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Joined: Feb 2009
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2009
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While I don't do any mountain hunting here in Wisconsin (there are none), I do a lot of walking. Walking through thick stuff is quite common, 36 seasons of it now, so most of my rigs are carbine length for easy handling and quick shooting. While I was reconfiguring some rigs for this season, I had my digital scale out and thought it would be interesting to weigh and compare some of them. These weights are all with no rounds in the gun, magazines installed (if that rifle uses them), and no sling.
For those interested:
Browning ShortTrac BAR 308 Fluted Carbine 18.5” barrel, Talley Lightweight rings & Vortex Viper 2-7x Versaplex = 7.492 pounds
Remington 7600 358 Win 19” barrel, Talley Lightweight rings & Leupold VX-3 1-5x Heavy Duplex = 7.286 pounds
Ruger Frontier 358 Win 16.5” barrel, Zytel skeleton stock, Ruger steel rings & Leupold FX-II 2x Scout scope = 7.276 pounds
Ruger 96/44 lever 44 Mag with Ruger steel rings & Leupold VX-III 1-5x Heavy Duplex = 6.686 pounds
Marlin 444P Outfitter 18.5” barrel, XS Scout rail & Leupold FX-II 2x Scout scope = 8.000 pounds
Winchester 94 Timber Carbine 444 Marlin, 18” barrel and XS Ghost Ring sight = 6.224 pounds
Browning ShortTrac BAR 308 Fluted Carbine 18.5” barrel, Talley Lightweight rings & Leupold VX-3 1-5x Heavy Duplex = 7.218 pounds
Ruger 77 Stainless 358 Win with 18.5” barrel, Zytel skeleton stock, Ruger steel rings and Leupold FX-II 4x scope = 7.436 pounds
Savage 99 358 Brush Gun, 20” barrel, Weaver Rings, Leupold VX-3 1-5x Heavy Duplex = 7.657 pounds
Last edited by BlackFrog; 11/07/17.
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Joined: Mar 2006
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Which do you think would prevail, light weight or a well balanced rifle though may be a bit heavy?
By the way, in case you missed it, Jeremiah was a bullfrog.
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Joined: Oct 2004
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
Joined: Oct 2004
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Joined: Feb 2009
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Campfire Regular
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OP
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Joined: Feb 2009
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Which do you think would prevail, light weight or a well balanced rifle though may be a bit heavy? Good question. I'm guessing balance can be in the preference of the shooter, or who has to carry it all day. I like to switch around a lot, so don't really have a clear preference. I do like every rig listed, some a bit more than others, but everyone has their favorites. ....what gave it away?  Big holes are fun. ....still gotta get me a BLR though.
Last edited by BlackFrog; 11/07/17.
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Joined: Feb 2007
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Campfire Outfitter
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Campfire Outfitter
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Which do you think would prevail, light weight or a well balanced rifle No reason not to have both. I've chased light rifles since a backpack hunt in the N GA mountains in 1977. I have absolutely no use for anything over 8 lbs with scope and mounts. I've tried several things, but find a standard bolt rifle with a sporter barrel with about 20-22" in a lightweight stock can come in at about 7-7.5 lbs if you choose the scope and mounts carefully. That seems to be the ideal balance between shooting and carrying well. Personally I don't shoot anything over about 7.5 lbs any better, and I don't find anything under 7 lbs that much harder to carry around. It seems the OP has found the same weight range to be about ideal too. I bought a lightweight Brown Precision stock in 1983 and put it on a Rem 700 ADL in 30-06. That rifle did everything for me for a very long time and was just over 7 lbs scoped. I haven't "hunted" with a wood stocked bolt rifle since 1983. About 10 years ago I bought one of the Kimbers in 308. With Talley lightweights and a Leupold scope it is a hair under 6 lbs and even at that weight it balances very well. I find the shorter stubby barrels tend to be poorly balanced. Some of the longer featherweight type barrels mated to a standard action can be too. But the Kimber barrel and action suit each other and balance well. But the truth is that the rifles weighting closer to 7 lbs are just a little more accurate with me pulling the trigger. But not by much. The Kimber ain't for sale, but It only gets used now in pretty rugged country. My current go-to rifle for everything is a Winchester EW 308 in an Edge stock with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9X40 scope. It is 7 1/4 lbs and a tack driver. I also have a similar rifle in 30-06 that weighs 7 1/2 lbs and a coupe of Ruger Predators in 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor. Even with the heavier barrels they are 7.5 and 7.75 lbs after adding scopes. The 18" barreled
Most people don't really want the truth.
