Light, powerful semi-auto rifles

[zahc]

AR15s are super handy. A huge amount of firepower in a very handy package. Just underpowered.

There are some pretty nice lightweight guns in major calibers, good for mountain hunting, like Ruger's mountain bolt rifles, or even some 45-70 lever carbines. Not semi-auto, though.

6.8 and 6.5 help out the AR15 power issue, but we still aren't up to elk-able power, IMO. All the big guns are bolt action. Nobody ever developed a modern semi-auto 308-size gun. M14 was the last and then the AR15 was developed and that was the end of large-caliber personal rifle development, which is why everyone goes around shooting an underpowered varmint cartridge. Prove me wrong. Is it because it just doesn't work, or because there hasn't been enough development? I understand the large calibers were not controllable in full-auto, but that's so 1960s...nobody cares about full auto personal rifles anymore.

The AR10 should be good but the ones I've handled were 10+ pounds, and that placed too far forward.

I thought the new tacticool mini-30 at 7 pounds was it, but then I saw it's 7.62x39. Not enough power.

Someone should make a sub-8-pound, 2000 ft. lb. + semi auto for me.

[HankB]

Alexander Arms makes the .50 Beowulf conversion for standard AR15s. At least one version weighs in at about 9 pounds, but that's about a pound over your limit.

Hornady is making ammo for the .450 Bushmaster, too - rifles for this round are available from (naturally) Bushmaster, the lightest weighing in at 8.1 lbs.   see  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sC0f5wvgGew

Both the .450 Bushmaster and .50 Beowulf are uncommon, but available, and will do for an elk at reasonable ranges. (Neither round is what I'd choose for a 500 yard cross-canyon shot.)

[AZRedhawk44]

I've really been turned on by the KelTec SU-16 series of .223 rifles.  They make the AR-15 series look like pigs.  Amazing weight savings.  Granted, you lose some precision in the process.  

The RFB carbine is 8 pounds, and .308.  Mass is centered better, but you lose something in the trigger compared to an AR-10.  Does that work for you?

I agree, though.  Even if it isn't a "combat" rifle, a semiautomatic .30 caliber capable of responsible 500 yard shots (i.e. not x39 or .30-30 velocity) would be nice to have on the market.

[Tallpine]

Isn't there a Remington or Winchester semi-auto hunting rifle 

I just can't remember the model number right now.  The mag is only 2 or 3 or 4 rounds.

[AmbulanceDriver]

Tallpine, are you thinking of the Browning BAR?   Buddy of mine has one in .270, just looked at their website, they have quite the selection.  But yeah, it's not what I would consider a defensive type of rifle with the box magazine *under* the hinged floorplate.  And I do think the mags top out at 4 rounds. 

But they are sub 8 pound (at least the composite stock version) and are chambered in up to .338 Win Mag.

[Headless Thompson Gunner]

I spent years looking for the perfect semi-auto rifle.  It was no use, I couldn't find anything satisfactory.  Everything was wither too heavy or under powered.  Most of 'em suffered from crummy ergonomics, too.

My go-to rifle is now a bolt action.  It's light, handy, powerful, reliable, robust, accurate, and versatile.  It has excellent sights, trigger pull, and stock fit.  It's everything you could want in a rifle, except semi-auto.

[roo_ster]

Remington 7400 and the newer 750 are available in .30-06 and .35 Whelen.  Have been for decades (.30-06).  7.25lbs.

Browning BAR has been available in cartridges up to .338 Winmag for many years.  7.25-8.25lbs.

A buddy in the Rangers had a Desert Eagle in .50AE and an upper for his Colt HBAR in .50AE.  The .50AE upper was lighter than the HBAR, closer to a stock  M16A2.

Ruger produced semi-autos in .44mag, tubular & rotary mags.  Deerstalker, IIRC.  Light, carbine-like.

[charby]

Benelli http://www.benelliusa.com/rifles

[charby]

DPMS AR-10 is only 7.75 lbs  http://www.dpmsinc.com/COMPACT-HUNTER_ep_151-1.html

[Zardozimo Oprah Bannedalas]

Browning BARs fit the bill. They're 7 lbs and change.
ETA: ermahgerd. They have one in '06 that's not even 7 lbs.
http://www.browning.com/products/catalog/firearms/detail.asp?fid=002B&cid=031&tid=331

If you want weird,  an AR pistol in 458 Socom would be a compact little powerhouse.

