Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Elk Hunting Rifle Weight.Are you really in shape?

Lil Logcutter,

Ha, I was in the Air Force and they would never have let us do any PT with a scary gun in our hands. Just not civilized you know.




Mark,

You are just the Grandpa to keep him on the right track. 12 years old and headed down the right path, that kid might just be one serious elk killin badazz when he is 30.

Make us all look bad.



I think you are just swell Jeff. How�s that?

Very true, I'm in the same boat, my favorite hunting area is between 10,000 and 11,500 and starts 3-4 miles from the trailhead. We hunt the early seasons in September so snow is not so much of an issue, and neither is bitter cold so we can get away with bringing less (and lighter) gear, so that's what we do.

I look at the weight of my rifle the same as any other piece of gear--I want the lightest weight possible that will serve the purpose. My sleeping bag weighs around two pounds, and my floorless tent, 2 1/2. I could carry a heavier, more bomb-proof tent at 5-6 lbs. and/or a 3 1/2 lb. sleeping bag and be more protected from the elements, but the 2 1/2 lb. tent does just fine for my purposes, so why would I put another few pounds on my back? My cook pot is titanium and my stove and water filter are some of the lightest made. Same goes for most every piece of gear I carry--if I want my pack weight at 40 lbs. or less for a week-long hunt, I look at everything, including the rifle. Otherwise, the pack would be 50 lbs. because everything adds up.

I hunt with muzzleloaders mostly, and used to carry a 9 1/2 lb. Hawken. Now I carry a 6 1/2 lb. in-line and I'm more accurate with the 6 1/2 lb. rifle.

And before someone gets carried away, I'm not "whining" about the weight of my gear; if they didn't make a 2 1/2 lb. tent or a 6 1/2 lb. rifle, I'd just carry the heavier ones.

But I don't have to carry the heavier ones, so I don't. I hope that makes sense .

This year, we're packing in with goats, and I'm really looking forward to it. I've never been on a pack trip with 'em, but I've been around them and they are pretty cool, follow you around like dogs, sure-footed, eat anything, and easy to manage. I'll be snapping some photos for certain.

bingo.

I bet my gun is heavier than yours.

I ain't that happy about that, but then I'm cheap. Can't see paying $1500 for an Ultralight when my (somewhat self-customized) 7.5 lb (including scope and sling) M98 or Ruger 77 will kill just as effectively to any reasonable range at $1K less and a lb or 2 more weight. I've never found a light weight rifle to be an advantage in accuracy when the nit meets the grit, nor my rifles' slightly heavier weight to be an impediment to the hunt.

Moderation in all things, including moderation....

Lighter is better when humping it (and I'm primarily a back-pack hunter), but you pays your money and takes your chances...

Everyone's perspective varies- sometimes even reasonably!

I'm in pretty good shape year round. I do triathlons and I'm running a marathon before going elk hunting this fall. I have a browning xbolt and a Winchester extreme weather both in 300 wsm. I actually prefer and plan to hunt with the Winchester as it is about 1/2 a pound heavier all up than the browning and is just easier for me to shoot free hand than the browning. When my adrenalin is going the extra weight of the Winchester makes the first shot count. The xbolt is more accurate but I'll give the hunting accuracy to the Winchester. I think moderation is probably the key for most folks. I still want a Montana in .308 but fear I won't shoot it very well because of the light weight and decided that for now I'll stay with the xbolt for might light rifle. I feel being in shape is more important than a light rifle when it comes to elk hunting success, but ultimately time with boots on the mountain is more important than either.

When a person chooses not to carry a 9 pound rifle it isn�t necessarily because that person is �wimpy�. Hell, most of the time I�d call the person �smart�.

Over the years my hunting buddies and I have packed most of our elk out on our own shoulders, including two last year between my son-in-law and myself. Over the years we have often we have found ourselves carrying an elk quarter, a pack and a rifle.

For 20+ years I had only one centerfire bolt gun in a caliber legal for Colorado�s big game, and that is what I carried. These days I have a variety of rifles and weights to choose from but I don�t see my relatively heavy 6.5-06AI ever making an elk trip. No point carrying the weight if you don�t need to. I keep thinking a light weight Ruger Compact in 7mm-08 or up would be a great rifle for elk hunting.

Last year I took two nephews on their first antelope hunt. Each of them carried one of my rifles. When it came time for me to shoot I just �borrowed� one of my own rifles. The following weekend I was hunting antelope hunting with my son-in-law and was carrying my heavy 6.5-06AI. I got antelope both weekends but have to say I�d let others carry my rifles every time if I had the choice.

Carry a 9-pound rifle if you want to, I�d prefer lighter.

26 pages of "My rifle is better than yours" "I walk 100 miles uphill in and out of hunting camp" "My rifle can shoot 2 miles" "My rifle can't shoot 50 yards, so I have to be a good hunter to get real close" Bla bla blaaa...

What a bucket load of testosterone. I knew there were lots of guys on here that could do it all, but 26 pages???

I carry what I want and shoot what I want and enjoy shooting my game where ever I find it. A 30 BAR for rabbits or an M-1 Garand for elk, I know I follow the least line of resistance in every case. I have success and don't care about teansy rifles or big guns, besides that is why I had kids, so they could do all the work...

