Thoughts on rifle weight and hunting

[FEENIX]

It simply boils down to personal choice and intended purpose, no need to complicate it unnecessarily.

 

[corsteve]

just build a rifle an go w/it

 

[zb338]

A lot has to do with your age and what kind of shape you are in. When I was 20 years old and in the
Army a 10 lb. M-1 rifle was nothing. We carried them all day long. Now, an M-1 feels heavy.

Zeke

 

[Twentyguns]

My go to is a 6.25 lb Remington Titanium in 7mm, topped with Talley rings w 20 built in and a 20 oz scope. Add ammo and a sling and its light yes, but thats the gun i go to when i want to travel and get the job done. Would i take a windy shot at 1200, no, I'd stalk closer or pass. Given its the gun i practice with most though, no matter what, my stalk and eventual shot with that light gun will be fine. Ive got BDL 300 Ultras, Win 300s, and Sakos that weigh 3-5 lbs more but have confidence in that rifle. Familiarity and the ability to repeat at range, especially on that hunt rifle are far more important to me than weight, but now that Ive been toting there things around for 50 years, I'm okay with my "ultralight" and taking my time. 1 shot cold bore is the target. To each their own.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I can post up groups all day from light weight rifles at 1000 yds that are 3" and better. But what most guys wont tell you is that those are the good days. Its hard to make those light sporter barrels repeat those little groups. And I am tuning at long range weekly. The fact is that your tune is constantly changing though the day and year. The lighter barrels have higher amplitudes and when they go out of tune the groups get big in a hurry. The marketing will lead you to believe those tiny groups are consistent. Thats a very hard thing to achieve. In my experience you need to match the weight to the caliber. A 6lb 6mm or 6.5mm can be pretty accurate consistently, but a 6lb .338 will drive you crazy if you are actually shooting a lot of groups at long range. You have got to shoot a lot of groups on paper to really know what your rifle is doing. What it does at short range or on rocks doesnt mean much. My advice is to be really honest with yourself, how far do you want to shoot, how far and what terrain will you hike, then go as heavy as possible. If a pound or two will hurt you that much in the mountains what do you think an 80lb quarter is going to do on the way out?

A good sling will make more difference than a pound. Look up slogan outdoors. They make a great sling. Also, do not overlook bulk. A slim slender rifle is much nicer to deal with than a bulky tactical type rifle even if they weigh the same.

 

[Zymurgist]

Thoughts on rifle weight and hunting? Rifle heavy. Hunting hard, Beer good. Camp far.

 

[COBrad]

As I've gotten older my rifles have gotten lighter. Last year I started hunting with a NULA .284 that weighs 7 lbs scoped. Off an improvised rest I'm shooting MOA at 500 yds. I live and hunt in western Colorado and generally hunt spot and stalk or still hunt through the forest. Almost every elk I've taken has been less than 200 yards. Love that NULA. Have a new long range rifle being built. Should come in at 10.5 lbs. I expect it will make a fine 1K-1200 yd rifle with the .300 WSM barrel. It's intended to be a 1500 yd marmot rifle with the 6.5 PRC barrel. I have a few places I can set up to ambush elk long range. At 10.5 lbs I can still pack it around some in an Eberlystock pack.

 

[JTB]

This rifle was an eye opener for me. I had never hunted with a rifle <12 lbs prior to this one and the difference in packing ease of an 8 lb 2 oz rifle really dramatic. It is a 6.5 CM firing the 156 EOLs at 2780 from a 22" #1 Douglas barrel. Shoots as accurate as my other hunting setups but really needs to be shot prone on a bipod for extended ranges. The 156 EOL from 2800 to 3000 fps is somewhat of a sweet spot for manageable recoil in a lighter rifle setup (8 lbs) for me but the ease of carrying and packing is a game changer. As a note, I would not plan on using a suppressor on the thin barrels. I use a 7mm or 270 WSM sometimes for larger game but 10 lbs is where I need to be to manage recoil and not lose sight of the target. I know many of you can manage magnum recoil but I prefer not to fight with recoil if I don't need to. That all being said I try to keep my packing rifles below 9 lbs but generally keep an 18 lb 338 Edge in the vehicle just in case I need to reach out from somewhere close to the road

 

[L.Sherm]

Look up slogan outdoors. They make a great sling.

I've been using there sling for a long time every since they first come out.

 

[CTK]

I purchased A 13.2 lb (bare) Sako TRG 42 A1 in 300 WM On Friday. I do not view this as a hunting rifle. I did a NOLS mountaineering course in the Wind River range when I was 16. My pack was right around 100 lbs. I was about 150 lbs. This was in the early eighties and ultralight gear was viewed as generally unreliable for heavy use and prohibitively expensive. The food was really the heavy part. If I had not done it, I would have told you that it was impossible to do 10-20 mountain miles with a 100 lb pack. Know people do this regularly with dead game. I am certain that I could not do it now. I guess a heavy long range rifle is far from a deal killer in a mountain hunt but is it necessary?

 

[keithcandler]

I use mine to carry my rifle it doesnt slip off my shoulder, bipod prone to shoot unless its close.

Indeed!

 

[ATH]

My two LR hunting rifles, both packed on foot into back country, are an unbraked 12lb 300WM and a braked 14lb 338 Edge. The Edge can't practically get much lighter without sacrificing performance IMHO. And it wasn't meant as a compromise gun. So the 300WM will become the compromise gun as the barrel will soon be burned out. I'll take it from 26" to 24" and drop the contour from Sendero to something "heavy sporter". Hopefully drop it to ~10lb. Add a brake. Really light rifles are fun, but not in large chamberings or trying to be precise at long ranges.

 

[keithcandler]

ath, GO A #5 contour and you will be very happy with the accuracy! A 6 would be insurance!

 

[Gills]

I toted a heavy rifle on moose hunt a few years ago. Roughly 10 lbs. after twelve days of that never again. My rifle of choice currently is a sako finnlight in 7mm mag. It weighs scoped up at just a little under eight pounds. I would highly recommend that rifle to anybody. I am rolling my own for it but it is shooting five shot groups well under 1/2 Moa. I am currently putting together a fierce rifle in 28 nosier. And hope to have it at 7 1/2 lbs Or under. Really tough to do on a 26 inch barrel and magnum calibers.
It really depends on your budget and what you plan to do with it. My cousin is shooting a kimber mountain ascent and is throwing some really tight groups at some distance and has shot targets out to 1000 with no trouble.
as far as carrying in a scabbard that's is great if it's an option but it isn't much of an option in near country at least in my opinion..