What do you guys run? Trying to figure out what optic I’ll pick up for next year. Let me know your thoughts!

I ran a Barrett Fieldcraft for years. But I think I got the only one ever made that didn't shoot well. I even sent it back. So I sold the Barrett and built this.

AntiTi action, proof barrel 18", manners carbon stock, silencerco harvester, leupy 3-18. It's light but not as light as that barrett was. But shoots lights out.

I have .300 Winchester magnum with a 2-7 leupold and a synthetic stock, it tips the scale at 6 3/4 lbs.

It was great for hiking mountains after dall sheep, but there's no free lunch.  Which when you press the trigger that  becomes apparent.

I lent it to a friend and told him to beware of recoil, no problem he said.  When he returned the rifle, a little scar was over his eyebrow.

My neighbor brought over his Ruger 7mm Mag to sight-in. Rifle couldn't have been more than seven pounds. Ridiculously light stock. The only conveyance for recoil reduction was a Limbsaver pad. I fired a couple rounds of 175 gr. reloads. The rifle moved of course, but it was no harsher on my shoulder than the M1A or FAL I shot after that. I was pleasantly surprised.

I had one built, since what I wanted didn't exist in a lefty version.  .308, Defiance Rebel action with the sheep port and 3-position safety, 16.5" Proof Light Sendero, Grayboe Outlander, BDL, Triggertech Special, and either a Nomad LT or Ultra 5.  Right now it's wearing a 3-9 Accupoint, but that will probably be upgraded at some point.  With the Nomad LT, scope, and sling it's 7 3/4 lbs.  It's a little under 7.5 lbs with the Ultra 5.  It's just under 6 lbs bare.

I love it, and probably would have used the same action and stock when I did my .300WM, but of course Defiance jacked their prices and dropped the 3-position safety option, and Grayboe quit making lefty Outlanders.  I ended up going with an AG CAT, Pure Precision Summit, and Carbon Six Sendero for the .300.  That one weighs about 7 lbs bare, but I wasn't going for a real lightweight with that one.  I've had really good luck with that rifle as well.  The Summit isn't quite as smooth as the Rebel.  The Summit is smooth, but the Rebel is just out of this world.  I also have a Kauger VPR build, which is too new to comment on at this point.

If I were doing the .308 again with the options available now (and the same goals) and having three customs under my belt, I'd use a Pure Precision SKLTN Stainless action (21 oz.  I'm not a fan of Ti actions, but the Ti version is 16 oz.)  I like the 75 degree bolt lift for scope clearance and actually have a SKLTN ordered for a 6.5 PRC build.  If I didn't want the lower bolt lift, I'd look at the Defiance Anti or Classic (about 20 oz.).  I'd probably stick with the Proof barrel, or maybe substitute a Carbon Six to save some money.  Not sure exactly what stock I'd choose.  I like my two AG CATs, but I'd consider one of the ultralight McMillan or Manners options too.  Being a lefty is slightly limiting when it comes to stocks.  I like the shape of the Grayboe best, but it's not an option for me anymore due to being a lefty.  It's a little heavier than my AG's and not as stiff, but the price is great and it fits me like a glove.

Nice rigs, fellas. Shooting my Cross without the can was not pleasant, it makes a big difference. I think the Ebrake helps as well, maybe I’ll try and test it sometime.

16" 6.5cm with leupold 2-7x
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300wm with leupold 4-12x
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Both very lightweight. The 300wm is... rambunctious.

Browning BLR .270 with a Swarovski or pick your poison on which brand scope you want.

My take, which is a little old school and somewhat outdated....

I love light rifles.  I carry them lots, shoot them rarely.  For decades, from 1900 through the 1980's one of the more common and well loved deer rifles was the old school Winchester 94 in 30-30.  The cartridge wasn't great, but it got the job done.  The rifle wasn't particularly accurate, but it was accurate enough.  This raises the question "why was this rifle so well loved, despite its limitations?".  the answer is "it was small, light, compact and easy to carry".  I am 100 percent convinced the carrying qualities of the 94 are what made it popular.

Along about 1993 or so Remington announced it was going to make the Model Seven in stainless, with a 20" barrel and a synthetic stock.  Even though I was broke and in college, I ordered one in 308 Win, and topped it with a Leupold VariX III 1.75-6x scope.    That little carbine and the flyweight scope (10 ounces I think) are perfectly matched.  And despite owning dozens of deer rifles that were more accurate, more powerful, more "something", this combination is still the one that goes deer hunting 90% of the time.  Its not particularly accurate, holding about 1.5-2" groups at best.  But I've put it on the scale and got the tape measure out, and its almost exactly the same weight as my 94 with a weaver k2.5, and its the same length.  The only real difference is the 308 has somewhat better longer range capabilities.  However, in 30 years and about 30 deer kills with this rifle, the longest shot ever taken with it is a mere 176 yards.  

