Who makes the best Lightweight Long Range Gun

[Rich Coyle]

With no respect intended at all, blow it out your ***!

Your example is not even close to a good analogy. If you don't understand my concern over hunting with braked guns then you have very little in the way of real hunting experience or you only ever hunt alone. This has zero to do with people who lack a personal responsibility and everything to do with understanding that many of the trackers, skinners, beaters and jo boys on hunts could no more afford electronic ear protection than your dog could. Nor would they be educated enough to know how dangerous it is not to use them. After a few years of work they would end up completely deaf with no idea what caused it.

If you can live with causing that kind of damage fine but I cannot.

I don't want this to become an argument over braked or not, I would prefer it stick to the original question of who makes the most accurate LW rifle.

Then why did you continue this line?

 

[Dean2]

Then why did you continue this line?

Just answering an honest question. did not intend for it to completely derail the thread. Should know better I guess, hard for some people to stick to a topic rather then look for a reason to argue. My apologies for any role I played but PLEASE, back to the topic as intended. I really am interested in who makes top notch accurate LW and ULW guns.

 

[Ragnarnar]

I really am interested in who makes top notch accurate LW and ULW guns.

With respect to the original question, I think its been answered. Any smith who builds a heavy rifle well can do the same for a light one, providing you're willing to pay for it. The real issue is the shooters ability to shoot a light rifle well.

To keep this going any further would just become us discussing the best gunsmiths. (it's Travis Stevens at TSCustoms; I'll fight anyone who says otherwise)

Either way, good luck.
Best

 

[704]

Agreed. Even our carbon barreled rifle we build with nightforce or sig tango 6 is about 8 pounds any lighter and its not very manageable for long shots. Muzzle flip and recoil control can be a bear to see your impact through the scope

 

[Lonster]

For most folks, light weight and accurate, don't go together.

 

[LDHunter]

OK... I've been shooting and hunting with lightweight rifles and I've been primarily a light rifle shooter for over since I got my first Remington 660 in the mid-seventies.

I see NO problem with shooting a light rifle accurately but then that's what I'm used to. I've found proper bedding of the action and often the full barrel channel as well to be critical with the lightweight rifles. Triggers set at 2 pounds or lighter are needed as well.

The Remington Custom Shop, before they moved from Ilion NY, made a LOT of lightweight Model Seven rifles called the KS model with 20" barrels and if you can get one of them with the original McMillan or Brown Precision stocks you'll have a sweet rifle AFTER you have it bedded properly and get the 40X trigger they came with adjusted down to 2 pounds. Beware... Remington greatly cheapened this rifle when they left Ilion and many of their older more experienced gunsmiths either quit or retired to avoid moving.

The barrel taper on these rifles is nothing like any other I've ever seen come from Remington and it's a much heavier taper than any Model Sevens I've seen other than the Alaskan (NOT American) Wilderness Rifles. IIRC they (KS's) weighed in right at 6 pounds sans scope and mounts.

That brings us to the original Remington Model Seven Alaskan (NOT American) Wilderness Rifles. They came in several chamberings but the only ones I've ever owned are the 7mmSAUM and 300SAUM and these weigh in at around 7 pounds with a McMillan AWR Stock and teflon metalwork coating over the stainless metal. This coating scratched very easily and therefore looked horrible but that's the way you can tell that you have one of the original AWR Custom Shop rifles. Barrels were 22" with a unique magnum taper and accuracy, after you get the bedding right, is usually close to a half inch at a hunnert.

I don't know if these rifles I've mentioned are "better or best" because that's so subjective and you rarely if ever see one of the KS's or a real Alaskan Wilderness Rifle for sale any more. Most of them are in the hands of collectors and hunters that covet lightweight hunting rifles and if you don't know what you're doing, you'll end up with a cheap imitation like today's Remington American Wilderness Rifles.

By the way... I completely disagree that anyone can build an accurate lightweight rifle. I've owned a bunch of different ones in my life and very few were capable of better than 1.5" at a hundred and many were more like 2-3" at a hundred with little that could be done to help. Barrel contour in lightweight hunting rifles is critical and you need ultralight actions and stocks so you can spend your weight allowance on the barrel where it's needed MOST!!!

