Lighter weight options than my existing set up

ALLHONE hunting knives designed and made in NZ
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Forty Watt

Member
Put a cube of ice in your favourite glass and pour a drop of your usual. Im looking for some sensible input from those wiser than myself.
Have a Blaser R8 professional success in .308. Bought several years ago because the thumbhole stock really worked for me. Issue is I am finding it is heavier than ever. Age and lifestyle choices are not helping.

Rifle at 3.3kg. On top there is a Zeiss Victory 6-24x56 weighing in a 1.2kg and then on the pointy end a hausken moderator at .300g.
My stalking is a mix of woods and hill. The rifle just does not sit happily on my shoulder despite trying various slings. I think its a mix of weight and length.

Im exploring upgrading to a lighter rifle and scope.
I am pleased to see there are now a lot of rifle options with thumbhole or more defined hand grips. I would stay with .308 as I like a good sized exit hole on Sika.

There are now lighter Blaser options but they seem more suitable for the boot of a Bentley than the back of an old defender being farted on by the hound.
Two others I have come across are the Bergara MG ultralight and Tikka 3x Ace Game. You may be able to offer other suggestions.

A lighter scope would also be on the cards. My excuse is I bought it while young and impressionable so was seduced by big numbers.

I would appreciate your sensible thoughts and suggestions.
 
My wife went from one extreme to the other, from a bull barrel 26” bolt action to a kipplauf. She does find the kipplauf harder to shoot but a lot easier to carry.
 
If your requirement is for a rifle with a moderator you'll just have to accept things won't be ideal irrespective of reducing total package weight. The dirty word in play here is "balance".

K
 
I am an unashamed Sako/Tikka fanboy. But I don’t think the Ace Game is what you’re looking for because I think it weights even more than your R8

You’d be better served looking at one of the Roughtechs or even better a Sako 90 Peak.
 
I've recently acquired a Sako TRG 22. I don't really plan to stalk with it but it is fitted with side mountings for a sling. Upon advice from others on here I bought a TAB Gear biathlon sling that allows the rifle to lie flat down the center of your back. It has wide straps over both shoulders and spreads the load well.
CH
 
Smaller scope would be a good starting point, do you actually need the moderator?
Sticking a weight on the end of the barrel really isn’t a good idea, it’s exactly where you dont want it, it destroys the balance and increases length.
I mostly leave my mod in the safe. The deer don’t seem to notice, but I definitely do.
 
Hi… Judging by your current rig I can assume that there is a fairly decent budget to work with here. Your Blaser R8 pro success is not really a heavy rifle to start with but may I recommend any of the light weight Sako 90 series…. The Finnlight is a particular favourite of mine. Lightish…. Stainless and synthetic to cope well with the farting dog not to mention any weather you choose to be out in.
In relation to the scope….. you are currently running premium glass…. Don’t give up on it! You will hate the difference. I run a ZEISS V8 and can agree that they are heavy…. We could start a whole new thread on premium glass but for this purpose let’s agree that Swarovski is as good as ZEISS…. Visually there is nothing in it…. May I suggest a Swarovski z6i 2.5x15x56…. You will get to keep your premium glass experience… get one of the best illuminated reticle out there… get a stalking friendly range of magnification and retain your light gathering capabilities for dawn and dusk. Best part is it is about half the weight of the ZEISS… (book advertised weight of 665g!)
I have a shooting buddy who ran this set up for years…. It was light.. rugged and a set up to make you smile when you handled it….. He only changed it when he replaced the finnlight with a carbon wolf in a different calibre…
It’s hard to enjoy your shooting if your rig doesn’t make you smile every time you pick it up! That rig should do that and kill deer!
 
Fitting push button bases on the stock sides and using a biathlon sling is worth considering. Makes a significant difference in comfort carrying any rifle as it centralises the load. Mines a right lump but I can carry for extended periods. If combined with a proper light weight set up it will be extremely comfortable.
 
