Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Optics Ultra light Rifles

What do you guys scope your big game ultralight rifles with?

What about your light weight walking varminters, say a tikka ultralight T3 in 223?

Just trying to get some ideas.

Thanks in advance.

I have an early Forbes that I mounted a Swaro Z5 3.5-18 on. It has served me well so far. I'm more of a light touch than a hard charger though.

Ultralight contender carbine wears a 4x Leupold. Carbon mini in 6.5 grendel wears a 6x42 Leupold and the 6ARC will wear a Trijicon Credo 3-9x40 if the rings ever show up. The 6x42 leupold might get swapped for another Trijicon if I can find a used one I can afford.

I usually scope by caliber capability but on my 2 light rifles, a Barrett Fieldcraft in 6.5x55 and Kimber in .257 Roberts, I have a Tract Toric 3-15x42 and a Leupold 2.5-8x36 respectively.

I have a 6x Milquad on my Montana. Works amazing - tho I wish it was lighter but the advantage is - scope and rifle weigh the same as most bare rifles and I get a SUPER robust and reliable scope at the same weight.

One reason to start with a light rifle is so a proper scope for your application can be mounted and still keep it manageable. My FC is used for Eastern whitetails and the odd varmint. The Accupoint 3-9 is great for both, and is very light to boot. My 6.5 Grendel Mini has a somewhat heavier Credo HX 1-6, but may be getting another 3-9 Accupoint soon in an optics shuffle. My other Mini is a Carbon .223, and the 20oz Tract 3-15 is better for its purpose, but the combo still has a nice combined weight. All three come in at under 6.5, all up.

My Accupoint 3-9 has held zero so far on some hard kickers but eye relief is shorter than I like. No issues on a 7-08 but it touched my eyebrow a lot on a 35 Whelen. I'll occasionally use 1" Leupolds on light guns that don't get taken far from the truck, but just sent yet another back for bad erectors. Mostly my light rifles get heavier scopes with durable erectors.

2.5-10x32/42 NXS or 3-10 SHV. Adding 6-8oz over the Leupold's I used to use, basically in the middle of the rifle, I don't really notice the extra.

My Weatherby Mark V six lug ultralight carries a Bushnell 4 1/2-30X50 (22 oz). The Pierce titanium with a carbon barrel and carbon stock carries a March 2 1/2-25X52 (24 oz). My idea is you buy a scope you want and make a rifle light enough that it can be carried in my hands rather than on my shoulder with a sling. Both are about seven pounds.

Leupold 2.5 X 8 on my 308 Montana, just about perfect.
Never cared for the Hubble look on any rifle.

Leupold 2.5x8 on my Rifles, Inc. Strata. Scope is 11 oz. if I recall correctly.

That's been the go-to for my Montana's, though I do have a 3.5x10 on the .223.

Leupold M8-4x33mm on my Ruger M77RL Ultralight in .257 Roberts. A Leupold M8-6x33mm Compact on my Dale Goens G33-40 mountain rifle in 7x57 Mauser.

A varmint rifle needs a 14x scope imo. Less is a handicap.

My Tikka T3X Compact 308 with a Leupold M8-4x33mm in Weaver rings on a Mountain Tactical base comes in at 6 pounds 11 ounces.

Wouldn't want it any lighter.


Okie John

V3i flavor on my .308 Montana.
Trijicon 3-9 on my ULA '06.

If the varmint in question is prairie dogs, gophers, and other burrow-dwellers, I can agree with that, though then I'm not using an ultralight rifle either. Fox, coyotes, raccoons, badgers, skunks, etc, 10X is a great plenty for me.

My 20" T3 .308 with edge stock has a 2.5-10x24 NF on it. It is as light as I want to go. Mechanically it is well below a .75 MOA rifle, and while shooting over the bags under ideal conditions, when I have been practicing a good bit (unlike lately) it has proven to be extremely consistent with the main load I shoot through it which is a 155 Scenar pushed by Varget.

That said, that is the "mechanical" accuracy. With me behind the gun and in very cold temps I usually hunt in, with the typical heavy clothes, and in the typical terrain I hunt, the little rifle is very hard to shoot tiny groups with. I am realistic about my ability under these conditions and try to build the most stable position I can if I have time before I take a shot. The addition of a bipod aid substantially, and I try to use my pack, or big mittens as rear support.




