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KS, USA
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Posted: 4/16/2022 12:03:38 AM EDT
Having recently handled a 308 sniper rifle
issued to a local SWAT team member, Do any sniper rifles weigh under 15 lbs? |
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Posted: 4/16/2022 12:11:17 AM EDT
[#1]
Sure, one of the reasons people use the AR15 based ones.
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USA
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Posted: 4/16/2022 1:14:33 AM EDT
[#2]
What is a sniper rifle?
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/16/2022 1:22:17 AM EDT
[Last Edit: Reorx]
[#3]
A Bergara B14 HMR in .308 Win is 9.5 pounds out of the box... a "Pro" version is 9.3. Both come with the Bergara sub-MOA guarantee.
After you put some glass and a bipod on it, it'll be over 10 pounds but still several pounds under 15... |
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KS, USA
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Posted: 4/16/2022 1:31:32 AM EDT
[#4]
Thanks for the responses
It just seemed awfully damn heavy |
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Posted: 4/16/2022 1:36:48 AM EDT
[#5]
Weight can be a big advantage so if you aren't hiking around with it why not. You can make a gun extremely light now but recoil increases and stability decreases.
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Posted: 4/16/2022 1:44:46 AM EDT
[Last Edit: WUPHF]
[#6]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: Weight can be a big advantage so if you aren't hiking around with it why not. You can make a gun extremely light now but recoil increases and stability decreases. This. Different tools for different purposes. A rifle with a heavy contour barrel and a heavy chassis/stock excels in certain areas even though it may be a cinder block. A rifle with lightened components and a light contour barrel will excel in others. Also, the term “sniper rifle” is an extremely broad term without a solid definition. You’d be better off laying out your needs/goals and going from there. |
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MO, USA
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Posted: 4/16/2022 1:45:57 AM EDT
[#7]
My Savage 110 Tactical rifle weighs 8.87 lbs; then glass ammo.
It shoots better than I do. |
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AK, USA
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Posted: 4/16/2022 2:26:00 AM EDT
[#8]
Lots of folks use AIs, so you are already at 11 or so pounds. Optic, Bipod, 13-15 sounds about right.
Most "Sniper Rifles" are bolt guns that are inherently accurate, even with inexperienced shooters. A feature that helps a lot with small groups from a bench or bipod is weight. Even in the age of carbon wrapped barrels, it is interesting that you don't see lighter bolt guns in military or LE precision use. |
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Posted: 4/17/2022 9:48:32 AM EDT
[#9]
I have a rifle that's 24.1 lbs., without ammo or can.
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Posted: 4/17/2022 9:50:43 AM EDT
[#10]
my most favoritest 308 rifle is 16lbs.
you can have a stock custom made to your weight preferences. buy lighter optics, shorter bbl, lots of things you can do to customize your rifle |
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Posted: 4/17/2022 10:31:43 AM EDT
[Last Edit: shotar]
[#11]
I guess the real question is what do you expect the rifle to do? My varmint hunting rifle is a laser beam on woodchucks and will hold 1/4 moa with my handloads if I let it cool between each 4 rd group. It's a perfectly ordinary Savage Axis sporter, with a handload I worked up for that rifle. The only thing I've added to it are a bipod and better glass than came with it.
I imagine it might have some stringing if I put a lot of rounds through it to the point the barrel heated up, but your goals and mine are different. I fire one round, kill woodchuck, and it's going to be a bit of time or move to another farm for the next one. With this rifle, If I can see it, I can kill it and I've probably used it to a max of about 400yds. Beyond that range be the target marmot of something larger, the hills get in the way in this area. Since my wife won this rifle a couple years ago, I have not really touched my heavy contour .223 Savage 110. I should spend some time working up a load for that one. Most rifles out of the box today are as accurate as the stuff of custom gunsmiths and high $$ from a generation ago. 4 shot group at 100yds. The flyer is all me.  As to the importance of working up a load for a specific rifle, hear is the larger image of the ladder test. The numbers denote grains of the powder in each 4 shot group. I use 4 shots because the magazine holds 4. 
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Posted: 4/17/2022 11:02:25 AM EDT
[#12]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By mi650: I have a rifle that's 24.1 lbs., without ammo or can. I just added a weight kit to my PMR Pro and she’s 26 lbs unloaded. 
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USA
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Posted: 4/17/2022 9:54:19 PM EDT
[#13]
Great info posted above. Can attest to weight can be beneficial. Had a savage 338LM. Accurate bolt rifle. Fairly lite. Shoulder fatigue after 5 rounds. Sold it for a RPR 338LM. Allot heavier. Could shoot 20 rounds before I started to get shoulder fatigue. Got to take the good with the bad.
