who builds the most accurate ultralight hunting rifle?

[Dean2]

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

I have had 6 NULAs, still have 2 of them. They would all do 1/2 MOA easily. The 2 I still have will one hole 3 shots. They are my go to hunting rifles for everything up to and including big Canadian Moose. I have not shot a 28 Nosler but I do have a 7 RUM. I would never chamber that round in a light weight gun. The 7 RUM is the most vicious kicking round I ever shot. I am not recoil sensitive and I own a 460 Bee, 375 Ruger, 338 Lapua etc., so my dislike of the 7 RUM is balanced by having shot a lot of other supposedly harder kicking guns.

My 7 RUM is a factory Rem 700 Stainless Steel BDL in LH with 26" barrel, laminated stock and weighs about 9 1/2 pounds scoped. It will shoot under 1/2 MOA so can't complain about the accuracy The kick of the RUM is a very sharp hit and it would give me a headache after 10 rounds. I finally had to put a brake on the gun to be able to shoot it off the bench but I will NOT hunt with a brake so I also put a mercury recoil suppressor and a Pachmyer pad on the gun. The mercury suppressor adds almost a pound so kind of defeats the lightweight idea but it and the pad did tame the recoil down a bunch and made it more of a push than a sharp wack.

If you are going real lightweight you are going to have to put a brake on a 28 Nosler. My suggestion would be go 7 Rem mag or 280 if you want an accurate lightweight rifle.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

My 7 WSM can send a 180 Berger at 3,000 ft/sec from a 25" barrel without too much difficulty and can run a 162gr at close to 3,200 ft/sec. Yea - finding brass can be an issue. I've got plenty of Win brass but Hornady and one other manufacturer sell brass. Ammo is always available which can be used for barrel break-in and leaves you with formed brass.

If you don't mind a custom chambering; I'd consider a 7-300WSM (or 7-270WSM), essentially the same, and sacrifice a very small amount of case capacity. A short, magnum action easily accommodates any of these options.

 

[snox801]

First thing is the answer is no. You won't get what you are asking for with what you want.
I had pierce build me the lightest possible 6.5 creed with a manners eh5 thumbhole. It sports a 22" proof tube? Ti break, ti bolt, even had them do a ti firing pin. All my bolts and screws are ti. Did magpul plastic bottom metal and Talley rings. Can't remember off the top of my head but it was at the 5.5lbs mark.
Now as others have said for the lightest you need a pencil thin barrel and have twisted cut as much off as possible.
Then abandon the thumbhole cause those are much heavier than standard even being carbon.
Second you more than likely won't be able to shoot it well being so light.
Mine ended up being to light at first so I had the thumbhole stock added to hopefully help with shooting it. Then I was able to add a bit more magnification to to.
It's very light and very shootable now.
Also remember when I was reading up on these ultra lights most weighed the action without the bolt. Be sure to check your stocks also cause a lot of them were not close be being correct.
I think you should be targeting the 5.5-6lbs mark to ya e a decent rifle with a realistic weight for the parts you want.
I can say my pierce is an amazing shooting rifle.

 

[packgoatguy]

I have had 6 NULAs, still have 2 of them. They would all do 1/2 MOA easily. The 2 I still have will one hole 3 shots. They are my go to hunting rifles for everything up to and including big Canadian Moose. I have not shot a 28 Nosler but I do have a 7 RUM. I would never chamber that round in a light weight gun. The 7 RUM is the most vicious kicking round I ever shot. I am not recoil sensitive and I own a 460 Bee, 375 Ruger, 338 Lapua etc., so my dislike of the 7 RUM is balanced by having shot a lot of other supposedly harder kicking guns.

My 7 RUM is a factory Rem 700 Stainless Steel BDL in LH with 26" barrel, laminated stock and weighs about 9 1/2 pounds scoped. It will shoot under 1/2 MOA so can't complain about the accuracy The kick of the RUM is a very sharp hit and it would give me a headache after 10 rounds. I finally had to put a brake on the gun to be able to shoot it off the bench but I will NOT hunt with a brake so I also put a mercury recoil suppressor and a Pachmyer pad on the gun. The mercury suppressor adds almost a pound so kind of defeats the lightweight idea but it and the pad did tame the recoil down a bunch and made it more of a push than a sharp wack.

If you are going real lightweight you are going to have to put a brake on a 28 Nosler. My suggestion would be go 7 Rem mag or 280 if you want an accurate lightweight rifle.

Yes, If I go 28N, it will be braked. I am expecting it to recoil about as much as my braked (6lb) 300WM which has taken many a critter.

 

[Dean2]

Yes, If I go 28N, it will be braked. I am expecting it to recoil about as much as my braked (6lb) 300WM which has taken many a critter.

If you are gong to hunt with it braked you can pretty much shoot anything you want to in a light rifle. Pick the very best LR cartridge and then it just comes down to who you want to make the gun for you. I still really like NULAs so that is what I would be ordering.

 

[packgoatguy]

First thing is the answer is no. You won't get what you are asking for with what you want.
I had pierce build me the lightest possible 6.5 creed with a manners eh5 thumbhole. It sports a 22" proof tube? Ti break, ti bolt, even had them do a ti firing pin. All my bolts and screws are ti. Did magpul plastic bottom metal and Talley rings. Can't remember off the top of my head but it was at the 5.5lbs mark.
Now as others have said for the lightest you need a pencil thin barrel and have twisted cut as much off as possible.
Then abandon the thumbhole cause those are much heavier than standard even being carbon.
Second you more than likely won't be able to shoot it well being so light.
Mine ended up being to light at first so I had the thumbhole stock added to hopefully help with shooting it. Then I was able to add a bit more magnification to to.
It's very light and very shootable now.
Also remember when I was reading up on these ultra lights most weighed the action without the bolt. Be sure to check your stocks also cause a lot of them were not close be being correct.
I think you should be targeting the 5.5-6lbs mark to ya e a decent rifle with a realistic weight for the parts you want.
I can say my pierce is an amazing shooting rifle.