Our ancestors invented the wheel and I will use it to carry a rifle if I have to. I do have a set of skis as an accessory.

After going nearly a year unable to walk unaided due to a bad injury, I'm working very hard to get back to my pre-injury fitness level. One thing I've since learned through rehab, for every 1-pound of extra weight you haul up into the mountains, you will add about 4-pounds of extra weight and stress onto your knee joint. I've read studies that indicate this weight can be further aplified during times of jumping and running to equate to as much as 8-pounds of extra weight on your knee joint for every 1-pound of added gear. Just using the static numbers, a person who reduced their gear weight by 10-pounds would be subject to a total of 48,000 less pounds of pressure and stress on the knee joint for every mile hiked.

I really didn't care before, but now I look at my rifles like I look at a good pack or a good pair of boots. I want the rifle to perform as needed, but I do not want the rifle to weigh more in unnecessary extra pounds if it is not needed for the task at hand. Too many good choices in rifles today without having to resort to humping a lead pipe all over the mountains.

Best

GaryVA -

Good luck on your rehab. During the last several years my wife has had a hip and two shoulder replacements (due to leukemia treatments) so I know how the hard the road back can be.

My hunting buddy would be crazy to want to carry a 9 pound rifle, too. Diabetes has left him with shoulder joint damage and he had shoulder surgery a couple years ago. He is not back to where he was physically and it is not likely he ever will be.

Should my hunting buddy "stay home and oil your rifles. or road hunt........ " as suggested above? As far as I'm concerned, "Hell, no!" We will still be hunting elk together in early November and if we succeed we will figure a way to get the meat out, even though he probably can't lift a quarter onto his shoulder any more.

Hope you get back in the field soon. I'd be interested in knowing what you choose to carry when you do.

Thats funny roundoak

I never worry much about rifle weight, hell I may pick-up 5 lbs of mud on my boots

Gunner

Just looking at pictures posted..Damn...Everyone carries way more than they need..Looks like some intend to get lost/run out of bullets and have to survive for weeks on end....

And 16 ounces of rifle weight is to much.....


Jayco

When you hunt more than a few steps from your truck, it very well may be.

You should try it and see.

Me thinks the key here is that people carry "what they feel they need" not what you feel that they need...

This isn't a one size fits all world. We don't pick out what we feel others should do for work, or what others should look for in a lady or what people should drive for a rig so why on earth would someone judge what others choose to carry..? If you were carrying it for them then I could underforstand the concern. However, it aint working that way.

Just the way I see it.

Dober

Maybe that was a little sarcastic but the fact remains 16 ounces of rifle weight is nothing compared to what things some people carry they do not need.

I think to many people read to much and take these silly list from the net as golden on what a hunter should have with him but doesn't need.

It's like spending thousands for Rifles/scopes/binoculars/clothing/food/outfitters then choose a box of K-Mart bullets to kill what there after without a clue how tough some animals are at different angles.

Yeah..Read the net and K-Mart bullets work just fine and sometimes they do but not all the time.

Just the way I see it.

Jayco

Add 1 pound per boot and get back to me.

I've done my last 2 mountain hunts with my 8.5lb 338rum this eason. Didn't kill me, but I felt it a little on the shoulder after the 6ish miles and 4k of elevation I was either ascending or descending. (2k each way, no trail)

One reason for carrying a heavy rifle is reach.

If you don't use a lot of reach then maybe you don't need a lot of rifle weight.

For me I am kind of wimpy and also don't shoot well so a little extra weight in the rifle helps me with a little extra reach and really doesn't hurt my limited hill climbing ability all that much.

Everyone has to find the right balance between reach and portability and while this might be a shocker to some the right balance for some is not the right balance for others. Who would have thunk it.

As the years add up, the same weight isn't the same, no matter how much you train. There was a time I carried a standard grade pre-64 and thought little of it. I train considerably more today than I did back then.

Steelhead and John Burns also make valid points.

However, today I wear a heavier boot than I did back then. My standard boot today is pretty much the Meldel Perfects which are heavier than those I wore 20years ago. Reason being the arch support is so much better, that at the end of the day my legs are stronger, but if I didn't need the support that boot wouldn't be my first choice for a Grouse hunt.

Once you have gone light and it satisfies your "reach" not many will be all that enthusiastic to add a couple extra pounds of rifle weight just to prove they can. I've been there and seen that light.

To the original question, I doubt any of us would be all that enthralled about a 3pound hat.

Broke 50 this year, and had been putting in Dr Schols work pads, (with the gel) for a few years now.

I get out and way back more often on foot then horses anymore. Leaving in the :am for 3-day in GMU #18, in fact!

At first I thought I was giving in to a weakness with the pads, maybe I am, but they help give the boot support design a little more help. And tend to help roll the boot flex with the punches a little more in real rocky terrain.

With two boot pads and a slightly compressed (heavier) load of slow burning powder, can I still hunt from a semi with my same ol lighter rifle, if I leave like say an apple and a candy bar in camp?