I did this for New Zealand Tahr several years ago now, I chose a 20" barrel ultra lightweight contour on a Kimber 84M in 7-08.
It weighed just under 7lbs all up, unloaded.
In the end, it really wasn't necessary to have such a lightweight rig, the snow and shale made manoeuvres extremely difficult and the rifle was very difficult to get steady in those conditions, heaviness is sometimes your friend…
Further hunts we took Kimber 8400's in 25-06, 300WM & 338WM. Winchester Model 70 EW's in the same cartridges plus 264WM & 270 Weatherby. All of these weigh right around 8lbs all up. The extra pound really wasn't noticeable until getting the rifles steady on poor rests using back packs and rolled up clothing, the extra weight snuggles into the back pack and made far better confidence in the shot.
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Here you go. These guys go through a lot of efforts in their own R&D for their own products and it seems as though they do the same for the gear they buy and use.
I'm going to end up with a setup very similar to this. Swap his antix out for my R700 action and his night force out for my vx-6.
What is the perfect rifle for backpack hunts in the mountains? That is what Mark from Exo Mtn Gear has been trying to figure out for a handful of years. After buying, building, and trying different rifles and rifle components, Mark now has the perfect rifle for his needs and preferences. Here...