Lightweight Elk Rifle Build

[ripnbst]

I went ZEISS V4 4-16 and have no regrets.

 

[wilkup]

My brother and I got out to MT for opening week of Elk hunting. Long story short, my brother shot a decent bull day 1 with his A-bolt 7 RM at 350 yards. We were back 5 miles on foot so 15 miles later, we got his bull out in 2 trips. Went out Sunday afternoon and started raining hard and windy and COLD. We sat most of Monday out, got going Tuesday morning fairly early back to the same area. It just snowed the night before so glassing was much easier and the weather was decent. At about 1:30, I had my chance at a decent bull at 350 yards. Nice broadside shot. 2 decent bulls in 4 days, win win.

I was fairly set on making up a load for my newly built rifle but only had about a week or two to dial it in and a couple range sessions to shoot it. I loaded up 200 gr ELDX, Lapua brass, N568, and FLRM GGM. I hit a node at the lower end of 2770 fps with a fairly full case. I think with a heavier bullet, I would probably get better performance and more speed with the N568. I have plenty of time to test it now, but at 350 yards with the 200's, it blew right through the elk. This was my first elk hunt and even though I made this rifle almost as light as possible, another pound or two less at times would have been nice. I pushed through though and the 4 months of working out and training definitely helped. I'll do more next time though! All in all a success and the rifle performed as expected.
Snowy pic of me, the other of my brother. View attachment 308992View attachment 308991View attachment 308990

How's your PRC doing almost a year later?
Anything you'd do differently, if you were to do it again?
Hopefully you're taking her out for some more epic hunts again this fall!
Dropped anything since this elk last fall?

 

[TopPin]

300 RUM
AG Alpine hunter
Trued Remington 700 action
Athlon Ares BTR Gen 2 4.5x27 FFP
Talley High Rings
26 inch Proof Sendero+break 28.5 in
Bedded with extended mag box
Weight 8.0 Lbs
You should be lighter in a 280 I'd guess 7.2 7.5

 

[Takman]

I have 4 VX5HD's 3-15 and haven't had any issues. The reason I started to use them was the weight factor. One is on a light 280AI build.

 

[ripnbst]

My brother and I got out to MT for opening week of Elk hunting. Long story short, my brother shot a decent bull day 1 with his A-bolt 7 RM at 350 yards. We were back 5 miles on foot so 15 miles later, we got his bull out in 2 trips. Went out Sunday afternoon and started raining hard and windy and COLD. We sat most of Monday out, got going Tuesday morning fairly early back to the same area. It just snowed the night before so glassing was much easier and the weather was decent. At about 1:30, I had my chance at a decent bull at 350 yards. Nice broadside shot. 2 decent bulls in 4 days, win win.

I was fairly set on making up a load for my newly built rifle but only had about a week or two to dial it in and a couple range sessions to shoot it. I loaded up 200 gr ELDX, Lapua brass, N568, and FLRM GGM. I hit a node at the lower end of 2770 fps with a fairly full case. I think with a heavier bullet, I would probably get better performance and more speed with the N568. I have plenty of time to test it now, but at 350 yards with the 200's, it blew right through the elk. This was my first elk hunt and even though I made this rifle almost as light as possible, another pound or two less at times would have been nice. I pushed through though and the 4 months of working out and training definitely helped. I'll do more next time though! All in all a success and the rifle performed as expected.
Snowy pic of me, the other of my brother. View attachment 308992View attachment 308991View attachment 308990

That barrel looks pretty short. What did the finished barrel length end up at for 300PRC?

 

[Apex Custom Rifles]

That barrel looks pretty short. What did the finished barrel length end up at for 300PRC?

26" I'm going to add a brake though one of these days.

How's your PRC doing almost a year later?
Anything you'd do differently, if you were to do it again?
Hopefully you're taking her out for some more epic hunts again this fall!
Dropped anything since this elk last fall?

