Lightweight Custom Build Ideas

[STOMP442]

Tikka T3 lite in .300 WSM and be done with it. Top it with a light weight quality Leupold, load it with 185gr Bergers at mag length and you can shoot 700 yards all day long and tackle all the grizz you like. Or, spend thousands of dollars on a custom rig that may or may not shoot any better and be only a couple ounces lighter. I hate super light rifles. They are hard to hold steady, recoil is always an issue and the cost is generally outrageous. There are lots of areas to shave weight besides the rifle. Trim up the pack and the gear and turn ounces into pounds. I would much rather carry a rifle that I am confident in than one that is marginally more comfortable to carry. 

[recurveman]

2 minutes ago, 452b264 said:

Good Grizzly cartridges start with a 338 and go up, a decent minimum would be a 30 cal. magnum and heavy stout bullets. 

I'm really looking to build a light sheep gun that can be used as bear protection.   Obviously there is going to be some compromises.   Most sheep hunters don't walk around shooting a 338.  

[452b264]

Didnt want to see you end up hear. 

[cjl2010]

Build whatever you want... your going to build another one right after it anyways lol

[cjl2010]

Build whatever you want... your going to build another one right after it anyways lol

[recurveman]

2 minutes ago, STOMP442 said:

Tikka T3 lite in .300 WSM and be done with it. Top it with a light weight quality Leupold, load it with 185gr Bergers at mag length and you can shoot 700 yards all day long and tackle all the grizz you like. Or, spend thousands of dollars on a custom rig that may or may not shoot any better and be only a couple ounces lighter. I hate super light rifles. They are hard to hold steady, recoil is always an issue and the cost is generally outrageous. There are lots of areas to shave weight besides the rifle. Trim up the pack and the gear and turn ounces into pounds. I would much rather carry a rifle that I am confident in than one that is marginally more comfortable to carry. 

That is my issue.   I have a Tikka T3 lite in .308.   It shoots great for a production gun.   Weighs in at 7# with scope.   Then I shoot my custom next to it and..........The difference is just night and day.   I'm going to take my custom gun hunting this fall.   It weighs in at 9.2 pounds loaded.   I just have way more confidence in that rig than the Tikka and I'm not saying one bad thing about the Tikka.   I actually think they make a really great gun but I'm spoiled.  My first shot out of the Tikka last week at 600 yards was 1.5" right at 600 yards in a slight wind.  Second shot was an inch above the first.   The Tikka guns flat out shoot.        

I'm not as worried about the money with a good quality gun.   I just want what I want and enjoy shooting quality guns. 

[recurveman]

26 minutes ago, cjl2010 said:

Build whatever you want... your going to build another one right after it anyways lol

LOL!!!!   That is so true.   The next one will have a completely different set of challenges.   

[cjl2010]

I’m glad I’ve never shot a tikka. Sounds like they are pretty impressive! Hells canyon armory has that new magazine out for them and a throated 270wsm would be awesome in my book! 

[PRDATR]

Build your sheep rifle and don't worry about grizzlies is my suggestion.

[lancetkenyon]

5 hours ago, recurveman said:

Lance, 

Love all the info.  For griz protection I was thinking about down loading a round for hunting (6.5 at 2900 fps) and then max out 3 loads (6.5 at 3200 fps. different bullet?) that I carry in the gun at all times for bears if needed.   I would need to change the loads out if I was going to shoot a fair distance but I would be ready for a bear if needed.   Just trying to make it as recoil friendly as possible and still have a bear option.    Would also consider a 7mm or 30 cal that could be light loaded for hunting and then a few heavy loads for protection.   

I'll look at the lighter stocks.   I've used both the Mcmillan and B&C and have liked them both.   

In regards to the barrels and accuracy.   Do you see a difference in accuracy from a #2 steel to a PR sendero light?   I'm assuming that getting the right load might be a bit more of a challenge and the nodes might be a bit smaller.   Seems like it is doable though.   Haven't shot a PR barrel yet.  I'm shooting a #3 brux currently at 22" and it shoots lights out and is super easy to load.     

