He told me he took one of his lightweights on a sheep hunt in AK and found it was too light to settle down for him when he took his shot. He changed his mind and began packing a 7.75lb all-up rig after that first hunt. That was his line and it makes a heap of sense to me.
And that's the reality I've found. Really thin barrels can be really tough to get to shoot accurately off a pack, unless some special "hold" is done, and a lot of pack adjustment is done... A bit of a heavier barreled rifle settles down "just right" when shooting off a pack, and you aren't left squirming around trying to get that rifle adjusted perfect for a shot.
Just my experience.
