Light Weight Backpacking Rifle

davewilson · #8 01-12-2009, 07:52 PM

i'm currently doing a similar thing. well, kinda. i'm building an Edge that will hopefully come in under 9 pounds. my goals are Edge power and able to shoot elk at 800 yards. reason i'm saying this is i'm wondering what you want to kill and how far you want to accomplish it.

rm76 · #9 01-12-2009, 08:14 PM

My proposed project does not involve the .338 edge (which is a long action). Rather I am thinking .338 Federal (which fits in the short action). I'm looking for something that I can get reasonable velocity out of a short (20-inch) barrel. Not looking for 800 yards -- but rather 300 - 400, maybe 500 tops. Thinking 200 to 220 grain bullets. I haven't yet looked at the ballistics closely, but I believe the key to making this work will be finding the right bullet drop reticle and zero for the elevation and temp of the terrain to be hunted. Because of the drop at these ranges, one will have to know the distance to target and really know his ballistics in relation to the bullet drop reticle chosen.

Any thoughts/experience on this type of project?

davewilson · #10 01-12-2009, 09:12 PM

i dearly love the 338 caliber but i don't think the 308 case is a good match. a 300WSM with a 20" barrel will do everything you want with 168TTXS bullets.

by the way, the action i'm using for my Edge is only 5.5" long. yes bolt, no repeater.

SES50 · #11 01-12-2009, 09:19 PM

Deer, and i am in california so most of my hunting is blacktail in northern California. So except for the occasional trip to Colorado or Montana they are relatively small deer. I would be happy with 600-800 yards and am not at all oposed to a muzzle brake. I am in the process of finishing up the barrel break-in on my 6.5 Gibbs with a 26" barrel and if I could get that energy out of a shorter barrel that would save me a bunch of weight. That is why I was thinking 7mm because it would come out slower but would hold the energy longer. I do not expect this rifle to drop deer like my 338LM but also i will not be having to pack in a 12 pound rifle. I am not opposed to over boring this one because it will not be fired as much as my other as i will practice with the 6.5 gibbs or one of the other rifles i have. That is why I was also considering the 6.5WSM.

Thanks
SES50

LongBomber · #12 01-12-2009, 09:23 PM

I have a HS precision pro-hunter lite in 325 wsm with talley one piece aluminum rings and a leupold ultra light 3-9. This is a great light wieght rifle, although not really a custom job, more of a semi-custom (almost-custom??), but it gets the job done, and the waiting periods for stuff exported to canada is nuts...

I was thinking of something like this..
Remington 700 short action or a model 7 is one of the lightest actions to start with, blueprint the action and flute the bolt (diamond pattern), maybe put a flute on the left side of the reciever (right hand port). Timney trigger, a blind magazine well, a 18 inch light contour barrel (minimum for caliber) and a Lone Wolf summit XL stock. I was thinking of a 260 AI chambering...

But I just got a deal I couldn't refuse on a winchester wssm push feed action...now all I need is time and money...

SES50 · #13 01-12-2009, 09:58 PM

Deer, and i am in california so most of my hunting is blacktail in northern California. So except for the occasional trip to Colorado or Montana they are relatively small deer. I would be happy with 600-800 yards and am not at all oposed to a muzzle brake. I am in the process of finishing up the barrel break-in on my 6.5 Gibbs with a 26" barrel and if I could get that energy out of a shorter barrel that would save me a bunch of weight. That is why I was thinking 7mm because it would come out slower but would hold the energy longer. I do not expect this rifle to drop deer like my 338LM but also i will not be having to pack in a 12 pound rifle. I am not opposed to over boring this one because it will not be fired as much as my other as i will practice with the 6.5 gibbs or one of the other rifles i have. That is why I was also considering the 6.5WSM.

Thanks
SES50

rm76 · #14 01-13-2009, 09:49 AM

I am looking for something slightly larger than a 30 cal -- just for those rare times when one would feel better with heavier bullets (although I am not really a larger is better kind of guy). I thought about the 325 WSM and didn't really consider a .338 in the 308 case (.338 Federal) at first. However, as I thought about it more, with the right powder, light .338 bullets, a chamber such that the bullet can be seated out as far as possible (to increase powder capacity), the recoil factor, barrel life, etc., I became more intrigued with the concept of the .338 Federal in a light, short barreled rig. Certainly, as with anything, this has its limitations, but it just might work for short to medium range. Clearly, this should work well at moderate ranges, but my only concern would be the drop at the longer ranges within its effective range. However, I think this is where the right scope (i.e., reticle) and bullet drop chart (and practice) would be critical.

The are several wildcat possibilities for something similar, but there is a certain advantage for a factory chambering.