Mr. Gundoc7: Thank you for your post and input about your .300 wm. It sounds like our .300s are just about identical from a weight standpoint and frankly I didn't think it problematic to carry that much weight on my goat hunt. I'm rather used to rather physical work so an ultra lite weight rifle is not what I think best for me. I'm certainly vulnerable to excitement at the point of the shot, especially in a far away place, and then when climbing mountains in Alaska it gets your heart pumping. I did however try to somewhat minimize weight on my rifle.
Recently I was looking over the D'Arcy Echols blog where he described building two identical .300s for a married couple that went to Asia on one of those sheep/ibex hunts. He said those 2 rifles weighed almost exactly 10 lbs. which he felt was just about perfect for that type of hunt. After reading that I thought to myself that I must be a wimp carrying only a 9 lb. rifle !!
Thanks again gundoc.
Well....Yeah!
For decades the prototypical "mountain rifle" for the dedicated international BG hunter(the kind who can afford Darcy's rifles) was a 9# 300 magnum,especially for the big-basin, treeless and wind swept basins of central Asia and the same rifle got used on the plains of Africa and even here in North America. I bet more World Slams of sheep have been taken by such rifles than anything else.
The writings of guys like John Batten, Jay Mellon,Elgin Gates,Herb Klein,the Kleinbergers and others are rife with references to those rifles.
But in Central Asia,those hunters are accompanied by a string of yaks,and enough sherpa guides and gun bearers that a heavy rifle can be handed off if they become a burden at 15,000+ feet. No doubt the extra weight becomes a blessing for very long shots at sharp eyed sheep who "make" you at great distance in rolling terrain.
In contrast the poor NA slob,who has to schlepp his rifle by himself, pack it all day alone,can certainly use something like a 9# 300, but might want to consider something a pound or two lighter.
For a good many years guys like JOC said the ideal "mountain rifle" for North America might be a rifle of about 8# for a balance of shoot ability and portability.
Lightweight synthetics,better barrels,bullets, and more accurate light weight packages have lowered the bar these days, so that we can build something in the 7.5-8 pound range that still throws strikes at great distances. Even lighter rifles are available as well.
It all depends on what we are ready, willing,and able to carry.
