Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Lightweight stalking woods rifle optimal caliber help

Tube it 6.8 SPC.... No brainer. 110 Accubonds or 85XXX. You'll thank me later...

W

My Savage 99 F (Featherweight) with a 2.5X Weaver Scope in 300 Savage is just what the Doctor Ordered. With scope, mounts and rings, plus a sling, it comes in at 7.5 lbs ready to go. It Handles well, light to carry and packs a punch. Not sure how you get a complete rifle with scope and sling below 6 lbs? Most hunting rifles I have owned or had a chance to handle and weigh come in closer to 9 lbs with scope, bases, rings and a sling. The limit for me when I went to Colorado Mule Deer hunting was 7.5 lbs. Climbing mountains in the 9,000 to 11,000 ft range and not feeling all fatiqued because you were slinging a 9 lb rifle made a big difference at the end of the day.

Ha, i have it on utmost authourity the AI is 25% faster than a 223 and is great to 1000 yds and great on game to the size of Ak moose.

No way. Top coyote contest competitors will tell you the 223 is not all it needs to be on coyotes. Over 250 yards in a good side wind is not good and he is hunting up to bear?

Texas feral hogs on the run can often soak up 7-8 55 gr soft points and never be found unless its warm enough for buzzards to still be around.

Id say minimum would be the 243.

Montana 257 BOB 110 Accu Bond done.

Coming from the northeast, and hunting thick stuff and mountaintops, when I think a 'stalking woods rifle', I think of a gun that will handle and point like a shotgun and an action that will give me a fast 2nd or 3rd shot if need be, and a gun with a short barrel that handles well in tight quarters, way before caliber even enters into the picture.

While I like bolt actions they don't seem to fit into the above scenario, not for me anyways. A lever action, semi-auto, or pump I feel are all better choices than a bolt.

As was said, a larger caliber hole in the barrel with a larger cartridge will lighten the weight of the gun. Additionally that larger caliber hole will be more effective on a marginal hit, which can happen stalking whitetails in heavy cover because if you jump them, they don't tend to give you much of a shot, so I think more in the 30-35 caliber range.

In the early 60's when I started out, it wasn't uncommon to get a dud in a box of shells, as manufacturing wasn't what it is today. An oldtimer up in the Catskills years ago told me that if you put the hammer down on a whitetail and had a dud shell, a pump was the only gun that would allow you to jack another round in without coming off the target and be able to get the shot off. While I've never had a dud round that didn't go off, I do think about what he said everytime I carry my 30-06 pump carbine in the woods.

I know you said bolt gun but I'm about to finish up a contender carbine in .357 maximum for the same role. Well under 6 lbs. with a 4x Leupold on top, short and handy. Just a thought.

WBY ULW 30-06 5 3/4 LBS bare
Older Marlin Carbine in 30-30 or 35 Rem. or 44 rem.mag

Bolt gun looks good for the occasional 300 yard shot.

This will do.

Make mine a 44 mag with a Luepold VX 3 3.5-10 with M1 turrents so I can lob them in lol.

Select one that will be enough gun and not some tiny round designed to wound the enemy.

Kimber 84M Classic 7-08 or 308.

Our Kimber 84M Classic 7mm-08 weighs 6# 11oz with it's 2-7 Leupold in factory mounts.

My idea also, though I prefer the 35 Remington or the 308 Bellm, but if you find an accurate 30-30 barrel that would work also.

I was thinking about this thread overnight, and had some ideas.

1) If stalking in the woods is your game, I can't think of better stalking guns than a Savage 99 or a Remington 7600. .308 WIN is a good general purpose round in either.

2) If you want light, I have a Marlin lever in 357 Mag that I would not be scared to use in this situation, but the only problem would be the distance. It is a 50 yard rifle, but it is light. When I carry it, it is like it's not there.

3) Have you thought about 243 WIN? The only reason why I'm saying this is that it delivers a lot more punch than .223 without doing an AI. It is also legal in a lot more states for deer.

Ruger 1A
Montana
Sako Forester
Featherweight
Ruger UL
Savage 99

.243, .260, 7-08, .308, 7X57, .257, .250

Remington 750 in 30-06 with 220 grain coreloks

Personally prefer bolts as well

For tracking, things can get kinda dicey as deer catch on and when pausing to get a look-see at you, they aren't expecting Grandma--but second shot practice from the shoulder tightens up the odds. Rig up a target on a rope/pulley going downhill (whitetails). Don't shoot the rope...

For still-hunting, every once and while you do catch one in its bed or pre-occupied, but not as a rule, particularly when stumbling over every other unseen rock...

And while I think caliber considerations are the least of the nearly all issues but the beginning of most arguments...do prefer something that throws enough lead to make a good hole for a long ways at departing angles...starting at 6.5 and ending at 7.

I feel the Germans/Austrians had the right idea for a lightweight stalking rifle- a little break open single shot. Mine is a 5.6x35R (.22 Hornet), and I've seen them in .25-35, 5.6x52R (Savage .22 HiPower), 8.15x46R, and other .30-30-like cartridges. Nifty 26" octagon barrels, double set triggers, and weighing in the neighborhood of 5½ pounds, they make for pleasant companions for a day on your feet in the thick stuff. One in .25-35 is on my to do list for this year.

Winchester 94 Trapper in 30-30