I am probably not the norm and I don't own as many centerfires as some here, however all but one have a "heavy" barrel. I wouldn't want to hunt in the mountains with them but I do that with my bow anyway.
Once I put a sling on them an throw them across my back weight is not an issue for me around here. I love trying to call coyotes so I don't shoot that far normally....but I still like to work at long range shooting and the heavier gun helps to soak up some of the recoil.
The scope I use the most is a 6-24 power. These of course are things that work for me, or at least the rifles I prefer, while I am always interested in what other people use for equipment, it doesn't matter to me what they use.
If a guy doesn't practice it really doesn't matter whether he uses a pencil barrel or a bull barrel, a person will never reach the full potential of the weapon or their abilities without some serious "trigger time".