Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Predators and Varmints Predator hunting rifle weight ?

How many feel that a rifle weighing over 13 lbs is a viable predator hunting rifle?

How many hunt predators with a rifle weighing over 13 lbs most of the time?

I'm talking predators(coyotes,fox,cats etc.) ot varmints(PD's, groundhog or ground squirels).

My coyote rifle weighs 17 pounds. I carry it in a Eberlystock X1.

I have and use both but find myself grabbing the lighter ones way more often. That said there's absolutely nothing wrong with a heavier rig. I just don't want to carry one...

No way I'd carry a rifle that heavy for predators.

I have three, (17FB, 17Rem, and 222). They're all under 8#.

I never have but I may this coming season.



Travis

Pat is in a lot better shape than most of us....



Mine weighs 8 lbs all up...

No way i would use a rifle that weighed 13# as a walking and calling predator rifle, off the truck hood or bench yes. I prefer a calling rifle i can carry all day like my CZ 204 that is super light and easy to pack. I also have my AR's i have built with Light Weight 16 INCH Barrel that work very well for a walking and calling .

Mine weighs 15.5

I think anyone that has hunted predators long enough and serious enough will pack a heavier rifle. Settle in behind it better, steadier and a solid platform makes a difference

I use Kimber Montana's that weigh 6.5 lbs ready to hunt, a faux TI that weighs 7.5 and my AR's weigh under 8.

I am perfectly capable of carrying a heavy rifle but haven't for the life of me figured out why anyone needs to.

Guess it depends on your country and preferences

Open country like here... Heavy rifle is worth its weight

Don't think mine are that heavy.. Most probably tip the scales between 9-12 pounds..

I'd say preferences and there's nothing wrong with that.

I've had heavy rifles and started moving towards lighter equipment a few years ago. When we put an 800 yard steel range in my cousin's back yard and saw things worked with both, we started thinning out the heavy rifles.

It really comes down to personal preference and when/how/where you hunt predators, which can range from hiking many a mile to mostly driving from stand to stand. In some places, where legal, a lot of calling is done from vehicles at night. I've done all of the above in various states and, like most, I suspect, I started out with fairly heavy rifles.

Over the years, I've migrated to lighter, shorter, handier rifles. They're just a lot easier to work with.

Give me the heavy gun any day for a calling rig. Settles on the sticks better and is easier to hold steady when a coyotes pops up on your right side (if you are a right handed shooter) and you are trying to bend in a position a professional gymnast wouldn't be comfortable in. I practice shooting left handed for these situations.

+1

A heavier rifle is way easier to hold solid off of sticks, than a light one, especially with a back rest. Mine weighs 10 lbs. It is also a no-brainer from the prone position.

Thank you everyone that contributed to this topic. The Wash. Predator Hunters assc. is trying to put on a target shoot geared to predator hunters. I was trying to find a cut off weight limit and 13 pounds seems to work as there are a number of shooters using heavy barreled rifles for hunting but are still below that weight.

I think it is a prefference thing, my calling rig 8.2 lbs ready to hunt . Im not much on a real heavy rig but some are.

My favorite coyote rifle is a Tikka T3 in a laminate stock. It wears a Lilja barrel in 6mm Remington. With the 4.5-14 with M1 turret, its roughly 9 pounds all up.




If Im going to be doing a ton of walking in between sets, I will carry an ultra light AR or sporter weight rifle. If Im going to just do a bunch of sets withing a few hundred yards of the truck each time, i have no problem lugging along a heavy precision rifle, like my Sako TRG.

I'm gonna have to start weighing my rifles I guess. I'm guessing most weigh in over 10#. I know my CZ 527 Kevlar rifle is closer to 11. That's the one my boy has carried for years.

My everything smaller then deer rifle is my AR 15. Its heavy, has a 20" bull barrel ACE skeleton stock an Leupold 3.5-10 scope on it. Shoots real well.

My other one is a 1955 243 model 70 Feathweweight.