Rifle Weight Vs. Distance capability...

[midnightmalloy]

When i hear this question i want the poster to supply brand names and all for.all.there gear that they are packing in with. If your sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent and stove weight more than 8-10 lbs then its cheaper and easier to cut.weight from your camping gear.than the gun.

 

[HellsCanyon]

When i hear this question i want the poster to supply brand names and all for.all.there gear that they are packing in with. If your sleeping bag, sleeping pad, tent and stove weight more than 8-10 lbs then its cheaper and easier to cut.weight from your camping gear.than the gun.

That is the truth right there... I still have a few lbs of weight to shave off my pack setup system! Not everyone does the backpacking thing and having a 12 lb+ rifle hanging off a sling isn't always the most comfortable way to hunt all day away from the pickup for some. I know that aside from this forum, most of the other hunting forums I'm on when they hear about building a "lightweight long range hunting rifle" they think it should weight in at 7-8 lbs scoped... Its much easier to convince those just getting into the sport to buy a 9-10 lb rifle than a 12 lb rifle.

Mike

 

[Nomad]

Weight is a great factor when hunting in the back country.
Have a semi heavy rifle for long range shooting and a 30-06 not
sure of its weight about 6.5 lbs for hunting in the back country.
Have hunted the Frank Church, Salmon river country Unit 20, unit 11 on the Salmon River
breaks, Northern area of Unit 36 in Idaho.
So a lesson in weight is a factor.
Put together pack and your othe gear then add 12.5 lbs of rifle with ammo.......it does add up.

 

[dig]

Depends on the hunt. Are you going on a sheep hunt in the chugaks, a brown bear pack hunt. A real backpack hunt, days of food and supplies. Most people do not really back back hunt, sheep nuts aside. There is a reason backpackers cut the tags out of clothes, shorten belts and straps and weigh every piece of equipment. Weight does matter. If you are slinging the rifle effects are more felt. On true backpack hunts I use a lightend 270 WSM with 4.5x14 Leupold. It just over 7 pounds, I have never felt handicapped with the rifle. Again, it all depends on the situation.

 

[midnightmalloy]

That is the truth right there... I still have a few lbs of weight to shave off my pack setup system! Not everyone does the backpacking thing and having a 12 lb+ rifle hanging off a sling isn't always the most comfortable way to hunt all day away from the pickup for some. I know that aside from this forum, most of the other hunting forums I'm on when they hear about building a "lightweight long range hunting rifle" they think it should weight in at 7-8 lbs scoped... Its much easier to convince those just getting into the sport to buy a 9-10 lb rifle than a 12 lb rifle.

Mike

Here is the thing. To cut 2-3 pounds off of a custom rifle costs about $1000-2000. not cheap. very light weight rifles limit their ability to be shot well at any distance beyond 300 yards (not impossible). to drop 2-3 pounds off of most camping gear (going from OK to good...like cabelas stuff to mountain hardware) is about $600. lots cheaper. My complaint is in the backpacks. If I could get Eberlestock to redesign there J107 Dragonfly to save 2-3 lbs I would be golden.

Remember when you weight your backpacking setup you need to weight it in 3 ways:
1. pack and all other gear minus rifle, ammo, water, food and fuel
2. pack with all thats in #1 including rifle and ammo
3. all the stuff in #1

here is my setup:
Eberlestock J107 Dragonfly (top fanny pack removed)
Eberlestock pack rain cover
Mountain hardware phantom 32* bag
Exped UL med sleeping pad (15.5 oz)
Sierra Designs Mojo 3 tent (4LB max) or my UL bivy with face pole (16 oz)
Snow Peak titanium cookset 28 oz pot and lid (only 3 oz)
Trecking poles
MSR water filter (14oz)
48oz nalgene bottle
100oz camelback bladder
Benchmade knife
Med kit with extra survival stuff and batteries ( this is my item thats kind of heavy but after a lot of military training its difficult to leave behind) 3lbs
misc stuff (binos, spotting scope, tripod bipod clothes etc)

my gun will weight 9.4lbs all up when Im done in a month or so. its a 7 LRM and has a 6-24 vortex viper pst on it and a 27" barrel.

If I could cut weight it would be in my pack. my setup weighs in at about 50lbs with gun, ammo, all the stuff from #3 above with food for 8 days. not bad if you ask me. the expendables (food, water, fuel) weigh about 20 lbs of this. not bad.