If I am not mistaken, the Manners EH5 weighs around 24-26 ounces. Many of the Kevlar stock offerings claim weights in the 14-18oz range. That would make the difference between a sub 5lb rifle and a 5.5lb rifle. Any downsides to the lighter kevlar options like the Brown Poundr, or what NULA makes?

 

[packgoatguy]

My 7 WSM can send a 180 Berger at 3,000 ft/sec from a 25" barrel without too much difficulty and can run a 162gr at close to 3,200 ft/sec. Yea - finding brass can be an issue. I've got plenty of Win brass but Hornady and one other manufacturer sell brass. Ammo is always available which can be used for barrel break-in and leaves you with formed brass.

If you don't mind a custom chambering; I'd consider a 7-300WSM (or 7-270WSM), essentially the same, and sacrifice a very small amount of case capacity. A short, magnum action easily accommodates any of these options.

What is the advantage of the 7-300WSM? Is it just the longer neck? I am hesitant to go with a caliber that would require 100% reloading. At least with 7WSM or 28N, if I got behind or ran out of ammo, I could at least order some factory loads from the likes of Hornady and Nosler in a pinch.

 

[packgoatguy]

If you are gong to hunt with it braked you can pretty much shoot anything you want to in a light rifle. Pick the very best LR cartridge and then it just comes down to who you want to make the gun for you. I still really like NULAs so that is what I would be ordering.

Yes, personally, I have never found hunting with a brake objectionable. As far as NULA, how long does he tend to take start to finish? (from order to mailed to FFL?). Also, which model would fit the 28N?

 

[Dean2]

Yes, personally, I have never found hunting with a brake objectionable. As far as NULA, how long does he tend to take start to finish? (from order to mailed to FFL?). Also, which model would fit the 28N?

Both of my last two took about 6 months but that was quite a while ago. I am left handed so they usually take an extra month or two to produce. Have not bought one in the last couple of years though. Best way to know for sure about wait time is to call Melvin, he is a great dude to talk to and he can answer any other questions you might have. It would work in the model 24, same one used for the 30-06, and they are 5.5 Lbs.

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

 

[snox801]

If I am not mistaken, the Manners EH5 weighs around 24-26 ounces. Many of the Kevlar stock offerings claim weights in the 14-18oz range. That would make the difference between a sub 5lb rifle and a 5.5lb rifle. Any downsides to the lighter kevlar options like the Brown Poundr, or what NULA makes?

Though I have never shot those exact ones my guess they do have something different. Carbon and Kevlar weigh about the same so it would be in the stock shape and the way it's cut.

 

[snox801]

I must add that the lightest Nyla is 4.75 lbs. which is doable because they offer pencil thin barrels and non thumbhole.
I added weight back with the thumb. You can get lighter but they give up something somewhere. I spent many many hours searching trying to get lighter. I know mine would be much lighter than 4.75lbs if I had a normal shape stock and thin barrel. I found many lighter options if I gave up the carbon barrel and standard stock. But then I ended up with a rifle so light it was hard to shoot even 300 yards.
I also weighed mine with mag and rings on.
So yes you can get lighter but it's a give and a take. I'm actually doing another chambered in 6.5 Grendel using mini action and having twisted shave off a ton of weight.

 

[packgoatguy]

I must add that the lightest Nyla is 4.75 lbs. which is doable because they offer pencil thin barrels and non thumbhole.
I added weight back with the thumb. You can get lighter but they give up something somewhere. I spent many many hours searching trying to get lighter. I know mine would be much lighter than 4.75lbs if I had a normal shape stock and thin barrel. I found many lighter options if I gave up the carbon barrel and standard stock. But then I ended up with a rifle so light it was hard to shoot even 300 yards.
I also weighed mine with mag and rings on.
So yes you can get lighter but it's a give and a take. I'm actually doing another chambered in 6.5 Grendel using mini action and having twisted shave off a ton of weight.

I agree to some extent, my 4lb 12oz Kimber Mountain Ascent 6.5CM is not as easy to shoot at longer ranges than some, but it adds back in a lot of weight with necessities (IMO) like a bigger scope, bipod, ammo harness/cheek riser on the stock, etc which make it more effective. Then the overall package is still packable and shootable.

 

[Varmint Hunter]

What is the advantage of the 7-300WSM? Is it just the longer neck? I am hesitant to go with a caliber that would require 100% reloading. At least with 7WSM or 28N, if I got behind or ran out of ammo, I could at least order some factory loads from the likes of Hornady and Nosler in a pinch.

The primary advantage is easy to find quality brass that can simply be run through a 7WSM die.
I wouldn't be overly concerned with the 7WSM brass issue if you are looking for a standard chambering, especially if you're considering shooting some factory ammo which is readily available.

 

[packgoatguy]

The primary advantage is easy to find quality brass that can simply be run through a 7WSM die.
I wouldn't be overly concerned with the 7WSM brass issue if you are looking for a standard chambering, especially if you're considering shooting some factory ammo which is readily available.

Maybe I am misunderstanding what you are saying; you can shoot factory 7wsm in a 7-300wsm?