My ultralight timber stick - building a 4 lb rifle

[codyadams]

So this is going to take a while (couple years likely) to finish, as I really don't "need" this rifle, and it's also going to be a niche rifle as well. Either way though, every rifle I build has an intended purpose......and the following will be this one's.

I hunt a few different ways, usually I'm spot/shoot or spot/stalking from high vantage points, in rough country. I usually start out the year however, with archery, but I really don't put in a ton of effort on that. Other times though, especially now that my kids are wanting to go with me more, I find myself sneaking through the timber quietly, teaching them the ways of the woods, how to stalk, how to be quiet, how to navigate, and how to listen. While this is usually not as successful as high point glassing, I still find it very exciting, and love that my kids seem to enjoy it too, as we're constantly doing something.

I don't need this rifle to be extremely light, but it also doesn't need to be heavy. I look back at all my harvests with these kinds of hunts, and the farthest shot I can recall is a 250 yard shot across a meadow, with the average range being under 100 yards. So magnum power, or heavy rifle stability just isn't needed. Arguably, extreme accuracy isn't "needed" either, though I have my bets this one will shoot quite well for what it will be. What is important, is being quick and nimble handling, and having good pointability. Every animal I harvested hunting this way was taken within seconds of seeing it, often while they were moving. And, as I may be covering lot's of distance, I want it light, and also, just because, no other real good reason there ha ha. So, I might as well make it extreme in some fashion ha ha.

So, on to the build itself. Here will be the components, and the weights -

Manners MCS-UC, 13" LOP, ADL repeater - ~20 oz roughly with pillars, action screws, aluminum trigger gaurd and light bedding.

Pierce Skele-TI, left hand short action, .308 bolt face - ~ 15.9 oz

Rock creek #1 sporter contour, cut at 18", short shanked. Still undecided on what chambering, bore diameter could change it slightly.... - ~ 1 lb 15 oz

ADL mag box, spring and follower - ~ 4 oz estimated

Trigger Tech diamond - ~ 3 oz

This comes out to right at 4 lbs 10 oz for the bare rifle, maybe an oz or two more.

Tally rings - 3.5 oz

? SWFA SS 2.5-10 - 9.5 oz

So with that scope, would add 13 oz, putting it at 5 lbs 7 oz, unloaded, add about 3-4oz for 4 rounds of something like .243, .260, 6.5 creed, 7mm-08 or maybe .308. Then a sling like a skinny nylon sling, still under 6 lbs.

I will probably run a monolithic bullet of some flavor in it for hunting, as all shots will likely be close, and it will mainly be for elk. It is not going to be threaded, and no muzzle device, and I want to avoid magnum calibers for the sake of easier recoil in this ultra light, and also so I can have a very short shanked barrel. Right now I'm thinking .260ai, 6.5 creed, or 7mm-08. Any would kill elk splendidly inside 400ish yards this rifle will be designated for.

I think this would be super handy, and make a nice timber rifle. At this point, all I got is the Manners stock on order, thanks to their 20% off black Friday sale ha ha. I will update this thread slowly as it progresses, but it will be a fun process!

 

[adk hunter]

.338 Federal makes good hole in a barrel and animals!

Now I have to weigh my Kimber Montana I may have you beat by a few years

 

[LongBomber]

A light handy rifle sure is nice for exactly what you are talking about. I love the 260ai but I think I would do a 7-08ai or even a 270 redding (270-08 improved). Just to be different.

 

[codyadams]

.338 Federal makes good hole in a barrel and animals!

Now I have to weigh my Kimber Montana I may have you beat by a few years

You know, I didn't think about the bigger bores. A .338 federal or .358 winchester may deserve a look for a timber elk rifle.....though I wonder how recoil would be in a 5.5 lb rifle????? Ha ha

 

[bigngreen]

It'll be a quite nice rifle, Alex Wheeler built one a few years ago with very similar components and it was a very nice package and hammered!

 

[Coldfinger]

So this is going to take a while (couple years likely) to finish, as I really don't "need" this rifle, and it's also going to be a niche rifle as well. Either way though, every rifle I build has an intended purpose......and the following will be this one's.

I hunt a few different ways, usually I'm spot/shoot or spot/stalking from high vantage points, in rough country. I usually start out the year however, with archery, but I really don't put in a ton of effort on that. Other times though, especially now that my kids are wanting to go with me more, I find myself sneaking through the timber quietly, teaching them the ways of the woods, how to stalk, how to be quiet, how to navigate, and how to listen. While this is usually not as successful as high point glassing, I still find it very exciting, and love that my kids seem to enjoy it too, as we're constantly doing something.

