Rifle weights
 

What's the heaviest gun you would take on a hunt (without scope weight)?

Does every ounce count at the expense of recoil and accuracy or is there a general sweet spot that you've found?

RE: Rifle weights
 

The heaviestI would take on hunt would be 8 or maybe 8.5 lbs.Even in a lightweight magnum, you can learn to deal with the recoil by shooting the gun a lot.

RE: Rifle weights
 

Well my current Sako Finnbear weighs 9 pounds on a bathroom scale, so with a scope, she's probably around 10 pounds. Think I'm going to slim the stock down on it a bit this winter. But I have to admit,this 10 pound 30-06 with a Pachymear (sp?) recoil kicks about the same as my 6.5x55 Swede that weighs about 6 pounds (For those that don't know, that means none at all).

RE: Rifle weights
 

Oh yeah,

I hate light guns. The idea of carrying them in the woods sure sounds sweet. But, in practice the difference is minimal. Without proper preperation even a 6 lbs weapon fills heavy carrying it up a mountain. But, if you train properly a 8.5 lbs weapon will not be noticed.

I tell you what you take a 7 lb 300 winnie and try to shoot it enough to be profiecient and you'll agree with me. the only thing you will do is develop a flinch and have a sore middle finger from the trigger guard. My remington 700BDL in 338 win isactualy lighter than I like. With a Leupold vari-x III 2.5-8 it weighs in just about 8 LBS. And another thing, a heavier weaponsettles in your handbetter and you are more accurate from field positions.

I tell you something else.The gun companiesstarted all this light gun business so theycan save money. The plastic stocks cost them next to nothing. Heck the mostexpensive part is the recoil pads.Little flimsy, light weight tonka toys are what those guns look like to me. Give me aWalnut stock anyday. And don't giveme the weather sensitive BS either. You take a walnut stock, seal the barrel channel,free float it, pillar and Glass bed the action and weather will not affect it. Then you will have a real weapon.Now I digress.

RE: Rifle weights
 

Weight means nothing to me if it shoots well.I used to have a old Ruger varmiter in 25-06,this beauty would shoot 1/2" groups all day.I loved this gun,I packed many a mile up hills and down coulees.It weighed 10+ without a scope.The weight never bothered me,I had a freind long time ago that had a benchrest 30-378 WBYcustom with a 8 lb barrle.He would pack that thing for elk 7-8 miles a day,that rifle had to weigh 20 lbs I swear.He held accuracy over weight.
I do like a rifle's that weigh between 8-10 lbs for most hunting.
BBJ

RE: Rifle weights
 

My main hunting rifle is my .30-06 with a scope and it weights a total of 7.5 lbs. I used to have a heavier magnum and found it a pain to carry due to the weight and longer length getting hung up. If you're walking a few hundred yards to your tree stand any gun will work, heavy or not. I'll walk/stalk sometimes 6 miles in a day and have found the longer you are out there and the further you walk, the lighter you'll want your rifle. This all holds especially true in elk country. Elk are generally found above 7,000 ft., in rough, steep country and you'll feel every ounce. Years ago when I just starting hunting elk I read some books by Jim Zumbo and he mention the importance of paying attention to the weight and length of a rifle. After hunting elk for a few years I came to the same conculsion.

RE: Rifle weights
 

I don't find having an ultra-light rifle to be all that important elk hunting, or even dall sheep hunting. As long as it is not overly heavy- like a varmint rifle, it should work fine. I'd say my whole set up weighs maybe 9-10lbs loaded, and I routinely walk 10+ miles a day deer and elk hunting, over very rough terrain with no problem. The way I look at it, if you can't haul around a little 10lb rifle all day, how are you going to pack out an entire elk?

RE: Rifle weights
 

I hate heavy guns! And i've tried my best to not have to carry one in the bush. My drilling weighs just under 7 pounds, and that's where i prefer to have the weight of my guns or even lighter...

If you don't pack it, i guess it doesn't matter much. Many folks these days just sit someplace and don't walk much. For them, gun "weight" just isn't an issue.

I don't care for high recoiling rifles either and in my hunting career i haven't needed them. I choose the proper bullet design and weight for my cal/cartridge and i haven't needed to use high recoiling rounds, not evento flattenbrown bears.

Each to there own, but the above has worked for me...

DM

RE: Rifle weights
 

10+ pounds,
4 miles in,
4 miles out
1-2 miles while there.

When there's elk on the ground, what pain there may be is sweet.

RE: Rifle weights
 

My first rifle was a 1917 Enfield which weighed 12.5 lbs unloaded. I carried that thing everywhere and didn't think about it. I started hauling that thing at age 12. It served me well to about age 22. Now, I just got a second hunting rifle. With scope, it too is that weight or maybe a pound heavier.

Heavy rifles don't hurt to shoot and they lay on a rest better.

RE: Rifle weights
 

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.
================================================== =

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.]

RE: Rifle weights
 

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.[:@]

RE: Rifle weights
 

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!"

RE: Rifle weights
 

i say 7.5 to 8 lbs

RE: Rifle weights
 

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.

RE: Rifle weights
 

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?

RE: Rifle weights
 

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.

RE: Rifle weights
 

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;)