I’m going to purchase a new rifle to hunt mule deer & elk this Fall. My rifle budget is $1,500 & my scope budget is an additional $1,500. I want the gun & optics to weigh less than 8 lbs. Any recommendations on the gun & caliber? I’ve watched lots of videos & just too many choices. My max shooting range is 500 yds. I was almost set on the Christensen Mesa FFT as it’s a 5.5 lb gun in 7mm PRC till I watched Jim’s video……now I’m having second thoughts. Thx in advance for your recommendations too. One gun & bullet with multiple load options is what I’d like.
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I know in the past Jim’s recommendation has been to AVOID Christensen. Tikka would be a good option here, but it doesn’t look like they have 7prc available. They do have 6.5prc though.
Tikka is definitely the Easy Button in terms of rifles and you can definitely get them for cheaper than your max budget and spend some more on the scope if you want. They do make several in 7PRC now. Looking on GunBroker I see 21 listed
If you are limiting yourself to 500 yards though, you can probably get away with something as light as a 6.5 Creedmoor or a 308 Winchester, assuming you use the correct bullet. 6.5 PRC would be another excellent choice or if you want to go old school, 270 Winchester or 30-06
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I would avoid the 7PRC and bigger at the weight you’re looking for. Recoil will make it hard to long range hunt unless you’re a really big guy. I think either 280ai or 6.5 PRC. Maybe 7SAUM if you reload.
Thanks for this response. I’ll look at ballistics on both 6.5 PRC vs 7 PRC. I looked at the Tikka Lite Roughtech Ember & it’s a beautiful gun in 7 PRC but it weighs 7.1 lbs & with a scope this would put me close to 10 pounds. I’ve got a 10 pound gun now it, along with my pack is a lot to carry on an 8–10 mile day up and down hills.
Looks like this one is 6.4lbs: Choose | Tikka
You can find this guy on sale. I absolutely love mine. 110 Ultralite for Backcountry Hunting | Savage Arms - 4lbs and you get a proof barrel.
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The Roughtech is a great rifle. I have one in 300 WSM. I’m ok with the weight in that cartridge. It shoots great. If you want something a little lighter the T3x Lite in 6.5 PRC is 6.6 lbs. Now the 270 Win is balistically almost a twin for the 6.5 PRC and the T3x Lite in the 270 is 6.4 lbs. The 6.5 PRC being a modern cartridge will give you an advantage at longer range with higher BC bullets, but you indicated you aren’t shooting past 500 yards, so just food for thought.
I’d go with a Tikka superlite (new manufacture with a threaded barrel) in 6.5 PRC or 7 Mag. Then buy a KRG Echo stock (great upgrade).
Buy Sako ammo for it. You’ll have to order it online as it’s rarely on shelves.
For the scope, if you aren’t hunting Idaho and Utah, I’d go with the Burris veracity ph.
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Hard to beat gen 2 ruger american in any product line (standard, predator, etc). Comes in 7 prc, but agree with others on recoil being stout in a light rifle. 6.5 creedmoor can be light for big bull elk, but perfectly fine for a good 5x5 at 275 yds if put thru the vitals with a good bullet (monometal, control expansion lead core, etc). We have one and love it. Also have a browning x bolt mtn pro in 300 win mag (22”) and a savage 110 Ultralite in 300 wsm (24”). Don’t like the savage action, but love everything about the browning. However, it doesn’t offer more effectiveness than the ruger. Just my $0.02.
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I have a bergara would never go back in a 7 prc
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I’d look at the Weatherby mark V live Wild, comes in under 6lbs, you can usually find them $1100-1400 range. then go to Scopelist.com and look at the Leica scopes they usually have one for a $1000 +/-. Or look at the Steiner H6xi. Warn mounts is having a 20% off sale currently on there web site,
https://www.gunbroker.com/item/1114890812
https://weatherby.com/store/mark-v-live-wild/
https://www.scopelist.com/Leica-Amplus-6-3-18x44i-Ballistic-BDC-MOA-Riflescope-50211.aspx
So many options, so little time. Sometimes we seem to forget that in the past there are many calibers that have done the job for decades while we look at the latest and greatest. For pure versatility I would go with the 30-06, more than capable for mule deer and elk. Shooting 165 or 180 grain bullets of choice, (my choice would be Nosler Partitions) the ought six is more than capable out to 500 yards with premium ammo. It also affords you to choose ammo for just about any kind of shooting or hunting you want to do, shooting out to 1000 yards, hunting 600 yards or less.
A Tikka T3x lightweight comes in at 6.4 pounds in the 30-06 so the weight is in the range you are looking for and is one of the most accurate rifles out of the box ever made. The 30-06 won’t beat you up and if you add a Backstop recoil pad it is actually a pleasure to shoot.
For optics, I would select a Vortex Strike Eagle 3 - 18 x 44 for many reasons. It has adjustable elevation turrets, but it also has a zero stop vertical reticle 1/4 moa very accurate and repeatable adjustments which also have a locking feature that allows you to lock the turret so that it can’t get accidently moved. There is also an illuminated reticle, with a the center dot adjustably illuminated from dim to bright to help out with low light conditions.
Between the cost of the rifle and optics you are well under $2500 for everything with a rifle/optic weighing in around 8 pounds or less.
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Thx to everyone for your helpful insight. I actually went to a local gun shop late this weekend to look at & shoot a few different rifles there. My favorite rifle combo he had was a Tikka T3x Lite Roughtech Ember in .308 with a Leupold VX-5HD 4-20x52. It was his personal rifle and was sweet shooting. Other calibers I tried included a 6.5 Cred; 6.5 PRC, 7 PRC & 300 Win. The 7PRC & 300 win had too much recoil for my taste. Honestly, I think I’m going to go with the exact setup he has & forgo the newer 6mm calibers. The ammo variability & availability & the fact that I’ll shoot a lot more local deer than an occasional western trip has me leaning towards the .308 setup. Gonna give it a few more days to make up my mind but I can’t get that beautiful Tikka off my mind!
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Awesome!
Having a place that will actually let you shoot some guns before making a purchase is absolutely fantastic!! Wish someone did that around here
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You can’t go wrong with the 308. It’s been around for quite awhile, is extremely accurate, ammo everywhere in bullet weights, like the 30-06 which is it’s parent can take almost everything on the North American continent. For me, I would draw the line at the big bears, but black bears are no problem. The 308 is probably, with the exception of the 30-06 my favorite cartridge. I’ve shot a lot of them in the 7.62 x 51 variety in the Army as well as 308 in several rifles.
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