Mid-caliber bolt gun that is light weight

I

Idfred

Inactive
I am ready to buy a mid-caliber rifle to split the difference between my heavy, 9 lbs., 30-06 and my .223's.

I want to use this rifle for everything except elk (or bear); e.g. white tails, mule deer, perhaps a pronghorn or Mountain Goat if I can get a tag.

Originally I was thinking about a .260 Remington or 6.5 Creedmoor but I don't plan on hand-loading and the price or practice ammo is a big factor for me.

At this point, it looks like a 25-06 is the best overall fit for a lighter kicking, long range rifle.

Thinking of a T3 Lite in 25-06 but would like to hear other opinions. Weight is a factor as I like to be able to walk all day in rough terrain with my rifle.
 
If weight is the paramount concern, any of the synthetic stocked rifles will fit the bill. Depending if you are locked into the 25-06, or if other "mid-calibers" will be considered (.243, maybe 270 if you consider that "mid"), most all makers offer something in that area.

Off the top of my head: Savage Axis, Savage 11, Ruger American, Marlin X series, Howa 1500, Tika T3 lite, Remington 700 SPS. Pretty much most all manufacturers offer something in that genre now. What other features are you looking for?

I am a bit biased toward the Savage Axis (and it comes in 25-06 and 243), but most any offerings will be reliable, accurate hunting guns.
 
.243Win
6mm Rem
.257Roberts
.25-06
(.260Rem
6.5 Creed Honestly, ammo is about the same price for these two as all the others)
.270Win
.270WSM
7mm-08
.280Rem
7mm Rem Mag
7mm SAUM
7mm WSM
7mm RUM

Any would do the job. If you like one, pick it. If not, roll some dice or something.;)

My favorites are in bold.

(There's lots more, those are the more common options)

Firearms...

Browning X-bolt Stainless Stalker or Savage 11 Lightweight Hunter.. or... whatever is chambered in the cartridge you pick.;)
 
If you want really light, look for an original Rem 700 Ti...SA 5.25#, 7-08, 308. LA is 5.5 #, 270, 30-06. Or a Rem Mtn rifle, about 6#, 270, 280. All would be in the category you are looking for.
 
Tikka T3s are light, very accurate and a pretty good price.
If light weight is a big issue, make sure you look into a light weight scope too.
I went from a Burris FFII with standard Tikka rings, too a Nikon Monarch with steel bases and steel rings and the difference was huge. If you are going to add a bipod then it will add a fair bit of weight too. Then the weight you saved in the rifle, will be nothing in comparison to what you added.

Not wishing to handload certainly limits you on calibre choice, I would've said 260, but factory ammo is not on it's side.

I'd say either 243 or 6.5x55 will be your best bet as far as factory ammo goes, both are very popular in the ground between 223 and 308/3006. Or 7mm08 even, but then you are getting close to 3006.
Some people would say 6.5x55 is no good as it doesn't fit a short action, but as the Tikka only has one action length, you are not adding weight, and I doubt the extra bolt travel will bother you a huge amount.

I'd say a Tikka in 6.5x55 or 7mm08 and get a Burris E1, Fullfield II or C4, and look for some strong but light weight rings.
 
If you like the 25-06 you should look into the .270 Winchester, more power, higher BC and SD bullets available for longer ranges and/or shooting bigger game. Recoil is marginally stronger in the .270 and you could easily bring it down to 25-06 levels with hand loads. IMO the .270 will do everything the .25-06 can do and more. Light bullets are available under 85 grains, 110 grains is more than enough for deer and I'd seriously doubt that there'd be much difference in recoil between a 25-06 shooting a 100 grain bullet @ 3200fps and a .270 shooting a 110 grain bullet at 3200-3300fps (again, which could be downloaded, if recoil really was that big of an issue)
A factory 130 grain bullet at 3050fps will easily handle all the game you want to take.
 
Another vote for the .270 Winchester in a Tikka T3 Lite it is a great lightweight rifle for a good price. They are known for their accuracy and in fact they have a 3 shot group MOA guarantee. If recoil is a bother which it might be in such a light rifle put a slip on Limbsaver pad on it ($25-$30) and it will be very manageable. The Tikka is light, accurate, has a quality synthetic stock, and the best trigger I've ever seen for a factory trigger. What's not to like.

I have a Tikka T3 Lite with a Redfield scope and the factory Tikka rings and it weighs right at 7lbs. With the 3 types of factory ammo I've shot in mine they have all been MOA or slightly better. My handloads are 3019fps and put three shots inside of a nickel.
 
