shoe

FWIW that Model 70 is most likely a 1-10" twist. If so that might limit your bullet choices. Especially if you hoped to shoot heavy for caliber bullets like is common with the 6.5 prc.

FYI I talked to Kyle just this week about doing some barrel threading for me. He said he's so busy right now he's only doing full rifle builds.

I've been thinking about this a lot since last fall (I suppose most of us do), trying to improve my skills and equipment. Last fall I used what I would call a "general purpose" hunting rifle on my coues hunt. Blueprinted R700 7 saum 22" Brux barrel Zeiss 4-16 scope Bell and Carlson traditional sporter shaped stock Weighs just over 9lbs empty It's a really nice "all-rounder". I have a suppressor currently in jail so I expect to use that next season. This will at 10-12oz to my setup. I think my "ideal" is actually two different rifles. A truly lightweight setup similar to what the @lancetkenyon and @Red Rabbit listed above so I can stay in that 8-9lb range with the suppressor A heavyweight setup in a chassis. Something that is much easier to shoot at long range. Chambered in a cartridge that I would shoot a lot (economical, not a barrel burner, low recoil). Something like a PRS gun. I'm thinking 15-20lbs When I know I'm hiking long distances or doing lots of climbing. Sometimes I know I'm only going a short distance and perhaps coming back to the truck at midday, that's when #2 would be nice.

I'm interested, but confused about the ziplock bag. Did you take the powder out of the original jug altogether?

I've got some 178s I'm not using, but it's not a full box (88). Make me a reasonable offer and they're yours. I'm also in Tucson. ( I also have a bunch of 200gn ELDX if you're interested in those)

When I read the title I thought that's what he meant! lol

Thanks for all the comments so far, good food for thought. I'm still not sure where my sweet spot is in terms of weight vs. shootability

That's a great data point, thanks. What kind of velocity do you get from the 20" tube? Is your trail-ready weight actually 7 lbs? It looks like the bare rifle is like 6+lb and scope/rings/rail might put it almost at 8?

Similar to the "what's the best cartridge" discussion. I'm looking at building a Coues specific rifle. What weight would you target for the build? For me it's closely tied to cartridge selection because I don't think I want to be shooting a heavy recoiling cartridge in an ultra light rifle. So I put the question to the group. Based on the unique challenges of hunting Coues deer, what your ideal rifle weight?

I have the same hunt, I think we're going to stick to 7E but you never know. Weather's been pretty mild so I'm thinking of going on some long walks way up high.