A 'light' hunting rifle to me is one that comes in at under 7.5 lbs "all in"....sling, ammo, scope, extra roll of toilet paper...you know, all the essentials. ;) If you ever hunt with brother Todd you'll  appreciate the value of last piece of 'gear'.

   Anyway, one paradox of a light rifle is that it needs to feel 'muzzle heavy' to settle well, and this can be difficult to achieve and still get the gun to balance well. The best way to achieve this is with a light stock, lightweight scope rings/bases and a lighter scope. The barrel is the key...a shorter (21-22") tube with a #2 or #3 profile works well.

   A lot of light rifles get built with a very light barrel profile and longer length (22-24") and the gun just doesn't point very well. There is a difference between balance and 'settling'...pick up a Remington Titanium rifle and you'll see what I mean...they are light but they don't 'point' or settle very well, IMO.

    Optics weight is also very important, as the weight is high and rearward. If the scope is a bit heavy and/or long the gun will feel heavier than it is but still won't settle as good as it should. Often, just switching to bases/rings than are lighter and lower (lower is better in a light gun) will help out a bit.

    Randy hefted my 250 Savage Ackley Improved and commented that it felt heavier than it weighs....it comes in at 6lbs/14oz. all in and settles pretty well. I'm going to remove the B&L Elite scope (13 oz. with Butler Creek covers in place) and put something on it that comes in around 10 oz. If needed for balance, I can put some Talley one piece alloy rings/bases on it to save another 1.5 oz. over the Leupold dual dovetails, but I sure love the Leupold stuff...bulletproof and simple....perfect for a 'dirt clod' from South Dakota to understand.

   Remington has it right with their Mountain Rifle as does Sako with their Finnlight series.

   A light rifle needs to 'feel' muzzle heavy but NOT be...'feel' heavier than it weighs and still be accurate. My 'Stanley-built' 250 Ackley can hardly shoot bigger than the .6's with anything I've put through it and shoots the Sierra 87's, Sierra 75's, VMax 75's and Nosler 100 gr. BTips into .5 groups with H414, Re15, N135, 760 or H322.

   I haven't messed with a lot of 'light' guns, but this is what I've seen, FWIW.      -Al