Forty Watt said:
Put a cube of ice in your favourite glass and pour a drop of your usual. Im looking for some sensible input from those wiser than myself.
Have a Blaser R8 professional success in .308. Bought several years ago because the thumbhole stock really worked for me. Issue is I am finding it is heavier than ever. Age and lifestyle choices are not helping.

Rifle at 3.3kg. On top there is a Zeiss Victory 6-24x56 weighing in a 1.2kg and then on the pointy end a hausken moderator at .300g.
My stalking is a mix of woods and hill. The rifle just does not sit happily on my shoulder despite trying various slings. I think its a mix of weight and length.

Im exploring upgrading to a lighter rifle and scope.
I am pleased to see there are now a lot of rifle options with thumbhole or more defined hand grips. I would stay with .308 as I like a good sized exit hole on Sika.

There are now lighter Blaser options but they seem more suitable for the boot of a Bentley than the back of an old defender being farted on by the hound.
Two others I have come across are the Bergara MG ultralight and Tikka 3x Ace Game. You may be able to offer other suggestions.

A lighter scope would also be on the cards. My excuse is I bought it while young and impressionable so was seduced by big numbers.

I would appreciate your sensible thoughts and suggestions.
Click to expand...

It's a lot cheaper to lower your BMI than lighten your kit.

maximus otter
 
On a similar journey for my open hill stalking on hinds as have to carry my own rifle then! Have an R8 ultimate and a second R8 in a grs stock. Just put that in a R8 prof stock, lighter mod, lighter mod, lighter bipod and a new sling. Shaved off some weight. Carry it in a vorn backpack on the hill.
 
i second what others say about side mounted slings , i fitted one to my rifles for hill work and found it made life a lot easier/comfortable and my rig is really heavy !
 
I think you could get the rifle below 3kgs with any of the lighter rifles (lots to chose from sako, tikka etc.) scope to about 0.5kgs (say with a 40/50 objective) and I'd leave the mod at 0.3kgs. 308s work well with shorter barrels and sleeving moderators.
 
Forty Watt said:
Put a cube of ice in your favourite glass and pour a drop of your usual. Im looking for some sensible input from those wiser than myself.
Have a Blaser R8 professional success in .308. Bought several years ago because the thumbhole stock really worked for me. Issue is I am finding it is heavier than ever. Age and lifestyle choices are not helping.

Rifle at 3.3kg. On top there is a Zeiss Victory 6-24x56 weighing in a 1.2kg and then on the pointy end a hausken moderator at .300g.
My stalking is a mix of woods and hill. The rifle just does not sit happily on my shoulder despite trying various slings. I think its a mix of weight and length.

Im exploring upgrading to a lighter rifle and scope.
I am pleased to see there are now a lot of rifle options with thumbhole or more defined hand grips. I would stay with .308 as I like a good sized exit hole on Sika.

There are now lighter Blaser options but they seem more suitable for the boot of a Bentley than the back of an old defender being farted on by the hound.
Two others I have come across are the Bergara MG ultralight and Tikka 3x Ace Game. You may be able to offer other suggestions.

A lighter scope would also be on the cards. My excuse is I bought it while young and impressionable so was seduced by big numbers.

I would appreciate your sensible thoughts and suggestions.
Click to expand...
Dont go too light a rifle if your going to be pushing 140 grain plus bullets at good speed, 243 and a good copper bullet smacks down Sika no problems ( and i have shot some Gold sika ) . No regular stalker need 24x mag , sika aint small so drop that down in size ,mag and objective lens . Is the R8 pro really that heavy ? the ones i have handled never struck me as heavy ! 6x42 7x50 fixed mag is ample in size , light gathering then consider a lighter / smaller moderator ( small amounts matter when they are hanging off the muzzle end ) . Finally get a good comfortable sling with a quick release cross strap.
Without presumption or insult , drop some weight and get fitter . I became a right old Porker years ago myself but I got fit again when i changed my ways
 
Half the scope weight straight away with a S & B zenith 2.5 - 10 x 56 or the new meta similar weight saving, Oceania defence mod will nearly half your mod weight, and that's not changing the rifle which isn't the heaviest out there.
 
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