Rifle weight never mattered much to me. I never had to walk terribly far, and the terrain was flat at sea level.
Then two things happened.
I started getting old (55 now) and went to Montana on an elk hunt.
Now the only thing I'll buy is lightweight rifles. Couple that with the fact that for 99.5% of your hunt, all you do is carry that rifle around and only really use it very briefly.
Age and real mountains teach a man fast.
