Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Backpack Hunting rifle weight and body weight

Only that I personally don't like too much weight forward, and prefer to concentrate the weight between my hands. It's a totally subjective, personal choice. Of course, the truth is, this isn't going to be a huge transfer of weight forward, but it should be noticeable. I think the weight forward does make a rifle easier to shoot well. That weight doesn't reduce the amplitude of your wobble but it does reduce the frequency. For anyone sticking a bipod on the rifle, then the balance doesn't matter much anyway because you've effed it up, and shooting from a bipod, who cares!? GD

I carry an 11+ pound rifle on sheep hunts. It gets old, no doubt but I manage.

Everytime I look into a lighter rifle for those hunts I start adding up options and realize that for what I want (longer range(ish) and solid scope, decent cartridge size since griz are always on the menu, etc.) it always ends up being not terribly lighter than what I currently have. I always just realize that I can deal with what I have.

I had made up my mind to get the Christensen Arms Summit in 7mm Mag that Sasha and Abby has for sale here, but after adding up the weight for a good Arken or similar scope and an Atlas bipod it honestly was only a pound or so lighter. I have grown to really like a bipod vs resting over my pack for longer range shots, though it does add weight and makes the rifle unbalanced—-but I make it work.

That, and the CA Summit is the wrong twist…

I have reread this thread.

On the subject of body weight and strength….
I became a CrossFit addict summer 13 years ago at age 60. I was pretty good all things considered. I got to a CF total of 600# and I finished in the top 50 worldwide a couple of times. Weighed as much 187. I was in reasonably good shape I thought.

Since Jan of this year I have dropped 20#+ and now weigh about 165#. I eat a more plant based diet. Am doing much more running and rowing and Pickleball. Doing lots of yoga/stretching for mobility. Not quite as strong but much better at hauling myself around. Actually I think 155# will be even better.

On rifle weight, I find that a lighter rifle is better by far. I like it in my hands not in a pack. I prefer an all up weight of 6.75#. Mine is a Rem Ti with a custom barrel and stock. I can shoot it just as well as an 8-9# rifle provided that the LW has a really really excellent trigger. I really dislike hanging a bunch of stuff on a rifle.

Are you saying at 73 you found the perfect rifle Rick? Just wondering?

I did my Kimber MT 338 fed barrel with the Lilja 84m mod contour at 23 inches. The barrel is not a pencil barrel and added 3-4 oz to the gun. I find that contour about perfect with a NF SHV riding on top. Rifle weighs 6.75 lbs as configured. The main thing I notice is how much less jumpy it is off the bench. In OEM 338 Fed Kimber barrel, it was pretty jumpy off the bags. Not so with the 23 inch Lilja 84m mod contour. When I get my 308 rebarreled it will wear the same length and contour. Now to decide if that becomes a 7-08 or stays a 308........

For now! GD

I've had a couple 7-08 Montana's - I found the 7mmm 160's recoil about like the 180's in the 308 Montana. The 165's in the 308 are about exactly on par with 150's in the 7-08.

Ah - good to know. As Bill said, it only adds 3-4 oz's out front on the Montana, but I could see liking that to tame jump a bit and settle the rifle down offhand a bit.

Agreed on the bipod sentiment

Scotty
On perfection…actually I think there are many versions of “perfect”. For a general purpose hunting rifle I want a barrel 20-22” long that is no more than 7# with 3-4 cartridges and sling.

Any bore between .264-308” moving a bullet that weighs 130-165gr at least 2700 will work. My experience has been with the .277-284” bores. The 30’s increase recoil too much for me. Brad’s comments about recoil are very interesting.

I like to have a pair of “general purpose” rifles. I have some pretty unconventional and radical ideas about the perfect 375 H&H but that is another discussion!!
Rick

Bill,
Regarding perfect/ultimate, I have accepted that I like to fool around with rifles but it is a waste of time and money. That said, it is a pastime I enjoy.
Rick

Boy what a great lineup of comments here. Great thread.

Great writeup. And really nice ram. Glad you had a good time and got to see a bit of the great state.

I have to add, each passing year adds several ounces to a rifle. The 8 1/2 pound rifle which seemed perfectly reasonable at 62, is brutal to carry today, at 74. Hands which did a lot of work, back in the day, now struggle to tie a boot. Legs that could run, have resorted to plodding. A rifle which actually feels GOOD is hard to find when it's hard to hold on to anything. Today, I am stacking rocks. When I'm finished, any rifle will feel better than that! GD

Chased PA and NY bucks for 39 years with a 700 Classic 270 Win. topped with a 4X M8, last couple years carried a Montana 84M 308 topped with a Leupold 2.5 X 8. Montana is a pleasure to carry but it just doesn’t have the juju of the 700. Haven’t seen a nice buck hunting with the Montana, going back to the Classic this year

Been there. I'm sure everyone has lucky guns. All the luck in the world doesn't make one feel better four days into a ten day pack though! GD

If I so much as put on 5lbs my stamina/endurance suffers. It’s really not an either/or thing. Everyone not at the bottom can stand to loose weight. If you are not weekly in shape when you hit the mountains elk hunting, you are going to feel it. Like Brad says, ounces make pounds and pounds challenge your capability. The maturation of a backpack hunter never ends, your load out and goals change with your age, your wisdom can often defined by your gear and what you place as important.

My goldilocks rifle is my tikka t3x 6mm creed with a carbon stock. It's 8lbs 3oz. I'm also down to 217lbs (and dropping) since giving up booze. Never felt better in the mountains.

Sled drags, squats, deadlifts, and rucking help too.

Scotty, Bill, Brad

I bumped into this discussion and wanted to add some thoughts.
I have squandered too much time and money and have placed too much emphasis on the choice of a cartridge. I doubt there is nearly as much difference in cartridge effectiveness as there is in the choice of bullets and in the workability of the bullet delivery system.

Said another way, today I am more concerned with the physical characteristics of the rifle I use. Bore diameter between .264” and .284” is about right. The 30’s have too much recoil for me in a LW rifle. My primary goal is precise bullet placement coupled with reasonable terminal bullet performance. Today I am less concerned with perfect expansion/weight retention than with BC. Also, today I am much more focused on appropriate optics.

More important than any rifle is getting into and moving around in a great area! Put me in a great elk area and I can get the job done with a 6 GT.

Rick, you're a machine. I know there is still hope for me as a younger rifle nut with guys like you still picking nits from all the cool stuff we can get into!

Mental toughness also plays a huge part. As I've aged, I am no longer willing, tho I think still physically capable, of death-march, bust ass hunting - both in my physical and mental levels. I'm no longer willing to carry 100 lb back-packs any distance, unless I have to. Then I can. If I must. I guess. ("I'm a man" - RedGreen). My goal now is to keep it to 70 or less. Excepting moose hinds, of course.

I recently sent my son a birthday card that said something like, "As you age, it is important to adjust your goals.

Such as changing the "B" in your bucket list to an "F".

I love my 9# RU77 .338, which, after a 10 year abstinence , I carried on the ATV this fall, caribou hunting. I think it is going away, after scope removal. Walk-in moose hunting later, , I carried my .260, just over 7 lbs, and f*k the bears. They are nice guys anyway, if I don't do anything stupid and my luck holds. That 1.5 quart pile of high-bush cranberry poop that wasn't there the day before didn't even worry me.

Much.