 

[bigngreen]

I've been really looking at this rifle http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/straight-shooter-supply-338-lapua-mark-v-96512/ , it's hitting every line for a long range hunting rifle in my view!!

 

[midnightmalloy]

I've been really looking at this rifle http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f53/straight-shooter-supply-338-lapua-mark-v-96512/ , it's hitting every line for a long range hunting rifle in my view!!

you better hope your fillings are secure cause even with this muzzlebreak this things going to kick the crap out of you! I must not be as tough as some of the rest of you or I have just shot too many heavy kickers to want to do that again.

 

[bigngreen]

you better hope your fillings are secure cause even with this muzzlebreak this things going to kick the crap out of you! I must not be as tough as some of the rest of you or I have just shot too many heavy kickers to want to do that again.

I bet it's not that bad, I launch 300 gr Bergers at 2800fps from a slightly heavier rifle and it's sweeter than an unbraked 270 win, if your getting throttled by a rifle the brake is not right or the stock is not right but if you have both there is zero reason to get beat up!!!! I also just put a brake on a 338 RUM that weights under 8 lbs and it was nice shooting with 300gr Bergers after installing a brake. I hate recoil and find no reason to tolerate it!!

 

[sp6x6]

I am hunting with a 338 Norma, 7-2 oz.bare.9-14 oz. Sling,loaded and atlas,300 gr.otm.I have no problem shooting one handed off bipod.I have shot it into 6'' at 1000 from bipod.Love the set up for the country I hunt and Im getting a bit older every year

 

[bigngreen]

I am hunting with a 338 Norma, 7-2 oz.bare.9-14 oz. Sling,loaded and atlas,300 gr.otm.I have no problem shooting one handed off bipod.I have shot it into 6'' at 1000 from bipod.Love the set up for the country I hunt and Im getting a bit older every year

Another one of the top rifles on the site IMO!!!!!!

 

[COBrad]

Took this one yesterday with my elk rifle. 8lb as you see it.
592 yd. First round, cold barrel.

 

[graywolf]

I used to mountain climb a lot, before I started hunting, and I have some pretty light gear. Good gear is expensive but collect it over the years and its functional and light. Bivy sack, pad, Western Mountaineering bag=4 lb total. As a back up a 4lb Bibler tent that will generally stay in the truck. Layer with primaloft. MSR 3oz stove. Black Diamond backpack 3-4 lb. Powdered milk, oatmeal coffee, jerky, stay dry and light. I plan to hunt for the first time with a TRG22 .260 this year. With a Zeiss 4.5-14x50 scope it's 11 lb, which is a few lbs. more than the light rifles I've used in the past but it's such a nice gun. The only thing I don't feel great about it is offhand shooting. I think next year I will cut the barrel from 26" to 20". I don't mind losing some velocity for improved handling because my maximum range for hunting with that round is 600 yd. I like the new Barnes LRX 127 gr 6.5 mm, the groups are very tight at 300 yd. I'll be checking it out at longer ranges soon.

 

[Strider]

I have two back country rifles. I have a Tikka T-3 light in .300 wsm that weighs 8.5 lbs fully loaded (excluding bi-pod). It is incredibly accurate for a factory rifle and shoots 1/2 moa out to 600 yards. It is a little finicky though due to its light weight. My longer range rifle is a custom 7mm stw that weighs 10 1/2 lbs. This shoots 1/2 moa out to 850 yards and is the rifle I carry 90% of the time. Light is nice, but only to a point in a rifle for me. I just carry 100 oz of water on my other shoulder to balance me out

 

[royinidaho]

Did the first serious shooting, drop, velocity, bc validation yesterday since rebarreling the 270 AM. Previous barrel was 30" and heavier contour. New barrel is 28" and smaller @ the muzzle. Same brake is used as on old barrel. The rig, all up, is at 14 pounds previous weight was a bit over 15 pounds. Accuracy and velocity are same as the old barrel. The big difference is that I cannot now spot myshot as well, in field shooting conditions. Just a bit too much recoil jump. I used to be able to spot all shots at all distances. That is valuable to me as I mostly hunt alone. Removing that amount of front end weight seems to have made a difference. I think I'll move from the Holland QD to an Allen Painkiller for a try.