Most my shots tend to be in the mid to high 4s. Not by choice, it is just where I end up seeing animals and being in a position to shoot. Much of this is due to when and where I hunt though.

I will say that I have been messing with a T3 in 6.5 Manbun with a 24" barrel over the last few years. It is a regular T3x Lite version, but I stuck it in an older T3 varmint stock. This gave me a wide flat fore-end and a good cheekpiece. It is topped with an older 5.5-22 NF that I took off of one of my other rifles that I was not shooting much. The scope-rifle combo makes for a rig that is super easy to shoot well and is not overly heavy. Definitely heavier than my little 20" T3 .308, but there is little comparison when shooting the two side by side in field conditions.



If I was going to build a lightweight hunting rifle today, and was looking for an optic, I would choose a fixed 10X SWFA. Nope, it is not the lightest. That is OK though. Someone earlier in the thread mentioned making the rifle light, so you can put a proper optic on it, and I agree. In my experience, rifles that are too light are very difficult to shoot well at longer distances. This is keeping in context that I hunt terrain where I expect shots to be past 350 yards and out to 600 or so. A fixed 10X is great in that application and I use on one my .300wm.

Quoted for truth.

My Tikka Compact is fun to shoot offhand and that's 99% of what I'll do with it. But it demands flawless technique once you get beyond typical offhand ranges. Even at 200 yards, even the tiniest mistake gets me a big ol' flyer.


Okie John

Thank you fellas. Appreciate it.

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

Kimber 84M in 308 here.
SHV 3-10 in Talleys.
All in, loaded w 4 in it and a GI M1917 sling it's 7lbs 5oz
Carries and shoots like a dream.

That rifle looks kind of unkept and rusty, what's up with that? No time for regular cleaning and maintenance?

I’m putting together a combo right now that should be a nice lightweight setup. I picked up a Kahles Helia CL 3-9x42 here on the free classifieds. A really nice 1” tube second focal plane scope that weighs in around 12 ounces. I needed a rifle to put it on, so I ordered a Tikka Superlite in .270 Winchester from the local Bass Pro. The whole package shouldn’t be much over 7 pounds.

Kimber Montana, 7mm-08 with Leupold 3-9x33 Ultralight. Weights in at 5.755lbs empty (can’t load the scale pic). Had a 2.5-8x36, which was nice, but prefer the ultralight crosshairs. Great mountain rifle setup - light, balanced, accurate, and fun. 150 ELD-X has punished 9 buck so far. All I need for the Mtns I hunt

Wish that photo was bigger - it's a really nice one!

Where are you hunting BigHills?

I primarily hunt Northeast PA and southern zone NY. All public.

Been nearly 2 hours,since I put a new one together. Hint.



Them Reupold 3-9x 33's are really sumptin'. Hint.





Just sayin'................

Beautiful country.

Also beautiful country.

My only hangup with the 10x is the way it dies quickly in low light. The testing I did, you lose a good deal of time compared to a 6x or a variable that you can dial down.

I have a few that I really need to hunt though.

Magazine confines in a 84M or Mountain Ascent?

2.83-ish?

I've said it a million fhuqking times that "Sooner or later,a 10x will bite you...but a 6x never will". Hint.

Mag latitude,is as cited. Though that's an 84L Smooching 180 ELD .796 BC's,in OEM guts. Hint.




Just saying.............

He lays them in the creek next to the trout for scenic photos. That river water in Alaska not only cleans but also lubricates.

Yes, it's a 250AI. I swapped the K6 for a Nikon 3-9 with a 'come ups' reticle for last years season. The gun is my family loaner and gets used for deer and antelope. Both my grandkiddos said they liked the K6 reticle better so it's back on there. With the Sierra #1610 87 gr. flat base, there's just two holds from the 200 yd. zero out to their comfort level for distance.

Have a .270 win Fieldcraft chopped with ultra 7 and trijicon 3-9 accupoint. Also a 18” 6.5 prc with Ti action, going either 2.5-15 credo or klassik.

Kimber 84M 6.5 3x9 SWFA.....another 84M in 7-08 also with SWFA 3x9, sitting in the safe.

Tika T3X .223 with 3x9 SWFA

Brought home a third 84M in .308 today. Dropped the Leupold 2.5x8 w/Talleys on it - but a 6X or 3x9 SWFA will soon find its way there.....