I honestly haven't had time to shoot it much. Between rifle builds for customers and repairs, it's tough. Never enough time for your own stuff. I've been meaning to brake it for several months now too. I should have more time this winter. I did go out to a friend's place this summer and we were at 450 and 850 with the PRC, and out to 1k with my 6br. Was shooting factory hornady 212 ELD-X's in 25-35 mph winds! It didv well, but it was just some leftover ammo I had. I try to shoot LR as often as I can, so was a little practice.

Friends video, but me shooting.

https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=pfbid0zNSZFtaRTwuVu4o82Z9kVteKpsxQVkyCCzARAPjXUpQDcye81EKKtLmFw8F71bZsl&id=1321767014

I've built several light rifles for guys since doing this one. I may try and do a sheep hunt in the next 3-5 years. If I do ill build a similar rifle, but will be a short action, one piece rings/base, ether a sendero light or #2 profile barrel, 24" barrel and a Ti brake, and a lighter scope. Most Likely a 7SAUM.

That would get it down into that 6.5 lbs range. I have plenty of powder and bullets, just need to get out. No big hunts this year, just whitetails in MN, and I usually just do the Muzzleloader season where I'm at.

Building a custom smokeless muzzleloader for a guy now, which I may have to duplicate for myself.

 

[wilkup]

I've built several light rifles for guys since doing this one. I may try and do a sheep hunt in the next 3-5 years. If I do ill build a similar rifle, but will be a short action, one piece rings/base, ether a sendero light or #2 profile barrel, 24" barrel and a Ti brake, and a lighter scope. Most Likely a 7SAUM.
That would get it down into that 6.5 lbs range.

How do you like that anTi X?
I just ordered myself a short action anTi and will be sending it to my smith so he can spin up a 23" Xcaliber ultralight CF barrel. Will be chambered in a 7mm wildcat.
Will your next build be using another anTi or you gonna try something else?

 

[Apex Custom Rifles]

The Anti-X is a nice action, but other than the integral bases, It's the exact same thing as the Anti Internally. IMO, the Anti is the best lightweight action out there in the price point. Even with going to titanium, you're not going to get much lighter. I continue to use them, the only issue is the wait times are astronomical. I have several on order that are almost a year out. My rifle was originally suppose to be a 280 Imp, but due to the fact that I couldn't find a standard bolt face Anti in time, I went with the mag bolt face which became available to me. In hindsight, I should have just built the 7 SAUM. I think the 7mm bullets are the sweet spot for deer to elk size game.

You'll have to let me know how that X-caliber barrel works out. I used some of their barrels several years ago when they first got going, but haven't tried their CF barrel mainly due to the fact that I want to be able to thread the muzzle myself, and they don't give that option. It's ether threaded or crowned from them. I built a 6br about 5 years ago with one of their barrels that they sent me a year or two prior and it's a tack driver.

 

[D$tring]

The Anti-X is a nice action, but other than the integral bases, It's the exact same thing as the Anti Internally. IMO, the Anti is the best lightweight action out there in the price point. Even with going to titanium, you're not going to get much lighter. I continue to use them, the only issue is the wait times are astronomical. I have several on order that are almost a year out. My rifle was originally suppose to be a 280 Imp, but due to the fact that I couldn't find a standard bolt face Anti in time, I went with the mag bolt face which became available to me. In hindsight, I should have just built the 7 SAUM. I think the 7mm bullets are the sweet spot for deer to elk size game.

You'll have to let me know how that X-caliber barrel works out. I used some of their barrels several years ago when they first got going, but haven't tried their CF barrel mainly due to the fact that I want to be able to thread the muzzle myself, and they don't give that option. It's ether threaded or crowned from them. I built a 6br about 5 years ago with one of their barrels that they sent me a year or two prior and it's a tack driver.

