Light weight bolt guns or for that matter any gun that is muzzle light suck hind tit for off hand shooting. The old Remington model 7's with the walnut stock and 18.5 inch barrel in particular was heralded as a great "woods" rifle and in fact was so poorly balanced for offhand shooting as to be laughable. A Marlin 336 or Winchester 94 is far superior. With a full magazine they are not too light and just enough muzzle heavy to hold steady and swing smoothly.