Anything even resembling POW Island or SE Alaska would find me with a 6X.
10X would be a disaster waiting to happen there…

10x was tempting for alpine hunts. But the losing 10-15 minutes of being able to see the reticle on either end of daylight has kept me from hauling one up there.

There is NO hour glass associated with magnification. Exit pupil is a measurable trait and 4.2mm,will never exceed or meet 7mm exit pupil abilities. Hint.

Eye-relief,eye box and "friendliness" only grease those skids. Hint.

Locking turrets,zero stop,daylight bright illumination and a KILLER reticle are tough to beat (ala the cited BTR Gen2 2-12x Mil/Mil FFP LitBitch). Hint.

Just saying................

sako peak 90 308 (5 lb 10 oz)
trijicon accupoint 1-6 (~19.2 oz)
arc m-brace x-low rings (~5.2 oz)

a tank like set up, have since added a 1/2 oz pic rail scope tube mounted for o-light baldr qd night light
and 1/2 oz sap 2-rnd shell holder, for a total 7 lb 4 oz without ammo

Edit, put the low arc m-brace rings on as the x-low may have been too low, this rifle has a straighter higher comb than tikka to boot, it added 1/2 oz to move up to these rings

custom howa mini 6.5 Grendel (slabbed/fluted action -3.0 oz, barrel chop to 18.5", stocky's carbon, Jefferson bottom ends, hinged or cz detach mag, hinged is 3.5 oz lighter than cz)
single slot weaver base for night light on fore end tip 1/2 oz and butt stock shell holder another 1/2 oz or so
burris xt steel 2-piece bases
weaver detach top mount low rings 2.5 oz
leupold fx2 2.5x ultralight 6.5 oz
did run it a season with a single front xt base and holosun 507c red dot hinged bottom kit at 4 lb 14.5 oz no ammo, kids smacked a couple deer no prob, now it's with the 2.5x scope and detach mag for a try

this tikka t3x lite stainless 308
barrel cut to 20" (-3.5 oz)
with high desert bottom metal (+1.0 oz)
5 round mag (+0.5 oz)
Tikka pistol grip swap (+0.5 oz)
SAP 2-rnd shell holder (+0.5 oz)
single slot weaver rail for night light (+0.5 oz)
area 419 rail skimmed to 0 moa 3.0 oz
weaver detach top mount 1" low rings 2.5 oz
trijicon accupoint 3-9x40 13.5 oz

grand total is 7 lb 4 oz no ammo

with 30mm 3.5mm henneberger rings (3.0 oz) and Leupold vx5hd 1-5 (15 oz) it’s 7 lb 6.5 oz all up, will ammo test with the 3-9 then likely get back to an lpvo, it weighs 7 lb 1 oz with a vx3hd 1.5-5 in weavers

exact same as my sako 90 peak set up, sako gets far more robust scope/rings set up, both carry 7 rounds plus 1 up pipe and can take a night light, both 40" long, both detach 5 round mags, both made in Finland, one you spend money up front to eliminate a lot of fack around find out and slap together, dial in and kill with immediately, the other you spend indirect time and money with trips to smith, gobs of parts research and ordering/waiting etc. price difference between them not nearly what is suggested by the msrp of the rifles

there's do it mostly right first time and then the demand perfection do it right first time options lol, one is an aftermarket project toy, the other you just leave as is and giver, flavours for all

On my Forbes, I use a 6x Leupold with LR dots, on my Rem 700 in 250 AI with 21" barrel I use a 3-9 Burris Fullfield II with Ballistic plex. Both have worked well for me out to 500 yards which is usually much farther than I shoot at animals.

don't worry, it's much further than the most of the prs hero's shoot animals too

Some nice set ups.

I've been using a RAR .243 Win compact with an 18" barrel and a Leopold 2x7x33 scope . It is very easy to carry and good in a tree stand. I am looking at another real compact gun in .223 Rem. and thinking of Tikka t3x light or something.. I can get a Tikka for $760 and think that is a good price . A RAR Ranch is about $550 already so for an extra $225 I will likely buy the Tikka, and put on my 36 yr. old Leopold 4x12x 40 .

I'm mostly a Leupold guy so,,,,,,,,

Kimber Hunters: 22 CM - 4-12x40, 243 - 3.5-10x40, 6.5 CM - 2.5-8x36, 308 - 2-7x33

CLRs: 270 - 3-9x40 Zeiss Conquest, 30-06 - 3-9x40 B&L ScopeChief

Faux 700 LVSFs: 223 - 4-12x40, 22-250 - 4-16x42 Japanese Weaver V16

Faux 700 TIs: 243 - 4-12x40, 260 - 3-9x40, 308 - 2-7x33

Nice, I have close to your exact same set up. Where did you get your 30mm henneberger rings?

