The Lure of Lightness – 4.93 Pound Accurate Hunter Rifle

In our Shooters’ Forum there’s a thread about a very lightweight hunting rifle. This 6.5×57 Lapua light-weight, featuring a Defiance ultralight all-steel-action, weighs just 4.93 pounds with scope and rings included! This rifle is light! A half-gallon milk weighs about 4.3 pounds. Here’s the report from the owner who built the gun for a future Kodiak island Alaska mountain goat hunting. Ultralight Rifle Report from Forum Member Dave I decided I would like to take on the challenge of a Mountain Goat Hunt after I turned 60. It was the perfect opportunity to build an ultralight, which I had been wanting to do for many years. I wanted to see just how light a bolt-action rifle could be. My goal was to keep the weight under 5 pounds without using a Titanium action. This included rings and scope. I knew it would be difficult, but I managed to achieve my goal. I started with a Defiance andTi model Rem Model 7 Short Action. This is a very smooth action, weighing only 19.2 ounces. Carson Lilja at Lilja Barrels programmed a barrel taper to my specifications for a 6.5mm stainless 3-groove barrel with a 1:8′ twist. The barrel is free-floated in the rifle except for the first inch forward of the action. Other rifle components include: a Bix n Andy Dakota Trigger, an aluminum trigger guard, a blind magazine with aluminum follower, titanium screws, and a Leupold lightweight 3-9X optic in Talley Rings. I also had a aluminum adapter installed on the fore-end of the rifle to accept a Javelin magnetic mount carbon fiber bipod. My friends at Sportsman’s Outfitters, Knox, Pennsylvania, chambered the rifle in 6.5×47 Lapua. Then, I sent the barreled-action to Wayne at Oregunsmithing in Pendleton, OR to have a Kevlar Stock built. The stock is 14 ounces heavy! When it arrived, I had everything Cerakoted. (See bottom photo before coating). This stock was built to my barreled action. Wayne’s work is reasonably priced and he can turn it around in 3 months. Excellent Accuracy – 5/8″ Three-Shot Groups @ 100 YardsThe rifle was a great weapon. It can shoot either Swift Scirocco II or Barnes TTSX 100s at 100 yards into 5/8″. Three shots are made at 400 yards from a bipod. This thing is insanely light, even though it has a 22″ barrel. This 6.5×47 rifle, without scope and rings and before Cerakoting both the action and barrel weighed only 4.20 pounds (67.2ounces). Check it out: