Yeah, lose the 3-4 lbs body weight too if you can (or more). I don’t know what the equation is but, for example, and 9 lb rifle all-up as we like yo say, is not at the center of gravity (COG) like your body weight is in an upright walking position.
Your rifle then is on a lever with the COG, the fulcrum. And the further it is from the body (how you carry it, etc) ,”the more it weighs”.. we all know that on a teeter-totter, a light weight way out on the end of one side balances a heavier weight closer to the fulcrum on the other side.
Arbitrary chosen numbers for an example: a carried rifle 2 pounds heavier than an ideal (say 7.0 lbs) may exert the equivalent of an extra 6 or 7 lbs of body weight at COG . So there is no equivalence between body weight and rifle weight as to what you feel.
Of course as COG moves as you bend, move around, twist, things change for better or worse. So within reason — your call — light is right.
Apologize for being redundant. I missed Brad’s post above saying essentially the same thing.