Almost Ever Thing I Own Runs a Swarovski AV Or Z-3 In 3-10 With 4-A..Do Have Several Z-5"S And PH. But Always Find Myself With a Go To With a 3-10 On It..

Kimber Montana 84m 308w. Alter between Zeiss 2.5-10x42, Leica Amplus 1-6x24 and Aimpoint Micro H2. QD rings/mount on all optics.

Not an ultralight by most standards.

Weatherby Vanguard Ibex .308
24” fluted barrel
Stockys Seconds CF stock
Cabela’s / Meopta 3-9x40

7 lb 5 oz empty.

Balances and fits very well for me!

How does it shoot with Stockys stock

I suspect it shoots with a chambered round, safety disengaged and the trigger being pulled rearward with the proper force. Probably works that way in any stock, or even without a stock.

Shoots a little better than the factory plastic stock. That stock didn’t flex terribly bad and had the speed bumps. Currently, unbedded, it will place the first 2 shots touching and a 3rd around an inch away. The barrel is pretty thin. Hoping bedding it will help a little bit. That is using HSM 165 Gr Tipped GKs. I’ll start reloading for it soon.

Stick, What scope is on the Montana? Thanks.

at the gittin store

kidding, some optic place that pops up when you search for them, forget the name of it but you can't miss it when you search for these rings to buy

Looks like a Craplon.

Tikka lite in 223 has tract 2-10
tikka lite 06. Has vx3 3.5-10 CDS
Tikka SL in 6.5 has Nikon tactical 3-12 x42
Boys kimber Hunter has vx3 Hd 3.5-10 CDS
Talley’s for all

I'm thinking it's an Athlon BTR Gen2 2-12x Mil/Mil FFP LitBitch. Hint.











They are fairly fabulous and reliably do,what Reupold can't,like track,repeat and hold zero. Hint..................

I've always built mountain rifles around 5.5 lb so I can go a bit heavy with a 18-20oz optic and finish just at or under 7 lbs with all the trimmings. Seems to be a perfect combo for me and I can still have enough rifle to shoot at extended range that being said, I have a couple rigs with the Leupold ultralight 3-9 that shave off 10 oz over the heavier optics.

I running Swarovski Z5's on my 2 light weigh guns, have a Z5 3.5-18x50 BT on my Weatherby 240 mag (5.9 pounds before scope) and a Z5 2.4-12x50 BT on my Seekins Element Havak 308 (5.4 pounds before scope).

I currently have a 2.5-10x42 NXS on my Fieldcraft. Prior to that I had a 3-10 SHV. If I was looking to go lighter I would probably go with a 3-9 Accupoint as I have had them in the past and liked them a lot.

Not an ultralight but works so well I just pretty much use this rig now exclusively for hunting whitetail(Northeast). 1955 Winchester Pre-64 M70 FWT "Thirty Aught Six"(30.06) without iron sights on barrel, aluminium base and scope mounts, Leopold 2.5-8 Vxi, McMillan Carbon Stock. About 8#s, sling, loaded with 5 rounds. Point and shoot out to 225 yards. It just plain works for me. doesn't punish me when I practice and I can carry all day. I'm almost 70 now and climbing mountains is over for me. I won't take a shot unless I know the critter is going to drop right there. I'll tag a pic when I can get it uploaded.

1955 Win M70 Pre-64 Fwt “aught six”

Weatherby Outfitter (Custom Shop Ultralight) in 6.5 Creedmoor with a Docter 3-9x36

My NULA in 7-08 that Melvin Forbes built for me in 2008 wears a Leupold FX-II 6x36 with a post and duplex reticle that was ordered from the Custom Shop. At Melvin’s suggestion, I had the scope drop shipped to him and he mounted the scope and sighted it in before shipping everything to me. The rifle and mounted scope weight 5 pounds 14 ounces. It was a pleasure to carry in Africa back in 2021 when I was 79!

Not just my ultra lites, but all my hunting rifles wear either Leupold 1.5-5X20, 2-7X33 or 2.5-8X36. I only shoot at game to 300 yds. Never sent any of them back to Leupold for issues