Have you shot the 6.5 SAUM or 6.5SS in a short action?   Are they accurate and do you get the speed you are looking for?   Seems to me that it would be great to use a medium action and then load them long to get the full benefit?   It would be great to use a short action but every time I'm shooting a SA I'm always wishing I had room to load the bullets longer.  

If you are stuck on 6.5 (which I am not against in the least for antelope/deer/sheep, just not for grizzly), even the fast magnums do not recoil that bad without a brake. No need to load them.down for hunting unless they are not as accurate at the top end.

A 7SS or .300SS would be a better choice if grizzly are seriously on the list.

If you are in Phoenix, and you want to fondle a couple Manners stocks, let me know.  EH1, EH2, PRS2.  I would still go for the EH4 for my own lightweight rifle.

A good #2 barrel, with proper load development, should shoot just as good as a Proof Sendero Light for the first (and most important) 2-3 shots.  A Proof will be stiffer than a #2, so therefore probably easier to tune with a broader node to work in.  Every Proof barrel I have shot has been very accurate.  But then again, most custom steel barrels have been as well.

I have shot three 6.5SAUM, and six 6.5SS in short actions.  The 6.5SS was conceived to fit in a true short action better than the SAUM does without seating the bullets into the case as much.  Both my 6.5SSs are on short actions.  Not mediums.  R700SA and Lone Peak Fuzion TI SA.  But, the R700 has been cut for a Wyatt's box, and the Lone Peak is set up for one already from the factory.  Also, the 6.5SS is cut with .250" freebore to allow seating bullets out, where most 6.5SAUMs are .188" freebore (and some less) if I recall.

The 6.5SAUM and 6.5SS are both very accurate.  Flip a coin.  Both can push a 140gr 3150 if you stand on them, 3200 is not unheard of if you use certain powders.  I choose not to use those however.

I run a 140 Hybrid @ 3120, a 150 SMK @ 3117, or a 127 LRX @ 3210 in my older 25.5" 1:8" 5R Bartlein #3b fluted 6.5SS.

My new 6.5SS only has like 40 rounds down the barrel.  26" 1:7.5" Proof 4 groove.  So far, I have gotten the 156 Berger up to 3024fps in the first 21 rounds down the barrel.  So far, low .1 to .3s out to 200 in heavy mirage and winds.  I tried the 131 Hammer Hunter in it this weekend, and they seem like they are going g to shoot good too.  .3s @ 3151 & 3182fps in a barrel that is not broken in and sped up yet.

[300RUM]

Years back I decided i wanted a lightweight compact rifle. Being a shade tree machinist I decided to make it a DIY project. I got a Rem 700 short action to start. The selection of custom actions at the time was no where as good as today and wanting a left hand one only made it worse. I blueprinted the action & bolt, enlarged the ejection port and shaved the back of the action slightly on the sides. The bolt was fluted and handle skeletonized. A 20 inch Shilen #1 barrel in 7mm-08 Ackley was installed along with a Wyatts extended mag. The action pillar bedded in a High Tech Specialties stock. Recoil pad thickness was 0.6 inches, thick pads are comfy but heavy. Almost every opportunity to cut weight was taken. Add a Timney trigger and Callahan striker and I had a nice little gun. It spent it's first years sharing a Leupold VX-R with an AR upper. It finally got it's own scope, a NSX 2.5 - 10 x 42 Compact. The rifle weighs 7.2 pounds. I consider it to be a 500yard rifle max. As Lance stated the ultra light rifles are much harder to hold steady and accuracy suffers. With the light weight stocks if you like to tighten up a sling in a sitting position they flex easily and may contact the barrel. As cjl2010 mentioned sharp shouldered cases with little taper are a SOB to get feeding in a mag. I hate to have to admit to spending over 8 hours on that one. The solution, in part, is that you have to remove taper from the magazine to keep the relationship between the stacked rounds the same or the head of the case will drop below the bolt causing a jam. I recall having to narrow the rear of my mag about 0.120 for the Ackley. Good luck with your build.