Weight is not everything. I sold a Remington KS Custom Shop because of buying a Montana Rifle Co product. If I can carry it at my age you should be tough enough to handle another pound too.
I would agree, however there is a point where weight becomes a factor, but for me 8-9 lbs isn't it.
If need be I'd rather take a few pounds off my body than worry about an extra lb or so of a quality rifle.....but that's just me. Heard this so many times. Sounds good but not accurate. You're comparing weight on your body which is distributed relatively evenly on your body. The pound or 2 on your rifle is typically carried on one side of the body or the other. Adding instability. It is also carried in a hand or on an arm which increases the effort it takes to pack that weight. Especially when hiking inclines, rough ground etc.
This whole lose a few pounds of body weight BS is a cop out. So you lose three pounds and all of a sudden the muscles in your forearm, bicep, shoulder, tricep etc are that much stronger. Yeah right. Go walk 30 minutes on a treadmill at a 8 incline with a 8 pound barbell in one hand. Lose five pounds and do the same test. Guess what, your friggin arm is still going to be tired as hell. The people who say I'd rather lose a couple pounds instead of carry a lighter rifle show that they have very little experience with working out and physical fitness. Those in the gym putting in the work realize there is a whole lot more to strength, cardio, conditioning and the ability to cover miles and miles with a rifle than just losing a couple pounds.
This is an old thread at this point and not to start a urinating match......however having trained fighters for 40 years and treated and rehab musculoskeletal conditions for 30 years, I would agree there are many variables to strength and fitness and weight loss and it would all be in context of the individual, my experience is, drop the 30 lb belly, keep the 9 lb rifle and you'll get up and down the mountain a lot easier. I like my 7 lb rifles and my 10 lb ones, I would rather carry the 7 lb ones but also use the 10s. But my opinion proves I obviously have no practical experience with fitness or working out.
Don't be the martyr here.
In your scenario, guy could stand to drop 30#s off his belly, yes drop the 30#s and that would be the way to go.
But the standard argument is drop 2 or 3 pounds of body weight and carry a rifle that weighs 2 or 3 pounds heavier.
My comment is that those arguments are illogical. Mainly because the 2 or 3 #s added to a rifle's weight is often held and carried by a single arm or hand for long distances which greatly increases the effort required and the fatigue. That weight, while often being in a hand or on one shoulder also adds to the hunter's weight imbalance which further adds strain and fatigue.
I am not the fittest guy in the planet, but I am fairly strong, especially in the shoulders and arms because of repetitive motions that are required in my work every day. I assure you I am more than capable of packing a 10# rifle all over hell and back. But I also know that when I pack a Kimber Montana in the breaks and cover 13-15 miles in a day versus my Wby or my heavy barreled M77, I damn sure can feel the difference during the day and definitely at the end of the day.