But he's already got a 30-'06......

I agree that the 270 is better than a 25-06, but there's not enough difference between a 270 and 30-'06. He's looking to go down in weight and power, right? Not wanting to reload means that his best option is 243 Winchester. And I'm a 270 guy, myself.
 
I don't plan on hand-loading and the price or practice ammo is a big factor for me.
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Since you don't reload. That tightens the field a little. 260_ 7mm-08_ & 25-06 are all expensive shells to buy off the shelf. The cartridge I know that has a good reputation for game size animals you intend to use it on and is pretty easy to find in stores at a reasonable price is the 243 Winchester. {I've taken some pretty good size whitetails in the past with mine.} I don't know what you have there for a 30-06 but perhaps re-mounting its action into a light weight stock may be something you may want to check out. Normally someone buying their first rifle I would recommend the 270 Win as there first purchase. But since you already have a 30-06. That caliber can pretty much overlap's the 270s bullet weights.___Yup. 243 I'd consider.
 
In my opinion a 243 does everything a 25-06 does with a lot less fuss. There isn't enough difference between the 30-06 you currently have and a 270 to matter. They should be considered the same gun. I'd be looking at 243, 260, 7-08 or even 308. Since you don't handlload the 243 really makes the most sense. With todays modern bullets is just about the perfect deer round and could be pressed into service on game as large as elk. That meets your criteria and ammo is cheap plentiful and with a wide range of choices.

The Tikka would be a fine choice. If you can justify the expense a Kimber would be about 1 lb lighter, and a little more classy gun, but probably won't shoot a bit better.

On a budget, look at the Ruger American. You could afford to buy 2 Rugers in 2 different calibers for about the same price as the Tikka, 3 for price of the Kimber.
 
If money is not a factor then a Kimber Montana or Adirondack in 7mm08 is about perfect for your exact needs. Your 30-06 is too similar to 308 or 270 IMO. Those two would have been my first recomendation but since you took elk off the table, the 7mm08 is perfect. If you are looking for light weight, then a short action is a must. The only issue with a Kimber is finding one because they are always back ordered for a year on these rifles.
 
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If the price of ammo is a factor then I would look at the 243 or 270. Very popular cartridges that seem to go on sale more than some of your other choices. Both are more than capable of taking the game listed.
 
Just for ammo availability, the .243 gets the nod. 7-08 also[that would be me].
Too bad you do not handload, then I recommend the .257 Roberts. You have a LOT of real good choices in front of you.
 
May I suggest

If you can afford them (not sure what you want to spend) how about this:

270overview.jpg

Model 70 Featherwight .270 cal (W/3X9 Burris Scope)

My Dad bought this gun for back in the mid-80's (traded in my old Marlin 336 also-wish NOW he didn't but that's another discussion). I have taken this gun from one coast (east) the the other (west) and a several states in between!
This gun has seen some nasty-nasty weather and never let me down (as long as I do my part). I have shot game (deer mostly) at ranges from 30 yards to 300+. Winchester nailed it when they made this one!
:D
 
At this point, it looks like a 25-06 is the best overall fit for a lighter kicking, long range rifle.
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Yeah, good chambering choice.... sounds like you want a long-range plains & desert speed-goat & mulie rifle... other good chambering choice for these besides the .25-'06, are .243 win, .270 win, 6.5x55 swede, and my choice for that niche, .280 rem AI (and/or .280 rem- regular). You could also run with a maggie - if you do, I'd go 7 WSM or 7 RSAUM...... maaaaybe .270 WSM. .260 rem & 7mm-08 rem will work fine too of course, but wouldn't be my personal choice for a really-reach-out-there rifle. Kinda depends on whether you wanna be 350-capable or 400-capable -- to my way of thinking for those once-in-a-blue-moon shots where you have a steady rest & little wind, and are willing to try to stretch out past 300/350 (can't get closer to a pack of roving speed-goats for example), the full-length rounds or "magnums" offer just a smidge more degree of confidence to stretch out to around 400; maybe even more.

As for rifle, there's lots of choices - that Win 70 featherweight pictured above is among the best if not the best for a medium-light to light rifle...what a beauty... the two turnbolts models I currently have which veritably ooze quality are the Win 70s and the TC Icon classic... even more so than Brownings, high-end Remingtons and Wby Mk Vs (I'm talking post-USRAC, FN-in-SC-made 70s). No, I don't have a Cooper (yet). If you run with a .243 win, try to find a 1 in 10 or faster twist so you can shoot 100s-107s (some are still made with a 12 twist), since you said mulies.
 
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