-up, you might as well take up golf.

Something like what Al posted a pic of would work just fine, as long as it holds zero and has a good useable reticle, like the Burris FFII ballistic plex.

They haven't disappointed me yet. Pretty solid optics, maybe not perfect in everyway, their new Credo and Ten Mile series have been good.

I have lightweight Model 7 in 6.5 CM with an EGW rail. My main scope for this is a LRHS 3-12x44mm in Spuhr rings and total weight is 7lbs.
With a Leupold VX-ll 2-7x33mm in vortex rings it weighs 6 lbs total. Dropping that extra lb with the smaller scope is really noticeable to carry, and in that configuration it is more than capable for some of the hunting I do. But I like the capability of the 3-12 LRHS so much, that I’ll probably stop screwing around and just accept the 1 lb penalty.

I have two semi custom Kimber 84M’s, a 338 fed and a 6mm Dasher, and both of these weigh 7.5 lbs total with Burris steel bases, Sportsmatch rings and LRHS 3-12 scopes.

Agreed, same here. It kind of defeats the purpose of buying a lightweight rifle if you mount a pound and half of 30mm scope.....Hb