My rifles weigh anywhere from about 7.5 lbs to almost 10 lbs., scoped, slung, and loaded (often with 4 or five extra rounds on the stock). I'll pack any of them
anywhere . I'll admit to liking lighter for mountain hunting. Mostly. But if you ain't man enough...
I'll be 69 in late August. For ATV/snowmachine hunting I'll go with the heavy barreled Mauser '06 - inch groups at 300 yards, tho I have also used the below- off the machines . Rem 725 260 and RU 77 "Stub" '06. But I am planning on carrying the 98 on my next non- NW Arctic back-pack caribou hunt - probably 2018, ( the 7.5 lb .260 MOA, would likely do as well. Or the slightly heavier "Stub" RU 77 '06 with 17 inch barrel, 1.25 MOA. to 500 yards - my limit. I just LIKE that Mauser). Not much upper or downer- mostly ridge topping at above timberline elevation- tho it might be 10 miles back in...
The near 10 lb RU77 in 338WM (1.25 MOA) aint' half bad either, and I toted that over a lot of Idaho mountain country for elk. Finally killed one in Colorado. wWth the .260...
It was a pretty steep mountain, kill at 10,500 feet... several thousand feet below the ridge top with it's horseback hunter camps. I had a map from a friend, marked "elk-here"...
. they were. That lighter rifle was not a mistake!
Edit - I would suggest that if one is shooting beyond 500 yards, one not overly consider the weight of the rifle- generally, to my thinking, one would want a heavier rifle for that. My Mauser is good to 1,000 probably - but i'm not.