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Posted: 4/18/2022 1:40:49 AM EDT
[#14]
Uhh my NRL hunter match rifle that I also hunt with weighs 12 pounds with bipod and everything on it. Could be a lot lighter if I stuck a mdt hntr chassis on it.
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Posted: 4/18/2022 2:14:59 AM EDT
[#15]
I think you're asking if their are any consistently accurate hunting rifles.
Yes there are. |
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Posted: 4/20/2022 10:31:24 PM EDT
[#16]
I handled a SIG cross at a gun store. I was surprised how light it felt. To be fair, it lacked a scope and bipod. The barrel also seemed to be on the shorter side.
But when I say light, I thought it was a .22 or air gun it was so light. I don’t own one. Don’t want one. |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 4/20/2022 10:48:05 PM EDT
[#17]
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/20/2022 11:22:17 PM EDT
[Last Edit: ebbiv]
[#18]
Unless you're running with it, heavy is steady, but at 75 yards average for the average LE shot, most any 20" .308 precisions are light
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/20/2022 11:25:57 PM EDT
[#19]
Have one in 300WM, picked up up for a little over 900, and rave reviews especial for the money, better than any out of the box 700 at their prices
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FL, USA
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Posted: 4/20/2022 11:32:53 PM EDT
[#20]
ARs in 308 have come a long way and have pretty much caught up to a bolt at a 1000 or less and lets not forget a match M14, at under 500 any pro will do just as well with either in my opinion. And i'm talking as a Sniper Rifle, not umteen thousand dollar F Class mega rifle
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Posted: 4/24/2022 4:19:40 PM EDT
[#21]
I have a 15lb 22in 6.5c bolt gun with a Bartlien barrel
I also have a 6lb 6.5c bolt gun also with a Bartlein Guess which one I’m more accurate with. |
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USA
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Posted: 4/27/2022 8:10:50 PM EDT
[#22]
All sort of depends on the base rifle…
I build mine off a Remington 7, which was a deal I found at a gun shop when I lived in NJ. Had ADCO thread it, and currently getting Parkerized… so can’t weigh it. Now, with a lighter weight barrel… it is likely going to open up as the barrel heats up, but it isn’t a gun I plan on shooting like my ARs. I’ll warm it up to see deviation, but if I wanted to not have as much deviation… I’d go with a heavier barrel/gun. |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 5/2/2022 2:26:11 AM EDT
[#23]
Thats the point, the heavier the more stable and the better you'll shoot. Pick up the little 20" barreled Accuracy internationals in 308, they're heavy as hell for how they look, but sure shoot well, Remember a ton of weight is the usual bull barrels, I can shoot my DPMS 308 24" bull putting 40 rounds through it, between a 100 yards and 850, and grab the barrel without getting burned. now my 20" PA10 308, 8-10 rounds you can't get a shot on paper at 300 yards, and the barrel will burn you badly. Then you need to cool it for 30min and do it all over. The only thing i've seen worse was a guy with an AR in 300WM, and a big dollar 22" carbon fibre barrel, he could shoot 2-3 rounds and done, the zeroed rife could hit paper at 100 yards until cooled, and 2 others with bolt guns in carbon same issure. I'll take the weight, the metal, and fuck carbon or standard AR barrel profiles.
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Posted: 5/2/2022 8:27:27 PM EDT
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ebbiv: Thats the point, the heavier the more stable and the better you'll shoot. Pick up the little 20" barreled Accuracy internationals in 308, they're heavy as hell for how they look, but sure shoot well, Remember a ton of weight is the usual bull barrels, I can shoot my DPMS 308 24" bull putting 40 rounds through it, between a 100 yards and 850, and grab the barrel without getting burned. now my 20" PA10 308, 8-10 rounds you can't get a shot on paper at 300 yards, and the barrel will burn you badly. Then you need to cool it for 30min and do it all over. The only thing i've seen worse was a guy with an AR in 300WM, and a big dollar 22" carbon fibre barrel, he could shoot 2-3 rounds and done, the zeroed rife could hit paper at 100 yards until cooled, and 2 others with bolt guns in carbon same issure. I'll take the weight, the metal, and fuck carbon or standard AR barrel profiles. Just got back from a two day field match in the mountains. Packing a 20 something pound rifle, 100 rounds of rifle ammo, pistol, 100 rounds of pistol ammo, binos, bag, tripod etc and it fucking sucks. I’m going to a 12 pound rifle next year to see how it compares. A slight loss off accuracy is a sacrifice I’m willing to pay to be lazy. Also that rifle has a carbon fiber barrel. If you get a reputable carbon fiber they are just as accurate and can handle long strings of fire. |
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Posted: 5/2/2022 8:41:40 PM EDT
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By topgunshooter: What is a sniper rifle? Something to hunt snipe with. |
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UT, USA
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Posted: 5/12/2022 11:07:26 PM EDT
[#26]
While it may not be the most accurate rifle out there but it does have enough accuracy to get the job done. I do have an old school Remington M700 LTR from back when Remington quality was good. I think it’s around 9 pounds plus scope, bipod ect.
