Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles I like 8-pound rifles

All of my rifles (6) are between 7.5 and 8.5lbs. Didn't start out with a target weight in mind... that's just how they turned out. powdr

I’d prefer 6 pounds when I’m carrying, and 10 + pounds when shooting it. I guess that means, I got a comprise.....9.0 pounds, scoped, loaded, and slung! memtb

23" Rem sporter contour Bobby Hart built 7-08 in Hunter's Edge. This one in the upper 7's, all up, balances great with some forward heft, is IMO about ideal for the kinda hunting I do. Packs easy, holds steady and is accurate. 3-9x40 Conquest with elevation turret in Talley LW's. Timney 510 trigger.

DF

For all around big game hunting use its hard to beat 7.5-8.5 lb all up. Packing a light rifle up the mountain is pointless when you cant shoot the thing worth a darn when you get there.

A browning bar is heavy but the damn thing is balanced.

I hunt on a steep, rocky island where the brush is thick. It's at sea level, but I'm on my hind legs still-hunting with a rifle in my hands all day long. I'd rather not have a rifle over 8#, but balance is way more important. Gotta have it a little muzzle heavy. I also find that working out in the gym does a lot to reduce the burning in my back and arms at the end of the day.


Okie John

Absolutely, a m70 extreme weather in 30-06 scoped up is 8lb 1oz and I absolutely love it, accurate, not too heavy, not to light.

But...

I also like my 5lb 12oz mountain rifle for those hunts that are days on end in steep country.

Both have their place.

7 1/2, scoped, slinged, mag loaded, 5 on the stock.

And that's a M98.

Stupid brother pawned it after stupid me loaned it...

Current '98 pushes 10 lbs with heavy barrel and stock - but shoots 1" groups at 300.... I can live with it, I just ain't gonna pack it far!

I'd say that's pretty good ... 7.5-8#. Truth is the best place to trim weight is around our own midsections and off our own backsides; makes climbing hills a whole heck of a lot easier no matter how heavy your rifle is.

I've never owned a synthetic stocked rifle and never will, sighted in a customer's synthetic stocked Remington 700 .270 and did not care for it at all. All of my rifles are wood stocked pre'64 M/70's which suit me fine for the kind of hunting that I do.

Time was I didn't mind a heavy rifle and, really still prefer some weight between my hands. Good grief, for close to a couple decades I packed a 10 1/2 lb. Shiloh Sharps all over the mountains of western Wyoming. Took a lot of game with it too but, I loved that rifle, still do. HOWEVER....I used to be 40!!!!

I doubt I'll ever pound the Rockies again in pursuit of elk, deer or moose. These days all my hunting is in the hills of the Ozarks and whether I'm sitting in a stand or slipping through the woods the weight of the rifle is not a consideration. I might be packing a svelte, 1903 or 1908 Mannlicher/Schoneauer or a 9 lb. Jost & Diehl combination gun or the aforementioned Sharps....(or any of a dozen or more others).

On the opposite end of the spectrum, I do enjoy carrying either my Jeffrey Rook rifle, (not quite 5 lbs.) or Bartles stalking rifle, (just over 6 lbs.) when chasing bushy tails!!!

Based on the above I'd say I never have worried about or concerned myself with the weight of a rifle. AH!!! One exception. My Ballard 1 1/2 Hunter. It weighs the same as my Sharps but has to be the worst balanced rifle I've ever owned. Barrel is entirely too short and heavy. It's in 45-2.6 and for years I've threatened to have the doggone thing re-barreled to 38-55 with a lighter barrel.

Where you hunt and how old you are factors into this. Back in 1991, the last time I hunted Colorado, I brought two heavy rifles - a Weatherby Mark V in 300 Weatherby Magnum caliber and a Mauser in 358 Norma caliber. Each rifle was around 10 lbs. I didn't mind the weight. Now, at 72, after a couple of heart attacks and bypass surgery, I will bring a lighter (and lighter recoiling) firearm this fall.

But not for those who can.

6.5 to 7 is a nice compromise. For Big Game you are shooting at a basketball sized target and for the range most of us shoot off-hand a LW rifle shouldn't be a problem. Fellow at a local club, shooting off hand will abuse a 10in plate at 300 with a .338Fed Montana. Then he will pick-up a heavier rifle and do it again. As in most things, some are good at the game and do things others can't. Or are willing to put in the time to enable them to do so.

+1

6 1/2 to 7 with slight weight forward balance is best for me.

I find a weight forward rifle at 7.25-7.75 lbs all-up a just right compromise.

I'd just rather pack a 6.5lb all-up rifle in the mountains...

For me, with a little bit of weight forward on the muzzle, I shoot a light one as well as a heavy one when hunting. No issues at all.

I don't like hauling extra weight anymore than I like being kicked into next week.

Balance in all things, I guess...

My rifle is always in my hands. I think I have a sling on one rifle, I never use them. So I also think it matter much in how one carries a rifle.

I'm not a packing gear into the mountains style hunter, so balance matters more to me than weight as long as the weight is within reason. I really like the way my Rem 700 Classics handle.

Good point. Full disclosure...:)

No routine sling use either, though I have them in case of circumstances. If having to use hands for hanging on to stuff to get somewhere, which is not preferred, I'd rather strap it on the pack.

There are some good mountain/backpack hunters that frequent here, and only one that I can think of carries around a heavy rifle. They consistently kill game with LW rifles with seemingly little problem. I suspect they get it done from all the field positions along with various levels of exertion at the moment. There are more than a couple obvious reasons why.