who builds the most accurate ultralight hunting rifle?

[packgoatguy]

Trust me dude if you build a sub 6 lb 28 Nos it'll beat your ***..
I'd go 6.5 PRC, I have a 5.8 lb 6.5 Saum, and have killed my last 2 bulls with it out to 900 yards shooting 147 eldms.
Once you step up beyond 6.5 magnums recoil is stupid in an ultralight.
If you went with a 7 twist barrel in 6.5 prc you'd be
Able to shoot the 156 bergers around 3000 fps.
That's assuming Berger ever releases them!

You make a good point on the recoil front. However, my 6lb 300WM with a break (tikka SSL) is quite manageable... even my wife will shoot it. Not sure how much more recoil a 28Nos or 7mmSTW would make. Although, I have begun to wonder if (assuming I want to stick with the 7mm bullet options) a 7WSM or 7SAUM would let me shave the weight with a short action, and still get me the velocity and high BC bullets I want. In which case, I would assume a 7WSM would recoil well less than a 28NOS or even the 300WM.

 

[Deleted member 25294]

You make a good point on the recoil front. However, my 6lb 300WM with a break (tikka SSL) is quite manageable... even my wife will shoot it. Not sure how much more recoil a 28Nos or 7mmSTW would make. Although, I have begun to wonder if (assuming I want to stick with the 7mm bullet options) a 7WSM or 7SAUM would let me shave the weight with a short action, and still get me the velocity and high BC bullets I want. In which case, I would assume a 7WSM would recoil well less than a 28NOS or even the 300WM.

A brake will help for sure.
I re barreled my 28 Nos to 7-300 wsm and the recoil is quite a bit less.
I think a 7 saum would be pretty awesome if you're going with a short action.

 

[LongBomber]

Although, I have begun to wonder if (assuming I want to stick with the 7mm bullet options) a 7WSM or 7SAUM would let me shave the weight with a short action, and still get me the velocity and high BC bullets I want. In which case, I would assume a 7WSM would recoil well less than a 28NOS or even the 300WM.

To try and get lighter I would go to a short action, with a wyatt extended mag box. 7wsm or 7ss in the short action, and I would think about going to a 24" barrel that would depend on how important the speed is to you.
What is the diameter of the shank on the carbon barrel? If someone would make one with a 1.1" fairly short shank it would save some weight and be perfect for sa chamberings.

 

[COBrad]

28 Nosler in an ultra light rifle sounds like no fun at all... maybe.
I had a Kimber Montana in 300 WSM that was a sub moa rifle and not bad to shoot with a 168 gr TSX and moderate load. It put elk down fast and effective. I really like 200 gr bullets in a 300 mag, but full house loads in that rifle recoiled about like the .458 Win mag I was shooting. Another rifle I had built, a MGA, in .338 win mag was as light as the Kimber but had a nice little muzzle brake that reduced recoil to very manageable levels, and those were 250 gr bullets and full house loads. Unfortunately that was the poorest executed custom rifle I have ever seen, but that is a different story.

 

[Creedmoor shooter]

Curious as to why one would need 1/4 moa out of an ultra light hunting rifle. Ya it would definitely be nice to have, but its not neccessary. Any rifle capable of sub moa will work just fine for just about any reasonable distance you'll be shooting animals with. I doubt the critter will know the difference and neither would you in the field between a .25 moa rifle and a .75 moa rifle. Now if this were a target rifle then that's a totally different ball game.

 

[packgoatguy]

A brake will help for sure.
I re barreled my 28 Nos to 7-300 wsm and the recoil is quite a bit less.
I think a 7 saum would be pretty awesome if you're going with a short action.

I want to be able to shoot a 7mm 180ELDM or other high BC bullet... and one that I could find an accuracy node at at least 2950 fps at the muzzle. Not sure if the 7SAUM would be too long to fit in a short action mag for that. Are there any real advantages of the 7SAUM over the 7WSM?

 

[Deleted member 25294]

I want to be able to shoot a 7mm 180ELDM or other high BC bullet... and one that I could find an accuracy node at at least 2950 fps at the muzzle. Not sure if the 7SAUM would be too long to fit in a short action mag for that. Are there any real advantages of the 7SAUM over the 7WSM?

I think the SAUM is better only if you are stuck on a short action due to it's shorter case length.
I'd say a 7WSM is the way to go if you use a long action, you'll want those 180's loaded out to at least 3.1 to get them really moving.
I'm getting 3000 fps from a 26 inch barrel with 180 ELDM's loaded long in my 7-300WSM

 

[packgoatguy]

28 Nosler in an ultra light rifle sounds like no fun at all... maybe.
I had a Kimber Montana in 300 WSM that was a sub moa rifle and not bad to shoot with a 168 gr TSX and moderate load. It put elk down fast and effective. I really like 200 gr bullets in a 300 mag, but full house loads in that rifle recoiled about like the .458 Win mag I was shooting. Another rifle I had built, a MGA, in .338 win mag was as light as the Kimber but had a nice little muzzle brake that reduced recoil to very manageable levels, and those were 250 gr bullets and full house loads. Unfortunately that was the poorest executed custom rifle I have ever seen, but that is a different story.

Well, I am used to shooting my 6lb 300WM with a nice brake on it, and it is very manageable. (even my recoil sensitive wife shoots it without complaint) My math shows that the 28Nos shouldn't have much more recoil with a 162, 175, or 180gr bullet than my 300wm with a 195, 200, 212g bullet. Does anyone have any real world experience to the contrary? If Im wrong and the recoil of the 28N is substantially more than the 300WM, then maybe I need to rethink things... Although, I haven't heard bad things about recoil from the guys shooting the 28Nosler 6.2lb Fierce CT Edge, or Christansen Arms Summit Ti.

 

[highdrum]

Well, I am used to shooting my 6lb 300WM with a nice brake on it, and it is very manageable. (even my recoil sensitive wife shoots it without complaint) My math shows that the 28Nos shouldn't have much more recoil with a 162, 175, or 180gr bullet than my 300wm with a 195, 200, 212g bullet. Does anyone have any real world experience to the contrary? If Im wrong and the recoil of the 28N is substantially more than the 300WM, then maybe I need to rethink things... Although, I haven't heard bad things about recoil from the guys shooting the 28Nosler 6.2lb Fierce CT Edge, or Christansen Arms Summit Ti.

28N and 300wm will recoil very similar in equal weight rifles.

 

[packgoatguy]

28N and 300wm will recoil very similar in equal weight rifles.

Thank you, that is what I was hoping to hear.

 

[The Duke007]

Rifles Inc in a 280AI don't look back

 

[packgoatguy]

Rifles Inc in a 280AI don't look back

not trying to start a caliber war, but why the 280AI over the 7WSM, 7SAUM, or 28N that have elsewhere been discussed here?

 

[Turnbolt53]

A few considerations:
7SAUM and 280AI performance are equal (280AI brass is more available)
7WSM brass is hard to come by (and fireforming from 300 WSM is not straight forward)
28 Nosler brass is EXPENSIVE, and barrel life is SHORT

Agree with what others have said about the 28Nosler. I would not want a lightweight in this chambering.

 

[packgoatguy]

Any thoughts on NULA rifles? Are they as accurate as they are light? Anyone had one built in 28 Nosler with a break?