I don't need this rifle to be extremely light, but it also doesn't need to be heavy. I look back at all my harvests with these kinds of hunts, and the farthest shot I can recall is a 250 yard shot across a meadow, with the average range being under 100 yards. So magnum power, or heavy rifle stability just isn't needed. Arguably, extreme accuracy isn't "needed" either, though I have my bets this one will shoot quite well for what it will be. What is important, is being quick and nimble handling, and having good pointability. Every animal I harvested hunting this way was taken within seconds of seeing it, often while they were moving. And, as I may be covering lot's of distance, I want it light, and also, just because, no other real good reason there ha ha. So, I might as well make it extreme in some fashion ha ha.

So, on to the build itself. Here will be the components, and the weights -

Manners MCS-UC, 13" LOP, ADL repeater - ~20 oz roughly with pillars, action screws, aluminum trigger gaurd and light bedding.

Pierce Skele-TI, left hand short action, .308 bolt face - ~ 15.9 oz

Rock creek #1 sporter contour, cut at 18", short shanked. Still undecided on what chambering, bore diameter could change it slightly.... - ~ 1 lb 15 oz

ADL mag box, spring and follower - ~ 4 oz estimated

Trigger Tech diamond - ~ 3 oz

This comes out to right at 4 lbs 10 oz for the bare rifle, maybe an oz or two more.

Tally rings - 3.5 oz

? SWFA SS 2.5-10 - 9.5 oz

So with that scope, would add 13 oz, putting it at 5 lbs 7 oz, unloaded, add about 3-4oz for 4 rounds of something like .243, .260, 6.5 creed, 7mm-08 or maybe .308. Then a sling like a skinny nylon sling, still under 6 lbs.

I will probably run a monolithic bullet of some flavor in it for hunting, as all shots will likely be close, and it will mainly be for elk. It is not going to be threaded, and no muzzle device, and I want to avoid magnum calibers for the sake of easier recoil in this ultra light, and also so I can have a very short shanked barrel. Right now I'm thinking .260ai, 6.5 creed, or 7mm-08. Any would kill elk splendidly inside 400ish yards this rifle will be designated for.

I think this would be super handy, and make a nice timber rifle. At this point, all I got is the Manners stock on order, thanks to their 20% off black Friday sale ha ha. I will update this thread slowly as it progresses, but it will be a fun process!

I've been toying with the idea as well. An ultra light in something like a 6br.

 

[Timnterra]

Sounds like a fun project! With monolithic bullets and close ranges you could afford to use a smaller round with good success. If you are into wildcats I think the 7mmx47Lapua would be a cool choice for that build. I was initially thinking 6creed but when you said it was for elk I just can't get comfortable designing a 6mm specifically for elk.

 

[comfisherman]

Chasing weight with minimal taper barrel it's always good to start looking at bigger bores. Depending on the company some will do some #1 type in 338 and short enough with a modifier even 358.


The weight weenie builds are fun mental gymnastics, other than chasing absurd fps probably my favorite pointless pastime....

My shooting mentor built one with late 90s tech when I was growing up. It was when the old timers at mpi would make you a stock paper thin with the tiniest little rubber butt pad. Remember it took him months to find someone who would make a 1 or 1 b I. 358. It was light as a child's play thing, more expensive than any gun I'd seen at the time....and he'd been a moron and chambered it in a wildcat magnum... it kicked like a ufc fighter.

In a moderate caliber it would have been cool. The irony was he was 6 foot and closer to 300 than 200.... he could have saved 2 pounds by skipping lunch for a week and pocketed a few grand.

Doesn't mean it isn't a hoot to think about what I'd do for an ultralight.

I'd like to do one but based off a montana, or fingers crossed someone actually follows through with a scaled down action like a fieldcraft....

Looking forward to how this one progresses!

 

[tim_w]

I assume at that profile it will be CM 4140 steel for barrel instead of 416R. If a choice I would definitely choose CM.

I definitely agree on Skele-Ti SA That's about as light as your ever going to get for a SA. I am looking at one as well.

As you are keeping shots shorter range and not using some hugely over bore cartridge, nor do you need bullets with max bc either. Makes bullet choices easier and in some cases cheaper. While monos are certainly a option so is a simple spitzer bt bonded bullet like the basic accubond. Simple, stays together, easy to tune, and expands reliably.

I really think the 338 Fed is about perfect for this kind of build where you want faster powders because of the bore to powder ratio to give greater efficiency with shorter barrels. Using the 160-185 even 200 bullets recoil will not be bad even at the light weight. BTW, does your stock weight include the recoil pad?

Examples:
My 338 mega based on others using 26" barrels vs my 21.5' is only losing 15-17 fps/inch.

A one off custom AR15 I built using a custom bcg and barrel extension (mag bolt face) 50 cal using a straight wall WSSM length case only loses 25-30 fps from 16" to 20" 300-500 gr bullets basically duplicates a 500S&W in a rimless auto case 65k max psi but at 16" vel.

