Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Light weight bolt action rifles...

Optimum rifle weight depends on details. A big detail is how big and strong you are.

When I was a kid the heavy rifles were a burden for me. Then as I got stronger and in my 20's a Featherweight was just right for big game hunting on the hills.

These days as a senior I have the new lightweights for walking. However I still use the heavier rifles when close to the car.

Third from the top is my first Featherweight. A M99!

I'm accurate as a SOB with a 7.5 on up rifle, I still hunt.

If you stand hunt maybe its different, but I don't care for lighter than 7 rifles.

Just wondering, what is the weight difference between, say, a McWoody and a walnut stock of the same shape and size?

Hard to say since walnut varies so widely in density and hence weight.

Once you get below a certain weight, you have some diminishing returns. 6.5-7lb all up is about right for me. 7.5-8 wouldn't slow me down much at all.


Chasing ounces gets expensive and doesn't matter as much as other things. If a guy thinks he can climb a big hill and kill a big critter because he has bought all the newest, latest and greatest lightweight gear, then he'll be in for a nice surprise.

As said it is pretty hard to nail down. Most of the wood stocks I've weighed off common bolt rifles ran between 32-36 oz. One standard fill McMillan I have (Win FWT) is 30 oz. They advertise 32 oz on averge. My Edge stocks run 22-23 oz. There are other after market stocks weighing as little as 16 oz.

Just for reference the plastic tupperware stocks I've weighed tend to be the same as walnut and are often slighly heavier. Most of the cheaper synthetics such as B&C and Hogue are much heavier than wood,some weighing 40-48 oz.

Yup. It�s not so much that toting a heavier rifle is bad, it is just that a lighter rifle IS nicer in some situations. I have back packed with a 9.5 lbs CZ, next trip an 8 lb Win. �featherweight�, then I pieced together a 7 lb 700. This was a natural progression and learning curve�I do think when you get to about 6.5 lbs things start to lean to the negative. There can be too much of a good thing�.

I was not miserable backpacking my 9.5 lb rifle, but the 7 lb rifle is just nicer on a mountain. Use the tool appropriate for the task. It makes the job more enjoyable.

I've been using a Weatherby Ultralight in 30-06 a lot these days, much better than the Accumark I was carrying!

My go-to rifle these days is a Kimber Montana .308. With a Leupold 2.5-8X aboard in Talley mounts, it's 6 pounds, just add ammo.

Sometimes I get a little frustrated with it since it doesn't shoot with some of my heavier bolt actions but keeping things in perspective, it's a pound lighter than a lever action .30-30 before optics and it sure as [bleep] shoot circles around those.

Cost, on the Kimber, is on par with some of the higher end Remington factory rifles. It's no loss-leader, but its no bank-breaker either.

Tom

I like ultralight no matter what kind of hunting I'm doing. The 1st shot is the one that counts......right?

Once you learn how to shoot a lightweight rifle and then use them a season or two, you will know what the fuss is about. I was a lever fan for many years but converted after using a 338-06 ULW Weatherby, ever since none of my rifles go over 7 lbs all up. I don't hunt high mountains like the guys out west but still hunt and like the gun in my hands instead of on my shoulder especially after going over ridge after ridge or through cedar swamps

I walk a minimum of 6 miles every day of elk season. It's downhill into my elk area, and uphill out. Studly guys don't have to worry about saving weight. Me, not so much. I subscribe to the saying, "Ounces make pounds and pounds make pain."

I love packing a Kimber Montana or a Rem 700 Mtn Guide gun.

I used to hunt with an Accumark in .300 WBY Mag.



Then I figured out I didn't need the velocity or the weight and I switched to this:



Ultra Lightweight in .30-06. Same bullet, 300 ft/sec slower.
Three bulls and a bunch of bucks later I'm glad I made the change.


P

I use 9 pound rifles but find myself hunting more often with a sub 7pounder any more.

I made a heck of a buy on a BAR Grade IV in 7mm magnum on behalf of a family member back in the 70s. The original buyer had bought it for a high country elk hunt. After toting it up and down hill and dale for a week, the almost 10 pounder, all up, went that away. Cousin wanted it for the art work. jack

Yep, a whole lot of different hunting done in WI vs. Western US. I might only cover 10-15+ linear miles round trip in one day hunting elk but it is a lot of up and down just to get there. Take a 9lb rifle, add .5 gal of water, your favorite hunting boots, bino's, rangefinder, compass/gps, maps, some food, knives, sharpening stone, folding bone/tree saw, bivy sack, rain gear, small survival kit, game bags, extra socks, para cord, and dress in layers and I'll bet you are adding close to 30 lbs on your body if not more.

Add in 7000+ feet of elevation and you'll understand the light rifle concept real quick. It doesn't matter how good of shape you are in it will wear on you eventually, especially if you are hunting remotely for a week or longer. When I leave camp I go out expecting to be back but prepared to stay out for 24-48 hours if not longer, weather can come in quick on the mountains so you had better be prepared.

Do it enough, and the body adapts rather remarkably to weight being carried. If the only time you pack weight is hunting season, and don't spend a good deal of time on physical fitness, then yes, you might notice a few extra pounds. But, I seriously doubt that 2lbs is going to be the difference between making it up the mountain or not. If you are that out of shape, then you are going to hurt regardless.

BTW, the "light done right" rifle (Kimber Montana 7wsm) comes in at over 7.5lbs with scope and sling.

But the reality of it is that if you hike a bunch, with weight, then 2 pounds ain't much even if motoring up and down a bunch of hills. It's tossing that 80-120lbs on your back for the hump out that give you strain. If you can't handle a 8lb rifle, then you are really going to struggle with 100lb on your back for the pack out. And, I can't tell the difference between 100lb or 102lbs on my back.

My point being that light rifles are nice... if you can shoot them without needing a special rest or flinching. World of difference for me between shooting my 6.5lb 30-06ti with 155gr Scenar and 7.5lb Custom M7 7Saum and 162 amax. I am much more accurate with the 7.5lb rifle from all positions.

Cowboy,

No your not the only one!

A wise rifleman told me once that,

"He preferred to carry a light rifle but much preferred to shoot a heavier one"!

So...., Is it more important to carry or to shoot the rifle?

...and combined with a lack of oxygen.

It's not a case of "can't" hunt with heavier rifles, it just becomes immediately apparent that they are a better tool for the job. And they shoot just fine.

My hunting is generally either rolling wood hills, grasslands, or mountains. Critters of interest are deer, wolves, black bear, elk, moose, goats, and sheep.

To date my rifles are 8 to 9 lbs. My goto is a 9lb Model 70 in 338wm. So far I have not given it much thought, and yes that is up and down real mountains like the Northern Rocky trench. Last year I made four trips up a mountain with my 338 in a safari sling across my shoulders packing meat all day.

And this is why I pack it everywhere. This was this fall on the same lake I hunt off. He is related to a coworker.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/story/2012/09/24/bc-grizzly-attack-fort-nelson.html

Having said this it doesn't matter what you use it is about getting out there. I personally don't care for levers and short rifles as I find them too short and awkward. And it's not about being a tough guy, one of the guys I hunt with up there is 63, packs an old walnut Parker Hale in 7mmrm and he can out walk me and out pack me - and I'm not a slouch.

If and when I start to notice the weight I'll buy a Kimber Montana in 338 or a NULA 24B in 3006. Shoot what you like and shoot it well.