savage lightweight hunter and savage 116 30-06 question.

Hi. Im sure its already been asked or something, does anyone have a lightweight hunter? What caliber would be the best balance for the weight the rifle is and performance? I was thinking the 6.5 creedmoor or 7mm-08. In my mind I think of it as a Mountain rifle, and should be good to at least 300-400 yrds. To me the harder kicking calibers like 30-06 and 270 in that lightweight package could have accuracy sufferings.

Also you elk hunters using 30-06 savage rifles, what bullets are you using with best results? My best shooting factory round I've found so far is the 180 grain Hornady custom SP. It shoots good w/them but open for suggestions that may be more accurate and better performing.

Just my .02 about the 7-08
After hearing what a great light recoiling caliber it was I bought 1. I quickly learned that there was not enough difference between the 7-08 and the 308 to justify my keeping it. The difference in recoil is imperceptible to me and I'm sure most guys with a blindfold on couldn't tell the difference on their shoulder either. Also if you have the cartridges out of the box side by side you'll probably need to check the headstamp before replacing them in the box as they are very close and a mistake could easily be made. At most practical hunting distances of <300 yds there is no real ballistic advantage, Just know your dope. I'm convinced whitetails prefer to be shot with a .30 caliber anyway. The .30 cal has probably the industries widest selection of loads of any caliber.
The only real difference I noticed was that the 7-08 was about $10 per box more than the same brand of .308 at wal mart.

There is nothing wrong with the accuracy of the .270 or 30-06 with a 20" barrel. Those who think they can't or won't shoot well have been reading too much "internet gun expert" folklore. They will put em in one hole as well as anything else.
As far as bullet weight for the 30-06 my 116 shoots 165-168gr bullets into little tiny groups with handloads. I've been hunting with hand loaded accubonds for a couple of years now and they work very well in several calibers. I was given a box of Remington premier 165gr accutip ammo that was very accurate, Though I haven't shot a game animal with it I'm fairly certain any major manufacturers premium ammo is going to get the job done.

I have the 6.5 Creedmoor in the lightweight hunter. I like it a lot. Clover leafed 3 shot 140 Amax factory loads out of the box. Mine was finished really well with a Pachmeyer pad and walnut stock with lots of pattern in it. Eventually I made it a switch barrel and replaced the 20" barrel with a 22" in 6.5CM and as an alternate barrel a 24" McGowen 1-8 twist .243. If I were Savage I would go with 22" barrels in the future....much better balance and less muzzle flip. As far as a 30-06 or 270 in a lightweight rifle with a 20" barrel, accuracy isn't the problem. The downside of that setup is it will kick the dog pee out of you and the muzzle climb will not assist in follow up shots.

Although I have never owned a 7-08, or shot one, I agree with BHJ. Based solely on data tables, and my personal experience with the 308, and 30-06 (the '06 is my go to hunting rifle) I too, would suggest the 308. The range of bullet selection is almost unbelievable, and when you load the 308 with a bullet designed for the game/range you plan on encountering, it will do the job at 400yds.

A gun shop owner and friend of mine killed a bull elk with his 308, using a 150gr Barnes TSX, some years back. The shot was 180yds, and the bullet went through BOTH shoulders and exited. The elk ran about 50yds and fell over. The 308 and '06 are only about 100fps apart with most loads and for most of us, we could never tell the difference.

If you look at the Barnes reloading section, their loads with the 130gr TSX virtually matches the 270 with the same weight bullet. A .308 dia 130gr bullet will do more damage than a .277 dia bullet, all else being equal.

Ammo is everywhere, and reasonably priced. To me it's a no brainer, for a light weight powerhouse.

284

my wife has the Lady Hunter which is a lightweight with a different style stock. She loves it. It looks great and shoots great.
It's a 7-08.

We were about to buy the lightweight but saw a "coming soon" pic of the Ladyhunter and she said she wanted to wait for it. And, she is tickled pink that she did.

I wonder what the recoil of the creedmoor is compared to the 308? It seems to be a flat shooting round from my research. Ive shot 308 before, it was a tikka. Im not sure of the tikka t3s weight but it seemed to hurt my shoulder worse than my 30-06 116. Its recoil pan kind of sucks. Hard rubber compared to my savage. Aslo to MR handirifle, you said ammo is everywhere, not sure where you live at, but ammo is not everywhere. 308 is one of the hardest to find, not to mention reloading components. Until 22lr is back on the shelf plentifully, and consistent, things in the ammo world are not back in balance. The argument of just buying common rounds might have seemed wise, but look now at what that caused. You cant find anything common because of it being common its what everyone wants. Only the odd stuff is on the shelf. If you stock up on the odd stuff its common to the owner of the odd caliber.