A 18" 338 Fed running a 175gr HH would be a fantastic load. The 180 AB, 160/185 TSX/TTSX. For deer one of those soft 200gr Speer SP hot cores running in the 2500s

Powders: IMR 8208 XBR, RL10x, H335/H332, 2000-MR basically the powders that a 6.8 spc throated and loaded at bolt action lengths would use.

Makes me want to build one!!

 

[orifdoc]

I really enjoy my .260 AI. It's a touch quirky fire forming the brass but inherently accurate and fun to shoot. With good bullets it would be perfectly suitable for elk. For reasons I can't quite put my finger on it's enormously more enjoyable than my 7mm-08.

 

[AZShooter]

I realize you might want the uniqueness of building your own package. However, there is an ultralight out there that fits your goal. Even has a longer than usual mag box @ 3". It is the New Ultralight Arms model 20. The 284 Win would be the perfect chambering for this rifle. While it can be built with some cartridges weighing as light as 4.75 lbs, the 284 Win chambered rifle weighs 5 lbs.

https://newultralightarms.com/?page_id=10

Back to your planned rifle: A blind magazine would help lighten the package.

 

[Claw Extractor]

Microcell/cervelatti pads by hasting distribution are the lightest pads out there.

 

[Chas1]

.338 Federal makes good hole in a barrel and animals!

+1

 

[FEENIX]

So this is going to take a while (couple years likely) to finish, as I really don't "need" this rifle, and it's also going to be a niche rifle as well. Either way though, every rifle I build has an intended purpose......and the following will be this one's.

I hunt a few different ways, usually I'm spot/shoot or spot/stalking from high vantage points, in rough country. I usually start out the year however, with archery, but I really don't put in a ton of effort on that. Other times though, especially now that my kids are wanting to go with me more, I find myself sneaking through the timber quietly, teaching them the ways of the woods, how to stalk, how to be quiet, how to navigate, and how to listen. While this is usually not as successful as high point glassing, I still find it very exciting, and love that my kids seem to enjoy it too, as we're constantly doing something.

I don't need this rifle to be extremely light, but it also doesn't need to be heavy. I look back at all my harvests with these kinds of hunts, and the farthest shot I can recall is a 250 yard shot across a meadow, with the average range being under 100 yards. So magnum power, or heavy rifle stability just isn't needed. Arguably, extreme accuracy isn't "needed" either, though I have my bets this one will shoot quite well for what it will be. What is important, is being quick and nimble handling, and having good pointability. Every animal I harvested hunting this way was taken within seconds of seeing it, often while they were moving. And, as I may be covering lot's of distance, I want it light, and also, just because, no other real good reason there ha ha. So, I might as well make it extreme in some fashion ha ha.

So, on to the build itself. Here will be the components, and the weights -

Manners MCS-UC, 13" LOP, ADL repeater - ~20 oz roughly with pillars, action screws, aluminum trigger gaurd and light bedding.

Pierce Skele-TI, left hand short action, .308 bolt face - ~ 15.9 oz

Rock creek #1 sporter contour, cut at 18", short shanked. Still undecided on what chambering, bore diameter could change it slightly.... - ~ 1 lb 15 oz

ADL mag box, spring and follower - ~ 4 oz estimated

Trigger Tech diamond - ~ 3 oz

This comes out to right at 4 lbs 10 oz for the bare rifle, maybe an oz or two more.

Tally rings - 3.5 oz

? SWFA SS 2.5-10 - 9.5 oz

So with that scope, would add 13 oz, putting it at 5 lbs 7 oz, unloaded, add about 3-4oz for 4 rounds of something like .243, .260, 6.5 creed, 7mm-08 or maybe .308. Then a sling like a skinny nylon sling, still under 6 lbs.

I will probably run a monolithic bullet of some flavor in it for hunting, as all shots will likely be close, and it will mainly be for elk. It is not going to be threaded, and no muzzle device, and I want to avoid magnum calibers for the sake of easier recoil in this ultra light, and also so I can have a very short shanked barrel. Right now I'm thinking .260ai, 6.5 creed, or 7mm-08. Any would kill elk splendidly inside 400ish yards this rifle will be designated for.

I think this would be super handy, and make a nice timber rifle. At this point, all I got is the Manners stock on order, thanks to their 20% off black Friday sale ha ha. I will update this thread slowly as it progresses, but it will be a fun process!

In short, you are building your version of Forbes/NULA rifles. Under 5 lbs hunt ready? I am happy with my .30 Gibbs hunt ready. As I get older I understand the fascination/desire for a lighter hunting rifle set up. I too considered a light timber rifle or pistol like @Ernie uses. Good luck on your project.

Ed