Light rifles are cool.  But recoil is stout.  If you haven't tried one, borrow one if possible and try it out.  I'm not recoil sensitive, having owned and used 7mm Mag and 350 Rem Mag in a carbine.  But I will readily admit something:  A lightweight rifle, even in a modest caliber like 308 or 30-06, can be a fast vicious kicker....  While my 350 packed a wallop, it seemed like a big, hard shove.  My little model Seven, while not a flyweight by modern standards, can be vicious with some loads...   Foot lbs of free recoil is typically the measure used to describe recoil, but I think recoil VELOCITY is what really makes light rifles such a handful.

When I first bough the rifle, I mounted a huge heavy 15X target scope on the Seven just for more magnification while working on load development.  The light rifle and that big heavy scope were a serious mismatch and a big mistake.  That big scope had a lot of mass, and objects at rest want to stay at rest, while the carbine it was mounted on wanted to kick hard and fast. This was the ONLY combination with which I observed Leupold rings fail:  The scope slipped the front ring despite being solidly mounted, while the rear ring actually drove its 'dovetail' THROUGH the cone-head "windage" screws on the rear base (yeah, not windage, but used that term for clarity).  Literally drove the rings through the screws like they were cut savagely with a cold chisel...  

There is a point of diminishing returns on rifle wieght.  Light is great.  But its hard to shoot a flyweight rifle.  They just dance all over, unless you're using shooting sticks and sand bags and all this other shit, which now means you're back to carrying a ton of weight...  A lot of lightweight rifles are subsequently mounting bipods, which now means they aren't lightweight any more...  And recoil makes it all unpleasant.   I did lust for a Barrett Fieldcraft, but I dont want one in a fast .30.  No thank you.  I'd take something modest, like a 6.5 Creedmoor, 260 Rem, 7mm-08....

Scopes:  I know honking big 4-14X scopes with 50mm objectives and 30mm tubes are the rage.  They are a mistake.  Scopes that big, and that heavy are awesome range tools, but they completely upset the natural balance and carrying of the rifle.  And the lighter the rifle, the more a huge scope upsets balance.  If the scope is north of 16 ounces, its a mistake on a flyweight.

My take:  I've got a Leupold VX3 3.5-10 40mm on my 280AI.  Its as heavy and as large a scope as I would consider mounting on a sub 7 lb rifle.  Period.  I've got bigger scopes with more power and large tubes, and I like them, but they are a mistake on a flyweight rifle.  My two cents...  

Model 7 in .308 & Leupold...

Some of Grayboe's Stocks are surprisingly lightweight considering the price.  They're like a hard shell resin vacuum molded over a lightweight fill resin.  They're not fiberglass, carbon or wrapped or anything like that.  The molding takes care of mot of the features and and then they just machine in a couple critical features... so they're relatively inexpensive and turnaround is like 4-8 weeks.  Grayboe makes their own detachable magazine bottom metal too so that fits like a glove into their stock.  I would say that even they claim "doesn't need bedded"... you should still absolutely glass bed the action. Done correctly it only going to help and the molded looking surface of thier stocks doesn't nearly as nice as a nice bedded action.  But overall we're talking fixed-comb 1.75-2.0 LBS stocks and adjustable comb <2.5 LBS stocks ... that's AG, Mesa, etc. carbon stock weight territory for ~$500.  If you put the effort in to bedding it, they are very nice stocks for the money.

Eagle (raised straight comb) 33oz $500
Outlander (traditional straight comb) 32oz $360
Trekker (raised straight comb, skeletonized) 28oz $500

I got a medium contour stainless Bergara Premier 6.5CM barreled action and had it chopped & threaded to 18" and then Black Nitrided.  Glass bedded it into a 38oz Grayboe Terrain stock with Grayboe M5 bottom metal and bedded the top rail to the receiver too. Used a Timney trigger and light MOE bipod. The rifle now wears a Leupold VX-6HD (instead of the Razor LHT in the picture) and with the leupold scope, suppressor and bipod its right at 10 pounds.  Without the suppressor or bipod (Leupold scope only) it's about 8-8.5 LBS.  The ~22oz Razor LHT 4.5-22X is a helluva FFP scope for the weight, but I just didn't end up liking that much magnification on a lightweight 18" hunting type rifle so I switched to the 18oz VX-6HD 2-12x for better midrange and equal if not better glass.

Off the shelf Howa SuperLite in 308, Bushnell Elite 4200 3-9 (older/made in Japan).   About $1,000 all in.  Right at 5.6 lbs with a loaded mag/ready to rock.   Shoots 1.1 MOA with the first load I tried (Lapua brass, 150 grain Accubond, healthy dose of Varget), and I mean 1.1 MOA over 15 rounds, not 3 (letting the barrel cool off every 2 shots - it will wander a little after the 3rd or 4th round if I get it hot). I will take another 1.5 to 2 ish oz off of it by switching to Talley lightweight rings at some point, but I am in no hurry.

Before that, my lightweight rigs were various Tikka T3s with Talley rings and 3200/3500 or 4200 Bushnell 3-9s (308, 30-06, and 270WSM).   Those come in about 7.25lbs ready to rock.  