 

[Dean2]

OK... I've been shooting and hunting with lightweight rifles and I've been primarily a light rifle shooter for over since I got my first Remington 660 in the mid-seventies.

I see NO problem with shooting a light rifle accurately but then that's what I'm used to. I've found proper bedding of the action and often the full barrel channel as well to be critical with the lightweight rifles. Triggers set at 2 pounds or lighter are needed as well.

The Remington Custom Shop, before they moved from Ilion NY, made a LOT of lightweight Model Seven rifles called the KS model with 20" barrels and if you can get one of them with the original McMillan or Brown Precision stocks you'll have a sweet rifle AFTER you have it bedded properly and get the 40X trigger they came with adjusted down to 2 pounds. Beware... Remington greatly cheapened this rifle when they left Ilion and many of their older more experienced gunsmiths either quit or retired to avoid moving.

The barrel taper on these rifles is nothing like any other I've ever seen come from Remington and it's a much heavier taper than any Model Sevens I've seen other than the Alaskan (NOT American) Wilderness Rifles. IIRC they (KS's) weighed in right at 6 pounds sans scope and mounts.

That brings us to the original Remington Model Seven Alaskan (NOT American) Wilderness Rifles. They came in several chamberings but the only ones I've ever owned are the 7mmSAUM and 300SAUM and these weigh in at around 7 pounds with a McMillan AWR Stock and teflon metalwork coating over the stainless metal. This coating scratched very easily and therefore looked horrible but that's the way you can tell that you have one of the original AWR Custom Shop rifles. Barrels were 22" with a unique magnum taper and accuracy, after you get the bedding right, is usually close to a half inch at a hunnert.

I don't know if these rifles I've mentioned are "better or best" because that's so subjective and you rarely if ever see one of the KS's or a real Alaskan Wilderness Rifle for sale any more. Most of them are in the hands of collectors and hunters that covet lightweight hunting rifles and if you don't know what you're doing, you'll end up with a cheap imitation like today's Remington American Wilderness Rifles.

By the way... I completely disagree that anyone can build an accurate lightweight rifle. I've owned a bunch of different ones in my life and very few were capable of better than 1.5" at a hundred and many were more like 2-3" at a hundred with little that could be done to help. Barrel contour in lightweight hunting rifles is critical and you need ultralight actions and stocks so you can spend your weight allowance on the barrel where it's needed MOST!!!

I appreciate your input. This much more closely aligns with my experience, especially the part about not everybody can make a great lightweight rifle. Like you I have owned a ton of different lightweight guns and very few are really great shooters. Melvin Forbes, maker if the NULA, agrees with you that light weight barrels need to be fully bedded, as does the action. He also starts with a really light bolt action, 308 class is 20 ounces, where most others are close to 36. He also uses in a in house custom stock that is far lighter and stiffer than any other lightweight stock I have seen.

What I was looking for on the original post was gunsmiths that were in Melvin Forbes's league and producing guns that shoot as well as his. I have never had a NULA that would not shoot 1/2" right out of the box.

Here is a target with 2 different bullets, 130 Barnes and 150 grain Hornady, 2 powders, Varget and 4895 and 4 loads. The individual loads are great, all .3 to .5 and they are also pretty close together on the target. All 12 shots were fired with not a lot of barrel cooling time to see how heat affected the light barrel. The last two groups do show some vertical from the heat but those were rounds 7-12. Out of a cold barrel that same load prints .3 to .4 just like the first 6 of the Hornady 150s with Varget did on this target.
Click to enlarge.

 

[LDHunter]

Yep... NULA makes some great lightweight rifles and I've often wanted one but he's proud of them. LOL

Just as a matter of interest do you know who makes the stocks for him and/or what one weighs?

 

[Dean2]

Yep... NULA makes some great lightweight rifles and I've often wanted one but he's proud of them. LOL

Just as a matter of interest do you know who makes the stocks for him and/or what one weighs?

He makes them himself. If i remember right they weight about 1 pound 4 ounces, completely finished. Each stock is matched to the specific action and barrel it is built for. As far as his prices, I have always thought his prices were pretty fair considering what some of the other guys are charging. Fierce, Precision G7 etc all charge more than Melvin.