Quote Originally Posted by jpdown View Post
The Savage 11/111 LWH's are plenty light and have good balance. The 20" LWH barrel weights around 2 lbs. I have a Savage 11 LWH in 260. I replaced the 20" barrel with a 22" factory sporter barrel in 260. Increased barrel weight by 5 oz (2 lbs, 5 oz). Picked up a Sportsman Guide 23" Savage pre-fit SS #2 contour barrel in 280 AI (sold out) that only weighed 2 lbs. Put it on a Savage 111 LWH. Both rifles are plenty accurate with hand loads for hunting (0.5-0.75"@100 yd). My next project is to switch out the 22" 260 barrel and try a 22" factory sporter barrel in 7mm08. Seems to be a wider selection of good 7mm bullets (120, 140, 150, 154 and 160gr) to play with for both rifles when compared to the various 6.5mm caliber hunting rifles I've played with in the past. Based on my attempts over the past 10 years, buying a Savage LWH is cheaper, easier and faster than trying to build a Savage LW rifle from scratch if a light, compact, easy handling rifle is your objective. My Savage LWH's also cost less than a Kimber and are more accurate than the Remington Model 7's in 260 and 308 that I sold and replaced with the Savage LWH.
Good info here. Thanks for posting it.

Melvin Forbes, the originator of light done right, still lives (must be in his mid '80s by now) in the mountains of West Virginia. His ULA rifles broke all the rules but have proven to be the template and the yardstick by which all great LW rifles are measured. He did counterintuitive things like full length slim barrels which are all full length bedded. No free floating for Melvin on his premier ULA and NULA rifles. He designed and manufactured his own super LW stocks and assured that the critical balance was there by using barrels no shorter than 22" with the vast majority measuring 24". Not a flute or lightening cut to be found anywhere on a ULA/NULA. Melvin designed LW into his rifles and tweaked them to perfectly balanced perfection. His NULA's start somewhere north of $3K and he sells every single one he can make.
My LW Savage is a close approximation of a NULA but it is a bit heavier. My Savage does balance at the same point as my ULA Model 20 in 6mm Remington though and that pleases me very much.