[Perd Hapley]

My go-to rifle is now a bolt action.  It's light, handy, powerful, reliable, robust, accurate, and versatile.  It has excellent sights, trigger pull, and stock fit.  It's everything you could want in a rifle, except semi-auto.

Details?

[tokugawa]

How about a Garand in .458 win. Mag. (no longer made, but a heck of a rifle!)  Or a Browning in .338 Win.Mag.?

 iMO- The answer to your conundrum is this- the advantage of a semi is a quick follow up shot. The heavier the caliber, the more the recoil,and the less advantage a semi action has over a bolt gun, since the gun is off target long enough for a good rifle man to cycle the bolt.  

[sumpnz]

Benelli http://www.benelliusa.com/rifles

Make the plastic stock available with stainless steel and I'm sold.

[charby]

Make the plastic stock available with stainless steel and I'm sold.

I don't think Benelli makes anything in stainless. I have one of their shotguns which I waterfowl with and never had any issues due to exposure to rain and snow. Just wipe it down after hunting in wet conditions.

[sumpnz]

I don't think Benelli makes anything in stainless. I have one of their shotguns which I waterfowl with and never had any issues due to exposure to rain and snow. Just wipe it down after hunting in wet conditions.

 Rain/snow ain't what concerns me.  Salt water is.

[charby]

Rain/snow ain't what concerns me.  Salt water is.

You could always have it a spray or dipped finish put on it.

[freakazoid]

FN FAL/PTR91/CETME?

[Jamisjockey]

Remington 7400 in 308.  And you can find 10 round magazines out there for it.

[dogmush]

Freak beat me to it, but I'm putting together parts for a similar rifle based on a PTR carbine.  The PTR91SC starts at 9.5 lbs, I'm going to shave some weight on the stock (i hope) and add some with an optic.  The finished product I hope to have right around 10lbs.  But if you didn't have an optic you'd be under 10lbs easy.

My CETME is 12ish with wood furniture.

A paratrooper FAL is like 8.5 lbs.  

You want enough weight to make follow up shots easy, and the shooting experience pleasant.  Back in the day I had a stainless/synthetic Savage in .338 win mag. While light and easy to carry, it was god awful to shoot.  Sold it with less then 4 boxes of ammo down range.

[Pharmacology]

FN FAL/PTR91/CETME?

This.

I fondled a 11"  FAL at a gun store in Cedar Park, and it was very very handy.

[Gewehr98]

If you talk real nice to Tony Rumore over at Tromix, he'll build you an AK in .444 Marlin from a Saiga .410 donor gun.

I found that much easier to accomplish than my early efforts to build one in .45-70. 

[dogmush]

If you talk real nice to Tony Rumore over at Tromix, he'll build you an AK in .444 Marlin from a Saiga .410 donor gun.

 

I love my Marlin but that's just cool. 

[HankB]

RE: 7-series Remington semi-auto rifles . . .

When I was a member of a large private gun club, I usually worked as a range safety officer during sight-in days before deer season when we opened to the public - during that time, I got to see a LOT of different guns come through the range.

Without a doubt, the most troublesome were Remington 7-series rifles - the percentage of "jammamatics" was into double digits, some with dangerous malfunctions. (How about a loaded round almost in the chamber, but with the bolt frozen so it would neither close nor retract?   )

Sure, most worked fine . . . but Remington must have produced a lot of Monday morning / Friday afternoon rifles to account for all the failures. One guy I talked to had one of these - he fixed it by coating all the interior surfaces with layout blue and finding where it was rubbing, and then carefully stoning & polishing those surfaces; he said it took a LOT of time, working by hand, to remove chatter and other tool marks.

On the other hand, Browning BARs always seemed to work OK, but then again I didn't see nearly as many.

[charby]

Zahc,

Are you looking for a defensive type weapon or something more sporting?

[JonnyB]

How 'bout an old Winchester Model 100 in .308? I had one with a 5-round and a 10-round mag.

Light-weight, potent and semi-auto. The originals had bad steel in the locking portion of the bolt but replacements are available.

jb