Cervus elaphus
AH fanatic
If I was to renege on my vow never to ever again buy or custom make a 30-06, I wouldn't go back to the lightweight one I owned, loved, and kicked like an angry punda mama. The Barrel would be heavy rather than light, with a wooden stock. I would NOT be climbing any hills or mountains with it so I could afford the luxury of a bit more weight. I haven't found a commercial one yet, so suggestions would be welcome. Additional weight could be made up by adding a scope, Harris bipod, sling, bullets in mag etc. For a custom build, would the venerable M17 action and a semi-hardwood stock supply that needed heft?. I thought about 7-8lbs and this from Chuck Hawks on the subject of rifle weights:
“Rifles for cartridges such as the 6.5mm Remington Magnum, 6.5x68S, .270 Winchester, .270 WSM, 7mm-08, 7x57, 7x64, .280 Remington, 7mm SAUM, 7mm WSM, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .303 British, 8x57JS, .338-57 O'Connor, .356 Winchester, .358 Winchester, and .45-70 (with standard pressure loads) should weigh no less than 8 pounds and probably no more than 9 pounds to keep recoil energy at or below 20 ft. lbs. while still remaining conveniently portable.”
So how does 7.5lbs all up sound?
“Rifles for cartridges such as the 6.5mm Remington Magnum, 6.5x68S, .270 Winchester, .270 WSM, 7mm-08, 7x57, 7x64, .280 Remington, 7mm SAUM, 7mm WSM, .308 Winchester, .30-06 Springfield, .303 British, 8x57JS, .338-57 O'Connor, .356 Winchester, .358 Winchester, and .45-70 (with standard pressure loads) should weigh no less than 8 pounds and probably no more than 9 pounds to keep recoil energy at or below 20 ft. lbs. while still remaining conveniently portable.”
So how does 7.5lbs all up sound?