Good for you.
30-06's in heavy rifles....
Back in WWI, when men were men, I guess....
Some of those soldiers were 17-18 years old.Americans today are larger frameddue to better nutrition.
Quite likely though that "we" are shorter on the exercise today than they were then.
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Nowadays, it seems....
Heavy rifles, andmany complain about weight (weight of the rifle, not their own excess body weight).
Light rifles, and many complain about recoil (even from somerelatively light recoiling cartridges).
Complaints aside, its all a trade off for the individual, if going light is what is required to keep one in the field (or in the mountains) then that is a good thing.

My health or conditioning will have to fade substantially before I start lusting for that 6.5 pound 338WinMag that my 24 year old son has latched onto (he hates heavy rifles but likes using a "thumper" and it seems he can handle it). With elk packs on (mine heavier) and rifles slung(mine heavier) I can stillpush him a biton the way in/out though.*

*Forced March --- opening day of elk season:"the sun's coming up in 3 1/2 hours and we have got to be positioned, settled in, and invisiblewithin nature's forest,an hour before sunrise.... period". [Other times we use a spike camp and the whole thing is a lot more casual.]

I like a rifle to weigh eight lbs minimum. My 270 WSM weighs 8.75 lbs withouit the scope and sling. If I need something light to carry, I carry the Encore or Contender handguns. If shots are going to be short then the Bisley SBH gets to go along instead of a rifle. Long walks are no longer an option for me so rifle weight is not so important. Probably will be in this wheel chair for the rest of this years seasons.[:@]

I just think a person should consider a 10 + rifle when the shots maybe 500yards or more. I hate a gun which will not lay still. I realize this is a compromise, but a rifle which is easier to hit with is worth quite a bit of weight penalty to me. I'm 33 and not in the best shape, but I don't ever stop and go, "man I just can't go on because of the rifle!"

i say 7.5 to 8 lbs

My current setup weights 8.9 lbs. For me that is borderline too heavy. I hunt some of the more rugged country in the lower 48. It does make offhand shots a bit more steady.

I'd prefer to take nothing heavier than my Tikka T3 .300 WM Hunter at 6 lb 13 oz. Why lug anything heavier, when you don't have to?

I believe that the Lee-Enfield was chambered in the .303 British cal.

I need someone to PM EKM and tell him what I posted, 'cause when last I looked,Iwas on his blocked list.

I don't mind a heavy rifle, but hiking with 60 lbs of gear, a rocket launcher that weighs nearly 20 lbs and an M16 that weighs almost 9lbs gets you used to it