I need a small, light mountain rifle for elk...

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Northslope Nimrod

New member
Generally I carry either my Remington 700 30-06 or my DPMS AR10 in .308. The AR balances well but is heavier than the 30-06. Occasionally I will carry one of my 30-30's deer hunting. I have a Marlin 30-30 and a few Winchesters. Carrying such a small and light rifle is truly a joy when you are hiking 10 to 20 miles in a day. Here is what I want....a rifle that is as small and light as my 30-30 but has the power of a .308 (or more). I feel the 30-30 is capable of taking elk, but I prefer something with more energy, speed, etc. (not interested in the 30-30 Ackley Improved)
Is there a .308 in such a small package? Is there another caliber & package I should consider? Most of my shots are between 25 and 80 yards. I will also be putting a scope on it because I find scopes extremely useful in the thick trees. i know others disagree.
 
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taylorce1

New member
Marlin used to make rifles in .308 & .338 Marlin Express, which were roughly equivalent to the .308 Win & .338 Federal . The Marlin 336 rifles chambered for these rounds are a little hard to come by these days. However, this gives you a rifle just like your .30-30 that you enjoy carrying.

For bolt action rifles take a look at the Howa Alpine in .308 Win, street price is around $1100 with the Vortex package. Then if you're really on a budget there is the Ruger American Compact that can be had in .308 for less than $500. Another budget rifle is the T/C Venture Compact and it comes in .308 Win as well and has a $75 rebate until Jan 1st. Then if you're budget is much larger you can always get a Kimber Montana 84M in .308 Win which will run about $1200+ just for the rifle.

There are other rifles as well that deserve to be mentioned such as the Savage LW Hunter, Tikka T3 Lite, and Remington M700 Mountain Rifle.
 
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jmr40

New member
Your Marlin 30-30 weighs 7-7 1/4 lb unscoped, put optics on one and you're looking at 8- 8 1/2 lbs. Not exactly a lightweight, in fact my bolt action 300 WSM is lighter. If all things are equal, barrel length, optics, etc., lever actions are the heaviest of all actions. Bolt rifles can be the lightest, but aren't always because they often have longer, heavier barrels and bigger optics. It doesn't have to be that way. You won't have any trouble at all finding a lighter bolt gun.

In fact the 700 you have has the potential to be pretty lightweight. You could spend a lot less than you'd spend for another rifle and simply invest in a quality lightweight stock for it. Choose your optics and mounts carefully and you'll end up with a rifle just a hair over 7 lbs ready to hunt.

This is my go-to rifle. It is a Winchester 70 EW in 308 with Leupold 2.5-8X36 scope and McMIllan edge stock. It weighs 7 1/4 lb as shown. It was 7 3/4 lbs in the factory stock. Even in the factory stock it is lighter than a Marlin 30-30. You could get your 700 a few oz. lighter than this.



On a tighter budget, or want something more compact then look at the Ruger Predator 308. It has the more compact 18" barrel and weighs about 1 to 1 1/2 lb less than a 30-30. Costs less too, under $400. 7 lbs even as shown and is a tack driver.



With more money the Kimber 84M is probably the ultimate ultra-light. Cost is just over $1,000, but this is still under 6 lbs scoped. Over 2lbs lighter than a 30-30.



They all shoot better than any 30-30 I've ever owned too.

 
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NHSHOOTER

New member
I have a rem model 7 in 7-08 that with the scope comes in just over 6.5 lbs and I know it comes in 308 as well, very light nice handling accurate rifle with adjustable trigger.
 
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SARuger

New member
I would suggest the Ruger American in .308 and "compact", heck make it stainless steel too while you're at it. There is nothing in north America you can't kill with that setup. I prefer the 30-06 myself but its a bit heavier and the recoil is nasty in the RAR
 
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Mobuck

Moderator
I have 20" barreled carbines in both .308 and 7mm08. Both carbines started life as "youth Models" and I swapped the stocks to full sized. Velocity loss from the short barrel cuts usable range to 250-275 yards IMHO. If that restriction is OK, the short barrel/short action design cuts several ounces off the full sized rifle. I've hunted elk in places where the smaller package would have been VERY much appreciated regardless of weight.
 
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gyvel

New member
An acquaintance of mine got a Mosin Nagant with a decent bore, and had the barrel cut and crowned at just over 16". Then he got a synthetic stock for it and installed an old Remington front ramp sight.

Took it out and got 1 MOA at 100 yds, probably due to having the barrel cut back and recrowned. It's now his northern AZ elk gun at about 6 pounds, and if something should happen to it in the woods, well, as he says: "Who cares?"
 
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kcub

New member
I have 20" barreled carbines in both .308 and 7mm08. Both carbines started life as "youth Models" and I swapped the stocks to full sized. Velocity loss from the short barrel cuts usable range to 250-275 yards IMHO. If that restriction is OK, the short barrel/short action design cuts several ounces off the full sized rifle. I've hunted elk in places where the smaller package would have been VERY much appreciated regardless of weight.
Click to expand...

How much difference was recoil between 708 and 308?
 
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Pond James Pond

New member
I was thinking the Ruger Hawkeye Compact: that looks like a toy, next to other bolt-guns. In .308 it is under 6lbs. I don't know if that is light enough in your eyes. It has a short barrel, but for 80yds, it is more than enough, I think.

But... Does it have to be a bolt action?

If not, there are the Ruger single shot rifles.
I believe one is called the No.1, or there is the Handi-Rifle range.

Having said that the Hawkeye is still lighter than the No. 1 and the Handi both of which come in about around 7lbs to the Hawkeye's 5.75lb. The only point worth noting is that the No. 1 was in 30-06, not .308.
 
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PatientWolf

New member
+1 on the Tikka T3 lite. Very light and very accurate if you do your part. Put a Leopold VX-3 on it because they are significantly lighter than the other options as well as durable and accurate.
 
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mapsjanhere

New member
Another vote for the Tikka T3 Light. Just over 6 lbs, and in 308 Winchester just on the edge between light to carry and acceptable recoil. You can go lighter with some single shot break action guns, but you need to be able to forget about the recoil until after your got your elk ;).
 
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FITASC

New member
I have a rem model 7 in 7-08 that with the scope comes in just over 6.5 lbs and I know it comes in 308 as well, very light nice handling accurate rifle with adjustable trigger.
Click to expand...

So do I, the original 18.5" barrel version, that with a neoprene sling just seems to float on your shoulder while walking uphill.
 
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FrankenMauser

New member
If you like, or at least don't mind a Tikka, I think I'd point you towards the T3 SuperLite.

It isn't listed on their website, but one of my uncles just picked one up in .308 Win. Scoped, it weighs less than 6 lbs.
 
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Doyle

New member
Another vote for the Remington Model 7 - although I've seen reports of latter production versions having QC issues so examine carefully if you are buying a used late production.
 
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Northslope Nimrod

New member
I didn't realize my Marlin weighed so much. I'm sure its still lighter than my 700. My 700 does have a heavier scope on it.

I appreciate having various options because I'm a lefty and its not easy to find exactly what you want in a bolt action. Options are good.

I should have also mentioned that I prefer a safety that pushes forward, like you find on the Remington 700. My muscle memory is used to that. I still fumble at times with my AR or a shotgun with a trigger housing safety, or one that pushes down as opposed to forward. (Make sense?)
 
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