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

Had an 11.0 lb .375H&H. Fun to shoot, but too heavy to carry extended distances. Current 375H&H weighs 9.5 lbs. Feels about right. For non-magnum chamberings (.270 Win, 6.5x55, 7x57) approx 7.0 to 7.5 lbs all up would be my sweet spot. Non-magnum over 8.5 lbs would be too heavy. JMO...

anything that weighs more than it needs to.

ie; I generally prefer sub 8 lb scoped and loaded, but around 8.75 lb is good for a .300mag or .338win

A sling could be good for when you’re crawlin up a steep creek bank. But they can be a hindrance with snags and such. I guess that’s why most are quick release.

I have a 25-06 in a Sako with a heaviesh Krieger tube. It goes over 10lb all up and doesnt bother me to hunt. I prefer 8-8.5lbs all up. Under 7lbs is a goat rodeo for me.

I consider anything over 8# heavy for a hunting rifle. Not that I do not hunt with >8# rifles. Just consider them heavy.

My preference is between 7-8 ready to hunt.

Lighter rifles are a dream to carry, but I do not shoot them as well at the range or in the field. They just do not settle down for me.

My 404 Jeffery is lighter than my 375, have never weighed them. I can shoot the 375 all day. The 404 stops being fun at about 30 rounds.

Oh, I disagree, friend. My rifle is always slung unless I'm going to sit for a while and glass or fixin' to shoot a deer. I have a suspicion you and I, and probably a lot of people on the forum, hunt in very different terrain types. I like to keep my hands free for binoculars.

I have 2 rifles I'll be hunting with this year, both heavy. The first a RRA LAR-8 X-1 @12lbs all up and the second a 26" barrel Sendero @11lbs.

I carried a 8.5lb M16A2 for many years and never gave it a thought or considered that it was "heavy." It wasn't until I got out of the Army and started reading forums, like this, that I realized I had to have a 6lb all up rifle. So, I've been down the Kimber Montana route and they're fine rifles. But I don't feel overly burdened by carrying a little extra weight - shoulder slung, of course.

I know full well those are heavy rifles. Were I to be going up and down mountains chasing elk or sheep, sure, I'd opt for something different. I'd even opt for something different if I were hunting the woodlots or forests of the east. But for where I'm hunting and how I'll be hunting, those rifles will work just fine.

Depends on the caliber. For 243, 8 lbs. For 30-06, 9lbs.

Lol.. can you believe I'm going to drag a 7 1/2 plus lb rifle. Into the mtns for sheep. That model 70 balances very well.. besides it has Soul it tells a story. Unlike other rifles..

Hunting is a cathartic enjoyment. I hunt the mtns. of WV since 1972. I have discovered I enjoy my climbing/descending/sliding/tripping more with rifles that are less than 7lbs. all up. Montanas, Finnlights, Fieldcrafts, Lightweight Hunters, Mtn Rifles, etc.. I love hunting with RSIs, Encores, 1As/1RSI (because of length) but they are heavier than I want them to be. I would love to try a Dakota 10 in .308. I also carry slung on my shoulder. If I can't get it off of my shoulder fast enough for the shot...oh well.

skeen - you are correct not ONLY do people hunt in different terrain types, we all have our own personalities.

Since 2012 I hunt private property that ONLY I have permission to hunt. It's part of an OLD farm, now only 70 acres. On that plot there are thickets - open woods - small paddocks - and long stretches of pasture.

On any given day hunting I may start in one area and wind up in a totally different habitat. I keep compact binos slung around my neck and rifle in hands. If I need binos --- there is time to use them. Most, not all, of the time deer appear suddenly and I need the rifle first.
When I have time I like to use my LRF but most of the time I range AFTER the shot, from the deer BACK to where I was.

Diff Strokes.

Jerry

I guess I don't understand the problem w/ light rifles. I have spent many days hiking through the hills w/ a 5 lb 10/22 w/ fo sights snap shooting ground squirrels and jack rabbits. My bg rifle weighs 7 lb 6 oz and I would love to shave a couple of pounds.


mike r

You know, one of my favs was a Ruger No1 RSI ‘06 that had a fixed 4X. Weaver I think. Light and carried like a bird gun. I miss the hell out of it. Probably why subconsciously.

Nice thing about the old school military sling is that it isn’t wide and I can fold it up in my hand so it doesn’t catch brush. That’s why I kept it.

Interesting thread, I don't think I know the weight of any rifle I own. Some are probably around 9 or 10 pounds, but that just isn't heavy. Some balance better and probably get hunted with more than the others, if I anticipate a fast shot. Most of the time I hunt with a rifle because I like it, and not because of the weight. If 6.5 pounds is just right and 8.5 is too heavy, you are talking about 2 pounds. Not something I'd ever think about.

Same. First time I weighed any of mine since I started hunting. Not sure why I did. I just popped on a couple of SWFA scopes on and for whatever reason I was curious. Put them on the bathroom scale just to see. They don’t feel heavy and I guess if I’m worried about an extra pound I’ll make sure to have an extra strong cup of coffee before I head out and take a healthy crap before I leave.

A “heavy” is over 8+lbs “all up” weight...

For me as a flatlander,in Colorado elk hunting, anything over about 8 lbs is getting there. Here at home, I have a 7 mag 40-X in a synthetic stock and a big Leupold that I’ll sometimes take along if I am hunting over a big cutover. That sucker probably goes 11-12 lbs but I don’t have to carry it too far.

It completely depends upon the terrain and how much walking I have to do. Hunting out of a box over a food plot, I don't care how heavy a rifle is. Climbing Barometer Mountain in Kodiak with a frame pack, My Ruger 77 30-06 at about 8 pounds was as much as I wanted to deal with. I much preferred my Ruger UL 243.

Over 8.5 lbs is way too heavy for me.

I like 7.5# to 8 on very high side with scope.

GASP!!!

I have rifles of all sorts of weights from fairly light to stupid heavy. That said I hauled a 15 pounder on last years sheep hunt. You'll "make due" I am sure.