They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
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Joined: Jan 2001
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Campfire Tracker
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Campfire Tracker
Joined: Jan 2001
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Which do you think would prevail, light weight or a well balanced rifle No reason not to have both. I've chased light rifles since a backpack hunt in the N GA mountains in 1977. I have absolutely no use for anything over 8 lbs with scope and mounts. I've tried several things, but find a standard bolt rifle with a sporter barrel with about 20-22" in a lightweight stock can come in at about 7-7.5 lbs if you choose the scope and mounts carefully. That seems to be the ideal balance between shooting and carrying well. Personally I don't shoot anything over about 7.5 lbs any better, and I don't find anything under 7 lbs that much harder to carry around. It seems the OP has found the same weight range to be about ideal too. I bought a lightweight Brown Precision stock in 1983 and put it on a Rem 700 ADL in 30-06. That rifle did everything for me for a very long time and was just over 7 lbs scoped. I haven't "hunted" with a wood stocked bolt rifle since 1983. About 10 years ago I bought one of the Kimbers in 308. With Talley lightweights and a Leupold scope it is a hair under 6 lbs and even at that weight it balances very well. I find the shorter stubby barrels tend to be poorly balanced. Some of the longer featherweight type barrels mated to a standard action can be too. But the Kimber barrel and action suit each other and balance well. But the truth is that the rifles weighting closer to 7 lbs are just a little more accurate with me pulling the trigger. But not by much. The Kimber ain't for sale, but It only gets used now in pretty rugged country. My current go-to rifle for everything is a Winchester EW 308 in an Edge stock with a Zeiss Conquest 3-9X40 scope. It is 7 1/4 lbs and a tack driver. I also have a similar rifle in 30-06 that weighs 7 1/2 lbs and a coupe of Ruger Predators in 308 and 6.5 Creedmoor. Even with the heavier barrels they are 7.5 and 7.75 lbs after adding scopes. The 18" barreled I agree with the goal of having both, and with using a lightweight stock to make that happen. I hunt in thick brush so I’m always looking for short rifles that balance well enough that it's easy to make fast offhand shots with them. Too many manufacturers just lop several inches off of the barrel and call the rifle a lightweight, even if it sits in the same clunky stock that was slightly too heavy for that rifle when it had a much longer barrel. They feel borderline OK in the shop, but hanging a scope on them really wrecks the balance. (One of the main joys of working the pawnshop circuit is all the different rifles in various states of trim--you can see what handles well in the real world versus what's a really bad idea.) The Remington Model 7 and the various Ruger Compact rifles are classic examples. At least on the Ruger Frontier, you can hang a pound or more of scope out there to restore the balance. A while back I made these notes on some rifles I’ve tried: - Early Remington 700, 7mm Magnum, 26” barrel, factory tupperware stock, 4x Leupold in Redfield rings & bases: 8 pounds, 9 oz. This rifle is long and heavy but it’s very easy to shoot well offhand, probably because the stock is so light.
- 2016 Winchester M-70 Featherweight, 30-06, 22” barrel, factory stock, 4x Leupold in Weaver rings & bases: 8 lbs., 1 oz. Balances slightly aft of the forward action screw. Not ideal for offhand shots but usable.
- Recent Remington Model 7, 308, 18” factory barrel, 4x Leupold in Weaver rings & bases: 6 pounds 15 ounces. Recoil isn’t bad but the muzzle floats so badly on offhand that I sold this one pretty soon after I got it.
- Husqvarna 1640 small-ring Mauser, 30-06, 20.5” barrel, 4x Leupold in Weaver rings & bases: 7 pounds, 2 oz. Stocked for irons so lots of drop at the heel. As light as I want to go in a 30-06. Light in the muzzle but usable.
- Remington 870, 12-gauge, 20” barrel, walnut stock and forend, rifle sights: 6 pounds, 12 oz. Balances pretty well.
- Winchester post-64 Model 94, 30-30 WCF, 20” barrel, factory stock, factory iron sights: 6 pounds 8 oz. Balances very well.
I couple of weeks ago, I picked up a Model 70 Classic in a Bansner stock. I haven't had it on the scale yet, but it feels light, it balances well, and I have high hopes for it. Okie John
If Montana had a standing army, a 270 Win with Federal Blue Box 130's would be the standard issue.
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Joined: Mar 2006
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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After weighing all of my rifles that are scoped and ready to hunt I found that my two old favorites, Rem 700 308 & Wby Mk V 7 Wby, were actually the two heaviest of my collection. The 308 weighed almost 8 lbs and the Wby weighed in at 8.4 lbs. Had you asked me before weighing I'd have guessed 7-7.5 lbs. Both of these guns balance so well in my hands that I do not notice the weight. Except, I can say I would certainly not accept any heavier than that.
By the way, in case you missed it, Jeremiah was a bullfrog.
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Joined: Jan 2011
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Joined: Jan 2011
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Not sure the early Mannlicher/Schoenauer's can be bettered.
NRA Benefactor 2008
Jesus said, "I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through me." John 14-6
There is no right way to do a wrong thing
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Joined: Feb 2010
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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I've come to the conclusion that the "worry" about a few inches, few ounces, and a little off balance is arm-chair, nothing else to do nonsense. The one time you took a running shot, got hung up in a thicket, or too tired to carry an extra 12oz amounts to jack squat in reality.
I'm not surprised that some fellas don't have a caddy carrying a golf bag full of rifles.
I totally get it with clays and shotguns, but overkill otherwise.
JMHFO......
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Joined: Jan 2016
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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I've come to the conclusion that the "worry" about a few inches, few ounces, and a little off balance is arm-chair, nothing else to do nonsense. The one time you took a running shot, got hung up in a thicket, or too tired to carry an extra 12oz amounts to jack squat in reality.
I'm not surprised that some fellas don't have a caddy carrying a golf bag full of rifles.
I totally get it with clays and shotguns, but overkill otherwise.
JMHFO...... QFT
Music washes away the dust of everyday life Some people wait a lifetime to meet their favorite hunting and shooting buddy. Mine calls me dad ![[Linked Image from i.postimg.cc]](https://i.postimg.cc/ZCL8Ws2r/JohnGult.jpg)
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Joined: Dec 2016
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Campfire Regular
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Campfire Regular
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Multiply those couple ounces by 10 thousand steps going up a 3,000 fooot incline...
Or take that barrel crown nose diving into a rock while scampering throough a rocky ravine that could have been a little shorter and had a little less lever arm for your wrist to twist it sideways as you lost your footing just enough to protet the muzzle. There is a reason for light stuff, and a reason for heavy stuff with 26" barrels.
Never discount the benefits of either when applied for the appropriate purpose.
Fortunately guns are typically named for what they are intended to be used for even if it is in Spanish:
Sendero= "Path" = shoot it down linear clearings from fixed positions.
Montana= "Mountain" = haul it up and down to shoot stuff.
De nada
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