I have two 7 saum now. One ultralight on an AnTi action with 21 inch proof. They both shoot lights out. But the light one is special. My best groupings I've ever **** are you that rifle. I will never not have a 7 saum in the stable. Why did I wait so long…

 

[Apex Custom Rifles]

Here's one of the other rifles I built. This was a 300 RUM. Defiance Anti, McMillan Hunters Edge stock, TriggerTech Special, Hawkins bottom metal and lightweight tactical rings, Wyatts extended mag box and follower, Hart fluted #4.5 contour, with a Hawkins tank brake. I believe we put a VX6HD on there too. This setup was about 8lbs 4oz. There were a few areas where we could have cut weight, but it's also a 300 RUM. With the brake it was actually pleasurable to shoot. The same day I was testing this one, I was testing an old Rem 700 in 30-06 with a hard plastic butt plate. The 30-06 beat the crap out of me compared to the RUM with the brake. This was the customers first custom rifle build. He's not a competitive shooter and just wanted a really nice hunting rifle. He emailed me back his first 5 shot group.

 

[Apex Custom Rifles]

Here's photos of mine all finished. I still want to put a brake on it and I think I may coat the SS portions of the barrel Black.

 

[vancewalker007]

Here's one of the other rifles I built. This was a 300 RUM. Defiance Anti, McMillan Hunters Edge stock, TriggerTech Special, Hawkins bottom metal and lightweight tactical rings, Wyatts extended mag box and follower, Hart fluted #4.5 contour, with a Hawkins tank brake. I believe we put a VX6HD on there too. This setup was about 8lbs 4oz. There were a few areas where we could have cut weight, but it's also a 300 RUM. With the brake it was actually pleasurable to shoot. The same day I was testing this one, I was testing an old Rem 700 in 30-06 with a hard plastic butt plate. The 30-06 beat the crap out of me compared to the RUM with the brake. This was the customers first custom rifle build. He's not a competitive shooter and just wanted a really nice hunting rifle. He emailed me back his first 5 shot group.View attachment 399557View attachment 399559View attachment 399562View attachment 399564View attachment 399565View attachment 399566View attachment 399573

Thats a beauty. I am very partial to McMillan and Defiance products from experience.

 

[wilkup]

The Anti-X is a nice action, but other than the integral bases, It's the exact same thing as the Anti Internally. IMO, the Anti is the best lightweight action out there in the price point. Even with going to titanium, you're not going to get much lighter. I continue to use them, the only issue is the wait times are astronomical. I have several on order that are almost a year out. My rifle was originally suppose to be a 280 Imp, but due to the fact that I couldn't find a standard bolt face Anti in time, I went with the mag bolt face which became available to me. In hindsight, I should have just built the 7 SAUM. I think the 7mm bullets are the sweet spot for deer to elk size game.

You'll have to let me know how that X-caliber barrel works out. I used some of their barrels several years ago when they first got going, but haven't tried their CF barrel mainly due to the fact that I want to be able to thread the muzzle myself, and they don't give that option. It's ether threaded or crowned from them. I built a 6br about 5 years ago with one of their barrels that they sent me a year or two prior and it's a tack driver.

From everything I've heard, the X-caliber CF barrels are shooters. I opted for their in house cryo treatment and muzzle threading. I bought my action from a dealer online and it's supposedly arriving to my FFL tomorrow. Glad to hear you think the anTi is the best in it's class.

 

[wilkup]

Here's one of the other rifles I built. This was a 300 RUM. Defiance Anti, McMillan Hunters Edge stock, TriggerTech Special, Hawkins bottom metal and lightweight tactical rings, Wyatts extended mag box and follower, Hart fluted #4.5 contour, with a Hawkins tank brake. I believe we put a VX6HD on there too. This setup was about 8lbs 4oz. There were a few areas where we could have cut weight, but it's also a 300 RUM. With the brake it was actually pleasurable to shoot. The same day I was testing this one, I was testing an old Rem 700 in 30-06 with a hard plastic butt plate. The 30-06 beat the crap out of me compared to the RUM with the brake. This was the customers first custom rifle build. He's not a competitive shooter and just wanted a really nice hunting rifle. He emailed me back his first 5 shot group.View attachment 399557View attachment 399559View attachment 399562View attachment 399564View attachment 399565View attachment 399566View attachment 399573

That's an impressive group from a lighter weight cannon! Beautiful rifle.