Creative ways to cut weight?

[cohunt]

I have a 5.6 pound 30-06 ( with full pic rail but no optics or rings)

It started life as a rem700 mountain rifle-- the big weight loss was with the stock. My cf stock weighs 19 ounces . I don't use a bipod- I use my backpack, rock, stump, or tree. I use lightweight rings and a leupy 3-9 ultralight scope to keep it light at just over 6.5 pounds.

Lighter weight stocks, barrel profiles, and optics seem to get you the most bang for the buck. Titanium can drop more weight but eats into the wallet real quick. But lightweight rifles have more recoil so you must train more to learn how to handle the muzzle rise on a lightweight build-- brakes can be effective and help too.

 

[Coyote01]

Full disclosure, my first idea is a product I rep, but I would like to end up exchanging ideas that could help all of us shed ounces off our shooting rig. My question is, what are some effective and possibly unorthodox ways to lighten up our hunting irons?

It always seems crazy to me that people spend $700 for a carbon stock, $1500 for a titanium action, $800 for a carbon barrel, do all kinds of metal skeletonizing, then hang a 1 pound bipod off the forend. A friend was complaining that our Javelin Lite and Pro Hunt bipods are expensive, but at only 4-6 ounces, I can't think of more cost-effective way to save weight on his rifle.

What kind of out-of-the-box ways have you guys found to lighten up a rifle?


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I like a bipod but at the end of the day I can use my pack or a stick maybe a rock. I've used a little bit of everything in the field. I only target shoot with a bipod. My hunting rig is light because my horse carries the load lol. I never break a sweat.

 

[OregonHunter2]

I don't know what works for others, but if I hunt with my 12+lb rifle, after a day or so, if I switch to my 8.5lb rifle, it feels like it weighs 5lbs!
I regularly hunt with heavy rifles, up to 18lbs, which I trek in to an area strapped to my pack, then shoot from prone.
My 44 mag lever gun only weighs in at 5 3/4lbs, it is a dream to hunt with, but a pain to carry without a sling.

Cheers.

Most of my rifles weigh around 12 pounds too, but my situation is a bit unique. I'm a wheelchair bound quadriplegic which means I don't pack my rifles anymore. I need a heavy rifle to damp recoil because my hands don't work well enough to hold the gun solidly. If I'm hunting from a blind I simply snap my rifle onto my Sentinel tripod with the magnetic attachment and it holds it real steady for me. Now I appreciate weight

 

[OregonHunter2]

Loose the bipod and use a stump, stick,grassy knoll....or backpack!

That can work, and I've done it. Now I like the ability to load forward into a bipod or tripod, and be supported on 2 axis instead of 1

 

[OregonHunter2]

My Browning Mountailn Ti weighs 5.5 lbs without scope. Tally rings and Leupold 40mm 13 oz. scope . I use a homemade safari sling. It weighs just a few ounces, and is by far the most comfortable way to carry a rifle for quick use. I'm 67, and hunt rough country. A light rifle is a joy.

Sweet rifle! I have no experience with titanium actions. Any negatives? Are they sticky as I've heard some people say?

 

[snox801]

I may be different on this. I have spent all the big dollars literally shaving weight everywhere I could. Even ti action screws I had cut. Along with ti firing pin.
I did that so that I could add the weight back in places and things I wanted. That way I have all the features I want and still have a rifle as lite or lighter than ones where people compromised on things like scope or bipod.
Plus let's not pretend like most of this stuff is about personal feel and what you like.

 

[OregonHunter2]

I may be different on this. I have spent all the big dollars literally shaving weight everywhere I could. Even ti action screws I had cut. Along with ti firing pin.
I did that so that I could add the weight back in places and things I wanted. That way I have all the features I want and still have a rifle as lite or lighter than ones where people compromised on things like scope or bipod.
Plus let's not pretend like most of this stuff is about personal feel and what you like.

I look at it in a similar way. I think some pieces should be light so that you can make critical parts heavy. I think of weight like a budget. Thete are certain parts I absolutely cannot skimp on like having a capable and slightly heavy scope, and a barrel that's robust enough it won't wander

 

[snox801]

Side note I am a huge fan of night force. Love my atacr 7-35 ffp. That being said I have the March 2.5-25 and it's light and robust. Don't have a ton of time with it but so far I'm pretty impressed

 

[mnoland30]

OregonHunter2, I shoot left handed with a right handed gun, so I don't usually have to work the action fast. Once I shot at a cougar in the dark, and wanted that second shell in the chamber in a hurry. I jacked that round so fast that I never found the brass, even though I searched for it the next day. I've never had an issue with the action.

I understand a heavy barrel for target shooting, but my skinny barrel puts the 1st shot where it needs to go, and that is enough. Before I got this rifle, I hunted aoudad with a T/C Contender in 7-30 Waters. That rifle was really light, but limited my range. In NM, if you want to draw for deer and elk every year, you need to hunt with a muzzleloader, so I'm used to single shots.

I drew an ibex tag this year, and that is the toughest country I've ever hunted. People sometimes hire mountain climbers to retreive their animal. A light rifle is almost essential for an old man like me.