Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Wow! Hunting Rifle Weight

You really need to consider the chambering, when it comes to rifle weight.

My current "darling" is my 26" Rem 700 338RUM in a McM Swirly stock.. It's light enough to pack without slowing you down, but doesn't kill you on the recoil. Packs a punch too!

I am in great shape, I just love my Kimber. I love my pre-64 Mod 70 too, and it weighs over 9 lbs ready to go. I carry it too. But the Montana is much more pleasurabel to hunt with when you are on the move.

Right! .... I have a short bbl 375Mag that handles perfectly and weighs a couple lbs more than the rest I own. You'd never know it while in the field.

No comic books. Just personal opinion.

i run every one over the scale. it is an eye opener...lotsa published specs are wayyy off.

the farther you carry the rifle up the mountain, the more important it becomes.

I agree with Toad,

I like to still hunt and when I sit, it's generally not for very long. Light to mid weight rigs that balance well are just the ticket. Lighter is better if I'm spending time in the mountains.

If you sit stumps all day or are up in a tree stand weight of the rifle is a moot point.

I also agree with Calvin, and I feel that if your gonna go with a big mag, more weight is probably a good thing. Everything is relative.

Weight of the rifle you choose or like has nothing to do with your manliness or what shape you are in like "wrongtime" has indicated in his earlier post.

I don't worry about the weight of my hunting rifles, as long as they feel comfortable and shoot straight .
If I'm worried about an extra ounce or two I'll leave the second candybar in the truck.

Topo lines look a bit different here, than in Michigan..

A rifle is a tool, and if I can still use it to place a bullet properly, I'd rather have the one with a few less pounds in my hands. Especially when the hills get steep and oxygen gets sparse. Fitness isn't the reason either, I've run a couple of marathons, just did a half, I just don't see a reason to make things harder when there is no benefit.

I am on the boat with the folks that think if the rifle feels good and may be on the heavier side I'm still going to carry it. During my time in the military I have carried a few heavy guns not to mention the ammo and gear to go with it, only for 14 hours a day.

This at about 9.9 lbs isn't bad (M4 with M203)

This is a bit nicer to carry at 22lbs (M249 SAW)

Not to mention the little guy at 26lbs (M240B)

When I go hunting this feels ok for me at a little over 10lbs. I havn't mountain hunted so I can't speak on that. I will tell you this much, if I ever make it to my friends place out in MT that Browning M1000 Eclipse in 270WSM is going too.

Most of my rifles are in the 8.5 lb category.However,I carried an 1886 Browning reproduction in 45-70 for two years and it was 13 lbs loaded. That was a smidge too heavy.

What is really odd is that guns weighed on those scales will be heavier than expected,while fish weighed on the same scales will be lighter than expected! Whats up with that?

I've got 3 main rifles now. A vintage Rem 700 BDL in 270 that weighs 8 1/2 lbs with it's original Redfield scope. A CZ 550 in 500 Jeffery that weighs 11.25 lbs with a 1.5-5x Leupold scope. And a Rem XCR II in 375 Weatherby that weighs 7 3/8 lbs with a Leupold 2-7x scope. The weight difference between the two Remingtons isn't really enough to make a difference. I find I need to keep up with the 25 lb barbells if I want to hunt with 500 Jeffery (I took it elk hunting two years ago ... )

Exactly. I would weigh mine, but my Postal scale only goes to 10lbs and my rifles bury this with room to spare.

Yep, eliptical machines and barbells and especially shoulder shrugs (an excercise with barbells in your hands) work wonders for making a rifle lighter......

I did get my 416Rigby weighed a while ago and it, with its full length bedding, cross bolts and pistol grip re-inforcing bolt, Wiesner extended bottom metal, Tally steel QD rings, Burris Posi Lock 1.75-5 Signature Safari scope and 5 rounds of 400 gr solidsor TSX's packed in goes nearly 13lbs. Packed it for 10-14 days in Africa several times and 14 days in Alska three different times oft with a backpack on my back so the rifle carried in my hand the whole time and hip boots as attire de riguer.

Nobody ever comes back from a mountain hunt that they did on foot and says he needs a heavier rifle. It works the other way.
That's because the less you carry, the further you can walk and climb.
I don't believe that rifle balance is as important as weight. I believe it more important. For years, light rifles were not popular simply because they were not well balanced. That means too muzzle light. The other problem being that they are harder on the shooter because they not only recoil harder but faster as well.
Both of these problems can be effectively addressed if the hunter cares enough to learn. And there is nothing like some mean mountains to make a hunter care about these things. E

Amen E.

this getting older stuff sucks and the sum of the repair process seems as bad as the injuries...

prefer my well-balanced light rifles to my well-balanced heavy ones...:)

mauser action?

Everyone is different in thier preferences and abilities and build. I actually HAVE been contemplating and just decided that I must do this pretty soon after shooting at some mountain rodents on Thursday, adding some wieght to one of my carryin mountain rifles. A Walking around Varmint rifle, but walkin up some rockchucks in the backcountry and some Red Digger squirrels at high elevations (Red diggers are about about 1/2 the size of a rockchuck and 3x the size of a grey digger, aboutthe size of a prarie dog) I have come to realize that the 22 inch #2 contour barrel is just too light for me to shoot well off of sticks. When cash flow allows, will become a 24 inch #3 contour and will still be the shortest lightest barrel in my inventory save for a couple of rimfires.

My mountain hunting Elk and Bear rifle is a wldcat 340Tyrannosaur and is in my world a svelte 10lbs even. Carries good, and is very shootable. Have taken some Elk WAAAYYY out there with it. Has done yeoman service in Africa as well. In my hands and those of several clients as a loaner.

To each his own, I like 'em heavier than some. YMMV, but get out there and have FUN with what you like.

Climb and descend 3,000 vertical feet a couple of times in a day and this issue becomes a bit clearer.