Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting What is your backpack rifle?

Dang doc that's hardly sportin' I'll take that NULA off your hands for $1100 bucks and let you get back to "real hunting"!

Don't 'spose there's any chance that bolt's hanging off the port side is there? (grin)

<img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Mine is a NULA in 270 Win. with a 2.5-8 Leupold with the B&C reticle. Loads vary depending on what I am hunting. Have used the Federal High Energy with the 140 Trophy Bonded on elk & caribou, or handloaded Nosler 130 Partitions for deer.

well, i dont do too much serious back pack trips as in live out of a back pack for a few days mainly cause i dont have the area (arizona) or a partner to do it with. but my coues deer rifle where i normally hike between 5-10 miles of rugged country is my HEAVY custom 270wsm. it is based on a mauser action, with a 24 inch shilen barrel and a richards microfit thumhwhole stock. the scope is a leupold 4.5-14x40 B&C this gun will hit a penny at 100 yards all day long with hand loaded accubonds

now, when i go on hard hikes where i think i might scratch the gun, i reach for my old remington model 721 in good ole .270 winie. this is what i carried to kill my lion and i am glad i did, i dont feel bad about putting scracthed in this gun because it adds to the character of the gun and it is already ugly, but man is it a tack driver. this rifle carries a ugly simmons aetec 2.5-10x40 i believe, it is beat up but still holds zero and hits where it is aimed. will hit a penny at 100 with 140 accubonds factory federal all day long!

my "mountain rifle" is a remington model 700 lss mountian rifle in 30-06, it wears a leupold 3.5-10x50 scope, and when i dont put the harris bi-pod on it, it is very light. this gun will shoot federal 180 fusion into a quarter and i took my first two whitetail with it, out to 400 yards on one of them.

i have a remington 700 BDL in 7mag that i am looking into making a light weight carry gun. it carries a zeiss conquest 3-9x50 and shows a lot of potential accuracy wise. i am looking at replacing the factory stock with a bell and carlson synthetic to cut down on weight.

If you happen to be left handed ( and who isn't these days <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smirk.gif" alt="" />) I've got a B&C stock hanging around for sale.

Kimber Montana .308 with Leupold VX-II 1x4. Just under 6 lbs.

1ak, sorry but i do things THE RIGHT WAY!!! and have a stock on the way for it

NULA 300wsm, 2.5x8 VIII....Left Hand.

I've got two that I use. The primary is a custom built on a Rem 660 action, PN Lt. Mtn. contour, 24 inch barrel, McM Rem Mtn. Rifle Stock, Gentry SS rings and bases holding a 6X42 Leupold. When it gets back from getting a JimF style pad, she should weigh 6-12 empty. It's a .25-284.
The other is a factory SS Win M70 Fwt. in .308. It's currently getting it's McM FWT stock replaced by an MPI stock and returning to a BDL configuration. With a 4X Leupold, Leo dual dovetail mounts, it should go 7-4 to 7-8 empty.
I'd suggest that anyone who is serious about back pack hunting invest in a Gun Bearer attachment from Kifaru for your pack. They are fast to use, keep the gun out of the way so you can use both hands with trekking poles, and they are cheap. There is a model for any pack. E

Kimber Montana .308 with Talley Lights and a Leupold 4.5x14x40 Boone And Crockett. 6lbs 2 oz.

Savage99. Try the 168 Triple Shocks. 2.81 oal, 43.5gr. Varget (also 43.0TAC) with Remington Brass and Fed 210 primers.
Chrony at 2675 fps and shoots 3 shots at or under 1" @ 100yrds.
maestro

I got tired of carrying my 9 pound 300 weatherby up and down the mountain, so I bought a 300 WSM Browning Ti, I love this rifle, it weighs 6 3/4 pound all up ( scope, sling, 3 shells), and it shoots like a hot darn. Has a 15 ounce swarovski 3-10x42 scope, with Talley LW rings

the rifle ( when it carried a Zeiss scope)

http://www.hunt101.com/img/326527.JPG

Killed a stone sheep and the biggest Mule deer to date with it last year.

100 yard 3 shot group,
http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e44/tmartinitmart/DSC00606.jpg

This is a 200 yard grouping ( 6 shots)

http://i36.photobucket.com/albums/e44/tmartinitmart/DSC00608.jpg

here is the buck
http://www.hunt101.com/img/345761.jpg



and the ram

http://www.hunt101.com/img/334277.jpg

Weatherby Super Big Gamemaster 30-06
Talley aluminum one-piece mounts
Leupold Vari-X III 2.5-8

6 lbs. 5 oz.

Handled a custom British maker .35 Whelen on a pre-war Mauser action, slim takedown stock, 21 inch barrel, 6.25 lbs. That would handle just about any hunting, on any mountain.

I mentioned this on another post. Get a look at that Eberlestock backpack. It has a gunbearer pocket in back which gets the rifle out of your way, protected, balanced but still accessible.
I have tried the Kifaru but did not like it one bit. The position of the rifle was basically in front of your body. It made it hard to climb as it was always in the way.
My two backpack rifles are a Kimber Montana in 300WSM (6# 14oz with scope and sling) and a Montana in 7mm08 (6# 0oz. with scope and sling).
Good luck!

bizy,
I often dream about the 7/08. How does she shoot?
Is the 300 wsm in that light rifle uncomfortable to shoot? I love both those cal. I have the 308 and am looking to adopt a few siblings.
maestro <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/cool.gif" alt="" />

In extremely precipitous terrain, I also find my Gunbearers (which I have fitted to every pack I use, both Kifarus and Mystery Ranches) to be a bit awkward, especially with a heavy rifle like my P-64 .338s or .375 "ouch&ouch". So, I put the butt of the rifle into the pocket formed by my cargo chair pulled up tight and held it on with the orange lanyard supplied with the Kifaru packs, this worked perfectly.

I prefer the Gunbearer to any method of packing a rifle I have used in 42 years of doing so, but, the Eberlestock is a very interesting rig, especially for the relatively low cost. In the past, I usually strapped my rifle onto my I.F. pack with the side compression straps and the sling, but, this never was a really comfortable practice and the guns would get dinged pretty bad. I would like to see an Eberlestock pack, if, there is someone around Vancouver, B.C. who has one.

My small Kelty pack has a sleeve that will hold a rifle on either side, with the scope removed. I also have an old Swiss Army pack which has a sleeve down the center of the pack, in the middle, against your spine. A K-31 with its integral brass muzzle guard slides down into it like a scabbard.

I envy those of you that have multiple choices for backpack hunting purposes! I have exactly one (1) rifle for all my big game needs. It is a custom 6.5x55 with a 23 " Lija bbl, Jewell trigger, McMillan stock, and a 2x7 Kahles scope. I am not complaining believe me! My backup is a T/C Contender handgun in .357 Maximum with a 2X Burris scope, not exactly an elk gun, but it will have to do until my ship come in or my daughter graduates from college, she's 3yrs. old!

bizymocha, I had the same problem with the Kifaru Gun Bearer until I got it adjusted right. The barrel should be fairly hign to whatever side you carry it on. If you still have it, try calling the shop. They are very helpful and should be able to get you squared away in short order.

Miller,

It sounds like you have an excellent rifle and then there is the old saying "Beware the man that has but one gun" <img src="/ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif" alt="" />

Ed T