Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles What do you consider “heavy” for a hunting rifle?

thats correct, the rifle only......Hb

Over 9 pounds..... my .375 AI weighs 9 # 1 oz, scoped, loaded ( four rounds), and with sling! Pretty close to right, heavy enough to be stable on offhand shots, and pleasant to shoot. Light enough (barely) for all day carry! memtb

myself I kinda feel it depends on your health,size of the person,physical fitness of each person. for me being bigger in height and even weight than most people a 10 lb. rifle is just fine for me or my son,but I walk a mile or 2 every day of my life and this time of year its with a 40 pack too. so I wish you all a safe great fall hunt ! Pete53

Anything over 9 lbs to me is unnecassary weight especially considering my largest cartridge is a 270 win. I prefer 8 ish lbs however recently am finding an interest in getting a Barrett Fieldcraft chambered in 6.5 creedmoor




Trystan

For me, over 8 is heavy while under about 6.5 lbs is light. There are situations I want heavy and others I prefer light. I do tend to prefer the lighter end

I’ve had the Ruger for a few years now (rebarreled to 280AI from ‘06) and I have carried more miles than I could recall. I have never weighed it fully done up until I posted this which made me think about it. I just put a SWFA 6X42 MOA Quad on it with a 20MOA rail from the standard Ruger rings and a 3X9X40 Leupold. In full form it has four rounds in the mag six on the stock, old military style leather sling and above scope. It has the factory laminate stock and is the SS version. I never knew it was “heavy “ until I weighed it. When it was an ‘06 I used it as my black bear gun with the same amount of rounds in 220 grain RN form and minus scope for Williams irons. Ran behind hounds with it then.

Depends. I am more than happy with my 9 3/4# 416 Remington.

Anything over 9lbs

Diff Strokes

SELDOM is my rifle on my shoulder ! !


Jerry

If the rifle is on your shoulder you ain't hunting, your hiking.

Let me elaborate or qualify.

I am NOT new to lighter weight rifles. I don't like them now just because I'm 65+ yo.

Back in the 80s and I can't remember which I got first. I don't remember when I got my Ruger 77 UL in 308 w/20" bll. It was short, light, and well balanced.

I 'ordered' the FIRST Win 70 XTR FTWT to hit Hammond, La. They were listed in the Win 1981 gun catalog in the FALL. It was probably Spring 1982 before I got it.

Regardless AFTER getting the FIRST light weight rifle I was RUINED to carrying heavy rifles.

** I had 2 S W 1500 (Howa) rifles. 1 in 270 W the other in 06. Both had gorgeous wood stocks. BOTH were heavy. BOTH went down the road. I really wish I had kept the 06 - it was lightER than the 270.


I carry my rifles in my HANDS 90 + % of the time.

IF you use a light rifle just a little while----- you won't feel the same about HEAVY rifles.



Jerry

I can understand that.






Jerry

A lot of guys have office jobs now too.

I have no rifles I don't (or would not) hunt with.
My heaviest rifles as they are ready to go to the field, (loaded, with a strap or sling and scoped ) are my 404 Jeffery, one of my 270s and a long 27" barreled Mauser in 300 H&H, all of which are right about 11 pounds.

Just down from these 3 above are 2 other rifles that come in at, or a bit over 10 pounds. A Browning BLR in 30-06, one of my AR-15s in 6.8 SPC with a heavy barrel and a free float sleeve,

Then there is the category of rifles in the 8.75 to 9.5 pound range. Those would be another 270, a #1 Ruger in 9.3X74R, a Mauser in 9.3X57, a Mauser in 9.3X62, a Mauser in 375H&H, an M-1 Garand, and a Ruger SR762.

Next category would be rifles in the 8 pound to 8.25 pound range. These include an AR-15 carbine in 6.8SPC, an AK47, a Lever action M95 Browning in 30-06, the same in a 270 Winchester, a Scout Carbine in 30-06, an 8X57 Mauser, two Mosin/Nagants and a 62 caliber flintlock muzzleloader.

Down from that I have a 30-30 Marlin with a 24" barrel that weights about 7.5 pounds, a 50 cal flintlock and a 6.5X65 Mannlicher of about the same weight.

At 7 pounds I have a 25-06 I made on a Mauser.

And the lightest center rifle rifle I own is the Lee Speed copy I just finished about 4 months ago. It weights 6 pounds 9 oz.

The 11 pound class is about as heavy as I would keep. Scythian heavier I would have no love for. I have owned and hunted with rifles as heavy as 13 pounds at times, but I found nothing that would do any better then those the weighed less.

It depends on the rifle. I used to have a Browning Safari 338 that weighed 9 pounds. When I carried it, I wanted it to be a pound lighter. When I shot it, I wanted it to be a pound heavier.

For something in the 30-06 class, 8 pounds loaded, scoped, and with a sling is about right.


Okie John

I like mine at about 7.5# for my walking-around rifle.. But I've also got a Marlin 1894 in .45LC that runs about 5.5# and is a dream in heavy woods.

Yeah, and most of these same folks can't shoot a light weight rifle in the field worth a damn. 9 lbs all ready to go is a good upper end weight, especially for a rifle I expect to shoot at longer distances. For a mountain rifle, I like my Kimber Hunter. Most of my rifles end up at or around 8 lbs ready to go. Depends on where and what I'll be hunting.

It depends on chambering and use for me. I tend to think of most of my CF rifles as big game rifles or practice rifles for same. I only have two set up for longer ranges and varminting. I do most of my walk around varminting with a Hawkey UL .223 and a Leupold 3-9x40 at 8 lbs or so all up. About the same weight as a Model 70 FW which is probaly why I prefer rifles of that weight.

For a 6.5, .308 or '06, all up I think anything under 7# is light, 7.5-8lbs is my favorite general purpose weight and over 8.5 lbs is too heavy.

On the other hand, for a .308 Norma, .300 Weatherby, .338 Win mag or .375 H&H 8 lbs is LW, I like 8.5 lbs a lot better and 9 lbs is too heavy.

Outside of benchrest I have never weighed a gun . If it comes up good and balances well , I don't worry much about what it weighs , when still hunting I use a shooting stick , with practice you can get pretty quick with one and it makes a drastic difference in good hits . And as said , never carry slung on shoulder unless getting a kill out .
Kenneth

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