It sports a 20” heavy barrel with light flutes and a composite stock and short action. I got it to replace the M24 that Uncle Sam took away from me. I didn’t have the money to buy a commercial M24 or one of the retied M24’s |
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UT, USA
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Posted: 5/15/2022 10:14:53 PM EDT
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By mi650: I have a rifle that's 24.1 lbs., without ammo or can. my .22 is 21'ish and change |
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Posted: 5/24/2022 2:47:00 PM EDT
[#28]
My two designated marksman's rifles --- Romanian PSL-54c, chambered in 7.62x54R, Iraqi Tabuk in 7.62x39 --- weigh in at just under 10 pounds (empty with 4x24 scope).
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Posted: 7/1/2022 5:12:47 PM EDT
[Last Edit: Bryan_Aim]
[#29]
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FL, USA
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Posted: 9/3/2022 12:27:46 PM EDT
[Last Edit: larrydouglaswhitaker]
[#30]
There is a reason precision rifles are heavy.
They handle recoil much better than a lighter gun. This isn't to save your shoulder from painful recoil, its to be able to see through your optic to see your hit or miss. Lite guns will recoil more, and be harder for you to get the info you need through the optic. Weight is your friend in this type of gun... you won't be shooting it off hand. |
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Posted: 9/3/2022 12:47:58 PM EDT
[#31]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Bryan_Aim: Christianson MPR 6.9lbs no scope https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/h52/flanntastic/Southington_-_Precision_Rifle-091.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/h52/flanntastic/FDA5053B-CA44-4476-8CF8-7E26F6376280.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds https://hosting.photobucket.com/images/h52/flanntastic/Southington_-_Precision_Rifle-111.jpg?width=1920&height=1080&fit=bounds You can even get short barreled versions with 16 in. Probably only a bit lighter since they use carbon fiber barrels. May be my next purchase if I can pull the money together |
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Posted: 10/9/2022 12:22:20 AM EDT
[#32]
The original Remington M40 sniper rifle.
It doesn't have to be heavy to do its job. 
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GA, USA
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Posted: 10/11/2022 8:23:02 AM EDT
[#33]
This one don't weigh much and (allegedly) didn't have any issues getting the job done.
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Posted: 10/13/2022 9:34:33 AM EDT
[#34]
As others have mentioned, more weight does help with recoil and also helps with keeping the rifle steady shooting. A lighter rifle is better if you are carrying it a lot in the field. Different setups for different uses.
My PSA PA10 in 308 weighs right around 10 lbs while my Savage Model 12 FVL with a Choate Ultimate Varmint stock is heavier. Both do great when shooting from a bench or bipod but I sure wouldn't want to carry them all day in the field while hunting. Another thing that adds weight is the diameter of the barrel. Most precision setups will have heavy barrels. On average a heavy barrel will be more accurate and more importantly will not start causing shots to string when it heats up. A sporter barrel will start to string more once it heats up and throw shots. |
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NV, USA
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Posted: 10/24/2022 12:50:20 AM EDT
[#35]
I’ll add to the Christensen MRP train. I take mine out to 1,100 during a monthly match with ease. Carbon fiber match barrel keeps me at 1/2 MOA or less all day at 100.
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MI, USA
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Posted: 10/24/2022 2:45:10 AM EDT
[#36]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ALASKANFIRE: Weight can be a big advantage so if you aren't hiking around with it why not. You can make a gun extremely light now but recoil increases and stability decreases. Yep. And SWAT generally isn't humping a heavy load over long distances, so it's not like they need a lightweight rifle for traipsing around mountain ranges. |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 10/24/2022 4:23:33 AM EDT
[#37]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ebbiv: Unless you're running with it, heavy is steady, but at 75 yards average for the average LE shot, most any 20" .308 precisions are light Last I saw of the FBI compiled stats, the average distance for an LE/SWAT sniper shot was 47 yards. Should be able to pick which button you want to pop on the shirt. |
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