Oh, and I had a Kimber Montana 84M in 308 years ago that was abut 5.9lbs all in, but it was a piece of hot nasty garbage.  I cannot express in polite words what a piece of junk that thing was.  I get pissed every time I think about that thing.

I’m trying to figure out a reasonably light optic for next year that’s still FFP with a reticle, as I like the versatility in farm country here. I’m leaning towards an Athlon Helos 2-12.

I've been using a 2.5-15 ares btr since 2019. It's a gen 1 I got on closeout right as the gen 2s were hitting the market. I'm sure the Helos is great since it benefits from gen 2 improvements. It comes with the locking turrets that I wish my Ares had. I'd get the mil version so you don't have to fool with BDC shenanigans.

Oh for sure, I’m mil all the way.

I have an Interarms MK X barreled action in 7x 57 that I had rechambered to 275 Rigby AI ( 7x57 AI) that I had bedded into a Bansner Lightweight stock and topped it with a Luepold 3-9 which tips the scales at around 7.5 pounds.

Ballistically it trends into the lower end of 7Mag territory.

It’s been a great rifle in the mountains and a pleasure to shoot.

I may pull the barrel this year and flute it along with fluting the bolt, taking all the weight out of the bolt knob and seeing where I can take weight out of the action in an effort to get it under 7 pounds.

I am also looking at lighter mounts, rings and a lighter scope.

The hunt for cutting weight never ends!

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I have a cross, hunted with it for a few deer seasons and it has performed great. I have stretched it to 1,000 on the range with no problem but I would not feel comfortable with the creedmoor performing on game at that distance, no trouble to practical hunting distances though, its not crazy light like some stuff on the market but it is not heavy and extremely capable. I took it on an elk hunt this year but I felt a little under gunned and that I would have to limit my range to well under what my ability to make quality hits was (didn't get a shot anyway so it was a non issue).

Now with kids in the picture I have decided to clean the 6.5 cross up and let it wait for them and I will go back to hunting with my ar10 for deer and bear on the east coast and step up to a magnum sig cross for out west, I will most likely upgrade the magnum cross to a proof research barrel when they are available.


I try to cut weight anywhere that it is practical but I don't go to the extreme with it like some guys do, there are always trade offs.

I have owned two lite weight hunting rifles. A Weatherby Ultralight in 7-08 and a Kimber 3500 in 300 wsm. Both outstanding rifles. The weight of the Weatherby was awesome!

I went with the Barrett fieldcraft in 308 with the Talley rings and bases and topped it with a vx5hd 3-15x44 with the windplex reticle. It’s a pretty soft shooter in my opinion. I run the hornady 178gr precision hunters in it. It took a long time for me to find the rifle for a reasonable price but the wait paid off and I’m happy with the combination. I need to weigh it one of these days though.

I'm kinda in the market for a lightweight elk rifle. I think 308 should be plenty enough, have y'all used any of the factory reduced power loads to tame that(normally mild) recoil?  Seems like they trade off recoil for a slower moving heavier bullet, sounds good for hunting as long as they expand.  

I would get a 6.5CM that will have less recoil before I’d further neuter a 308 by running reduced recoil loads. 6.5CM is right in the border line of what many consider the minimum for taking elk and it retains a lot more velocity and energy down range than a 308.

There’s a Kimber Hunter 6.5CM on the EE here for $600 which is a great deal and would make a hell of a lightweight hunting rig for very little $$.

I agree with this advice. And/or, run a suppressor or brake (blah) to reduce.

I only hunt deer and pigs in Texas with mine, but I went with a Christensen Ridgeline 6.5CM 20" barrel.  Always hunt suppressed with an Omega, Leupold VX3HD 4.5-14x40 as optic.  With sling, stock sleeve/pack, and 10 rounds of ammo it's heavier than my Remington 700 Classic.  The Omega makes the rifle front heavy, so it balances fairly well.  Dropping the stock pack and suppressor makes it much lighter.

Factory Hornady 143ELDx ammo at around 2600 fps gives an effective range of around 600 yards before dropping below 1k ft/lbs energy, I'll be working with handloaded Speer 140 Impacts/H4350 later this year.

The rifle had an accuracy issue from new and went back to be re-barreled under warranty, shoots fine now.    I sit in a stand much more than carry the rifle, so weight isn't a big deal in my hunting.

Have you tried a 308 with a suppressor? It's not as good as the most aggressive muzzle brakes, but it's a huge difference from a plain barrel. I would say a suppressed 308 feels about like a plain barrel 243. Maybe not quite that much, but the reduced muzzle blast sure makes it feel light. I think a 308 is the perfect all around hunting caliber. There's so many bullet options in 30 caliber. You could shoot a 130gr TTSX at really high velocity that doesn't break up, or you could choose a 150gr SST that really expands hard, or if you really want to do the low drag heavy bullet thing, theres lots of options like the Accubond LR that supposedly expands down to 1300 fps. Pretty much anything works at least decent. I've got nothing against 6.5 creedmoor, I like my 6.5 rem mag, but they just don't have the options of 30 caliber, and you have to be much more careful of which bullet you use.