New year weight loss

The ideal weight for a rifle is a very personal choice. While one shooter will only have the lightest and most easily carried rifle available, another will actively seek a bit of weight in their rifle, to aid in its stability and help soak up recoil. It very much depends on the individual and their requirements. 

Take one of my own rifles, for example. A few years ago I bought a Bergara B14 Wilderness HMR in 6.5 Creedmoor as a true hybrid: something I could shoot regularly with my rifle club yet also call on for a specific aspect of deer management. This involves controlling fallow herds on large, open arable fields, where a lack of cover – and an abundance of watchful eyes – often made it impossible to close the distance beyond 200-250yd.

With its heavy barrel, integrated mini-chassis and fully adjustable stock, combined with the excellent ballistic performance of the 6.5 Creedmoor, the HMR allowed me to fire more rounds, at extended ranges and with low recoil. It did exactly what both rifle and cartridge were designed to do, and I’ve been delighted with its performance both on the range and in the field.

That said, I always felt I would like to try to reduce its weight without sacrificing stability or accuracy. Fully dressed with a 20 MOA Picatinny rail, a substantial target-grade scope, moderator, Harris bipod and sling, the rifle tipped the scales at 13lb 8oz. Perfectly manageable on the range, perhaps, but a long crawl down a drainage ditch soon becomes a shoulder-wrenching, lung-busting affair.

The breakthrough came during a conversation with PRS specialist and Rifle Shooter contributor Ryan Charlton, who also happens to be MDT’s International Account Manager. Ryan suggested I try MDT’s new CRBN stock.

The stock

The CRBN is a foam-filled carbon-fibre stock featuring a magnesium micro-chassis with V-block bedding, yet it weighs a remarkable 27oz, excluding bottom metal. I’ve never been keen on full-blown chassis systems – despite appreciating their advantages – but this felt very different. It offered everything I liked about the HMR stock: an adjustable cheekpiece and length of pull, a comfortable 20° grip with integrated thumb rest, and a rigid bedding platform. It even incorporates an Arca-rail with M-Lok slots moulded into the forend, eliminating the need for additional metal rails and further reducing weight.

Could it get any better? Yes it could. Available in standard Black Carbon, Hunter Blaze, Woodland and a range of limited-edition camouflages, it also looks superb. The only additional choice is in the bottom metal: either the lightweight Hunting version at 3.35oz (95g), with a lockable magazine catch, or the Precision option at 5.12oz (145g), with barricade stop and flared mag well.

Ryan kindly offered to loan me his CRBN stock, and as the Bergara uses a Remington 700 short-action footprint, it dropped straight in. Fitting couldn’t have been easier. I removed the two action screws, lifted the barrelled action – scope and rail still attached – from the HMR stock, and dropped it into the CRBN. After tightening the screws, giving the butt a good tap to seat the recoil-lug, and torquing everything to the suggested 65in·lb, the job was done after only15 minutes. I checked the rifle’s zero before taking it hunting and it was unchanged.

What had changed dramatically was the weight. With the CRBN stock and Precision bottom metal fitted, the rifle was around 2lb 8oz lighter. It was a revelation.

The bipod and sling

I was now on a roll and started looking for further savings. Once again Ryan had the answer: MDT’s new Mountain Bipod. With its minimalist design, adjustable carbon-fibre legs and aluminium/titanium Arca-rail clamp, it weighs just 5.7oz – 5.9oz lighter than my Harris. Combined with a lighter sling using aluminium QD cup fittings rather than stainless sling-swivels, the rifle now weighed a very respectable 10lb 8oz.

But how did it shoot? Simply put, superbly. Despite the reduced weight, the foam-filled stock absorbed recoil effectively, leaving the rifle feeling pleasingly dead in the shoulder. The 6.5 Creedmoor is hardly punishing, but staying in the scope was easier than ever, follow-up shots were quicker, and even my group sizes reduced.

Despite its delicate appearance, the Mountain Bipod proved rock-solid. Offering height adjustment from 2.7in to 15.8in and a low leg-splay feature, it actually gave more flexibility than my existing Harris.

Buoyed by success, I began to wonder how far I could push this weight-loss regime. The remaining candidates were obvious: the scope and the moderator, so I went to the internet for some weight watching.

The scope

The first scope that came up as one of the lightest available was the Leupold VX-3HD. Options range from a compact 4.5-14×40 at just 13.4oz (379g) to the more comparable 6.5-20×50 with dialable turrets, weighing 20.8oz (589g). That meant that even if I went for the larger option the Leupold would still save around 10oz, over my existing 31.1oz (882grams) scope.

If I wanted to step up to the VX-5HD 4-20×52 with its 5:1 zoom ratio and Firedot illuminated reticle, I would only sacrifice around 3oz over the VX-3HD, at 23.5oz (666g), both were viable options.

The moderator

For moderators, the Freyr & Devik UTS131 stood out, weighing just 131g (4.6oz) thanks to its aluminium and 3D-printed titanium construction. It is an end-of-barrel mod available in .224 to .30 cal. The most popular mod in the company’s Featherweight range is the FW196, also made of aluminium and titanium and weighing – you guessed it – 196g (6.9oz). It protrudes just 109mm in front of the muzzle. Either would make a substantial saving on my existing Hausken XTRM MkII, which weighs a modest 285g (10.7oz).

In conclusion

With these changes, my rifle could realistically come in at between 9lb 8oz and 9lb 11oz. 

Yes, I could have shaved a little more weight with a full chassis such as MDT’s HNT26, or by starting with a lighter barrel, but as I said at the outset, rifle weight is deeply personal. Balance, in the long run, matters far more.

While much of this exercise became about exploring what was possible rather than what was financially sensible, I hope it provides some useful ideas if you’re considering shedding a few pounds in the new year. One thing, however, is certain… Sorry Ryan – you’re not getting that stock back.