Just curious as to what is considered as a heavy hunting rifle. I know that there is a difference between what you would pack into the mountains vs just still hunting. I have a 8.4 lb 6.5 Creedmoor Savage and a 9 lb even 280AI Ruger M77. Both are loaded weight. Never considered either too heavy and I’m an avid still hunter/stalker.

I think 9# is a lot for a hunting rifle. But it is pleasant on the bench though.

9 lbs is what I consider an upper limit for a rifle that I am going to pack a lot. It isn't that hard to put a rifle on a diet if you need to shave some weight and most can get down to 8 lbs or less without too much trouble.
Depending on the type of action, getting down below 7 lbs can get a little pricey.

Anything over 8 for me.
Most mine are 7- 71/2 one just steps over 6, I like hunting with that one.

x2

Heavy for a hunting rifle: 10-11 pounds +. Light, to me, would be sub 8 pounds all up...

I remember as a youngster hunting all day long with a 8lbs plus rifle and not a care in the world. Now days you mention 8 lb rifle and people look at you like you just ph ucked there mom.

My heaviest is the 700 BDL 8 mm RM. It’s 8# 12 oz. that weight levels the recoil to a
managable push.

My T3X Lite SS 7 mm RM is 7# 9 oz. with scope. Love it’s weight and balance.
My T 3 Lite SS 270 Win is 7# 6 oz. with scope.

I won’t carry 9+ lbs all up UNLESS it’s 375 or 416 RM. I don’t need but want one.

A word to the wise from personal experience. If you’re used to carrying 8-10 lb rifles
DONT get one @ 7-71/2 lbs. it’ll RUIN you. Seriously.

Jerry

Most of my rifles range from 6 1/4 lbs for a Kimber with a heavy scope on it up to 7 3/4 for a couple of others. The heaviest is a Tikka CTR that is about 8.5 lbs., but I don't foresee using it as a hunting rifle. I CAN and have carried heavier rifles. But choose not to. I find somewhere between 7 -7.5 lbs scoped is about perfect. Once I get closer to 6 lbs I can tell that I don't shoot as well, but don't shoot anything heavier than 8 lbs any better. 30-06 is the hardest kicking rifle I own.

For Me a bare rifle that weighs more than 7lbs is getting hefty...I like my rifle's to hit around 6-6.5lbs bare.... .300 Win is My favorite cartridge but I am also partial to the .300 WSM and 30-06.......Hb

VaHillbilly, by "bare", do you mean with or without scope? RJ

HA! You stole the words right out of my mouth.. My 338 hovers around 9lbs all up, sometimes less, sometimes more depending on the mounts I have on it and the scope, but I can't remember it ever slowing me down in the mountains chasing elk... My Mashburn is an 8.5lb rifle as it sits and feels about the same and that is another that feels fine to me.

Under 7 is light and over 8 is heavy. This is in ready to hunt condition.
Because I do a lot of carrying, and I don’t own any hard kicking magnums, I don’t mind light but steer away from heavy.

Something 40 inches or less is nice if I plan on getting dirty, but a little bit longer rifle is nice for nore precision and less noise.

If I was to add a 45-70 it’d be on the heavy side, most likely with a longish barrel. But I wouldn’t carry it around a bunch or try and get through any briar patches with it.

Me too! I appreciate lighter ones but have no problem with heavier. Heck in my younger years I think my cheapo 12 GA pump I lugged around weighed like 9.5 lbs.

anything over 8 1/2 lbs scoped is heavy for me. The rifle I have that weighs that Sako 75 balances perfectly so it is a non issue

10lbs ain’t nothing, it’s on your shoulders. You aren’t carrying it in your hands. I like a little weight.

Those are about 2.5 pounds too heavy IMO.

Ive found 7 1/2 pounds to be my just right weight scoped loaded and sling. Anything over 8 1/2 pounds now seems heavy.

People that hunt with them do.

My bolt rifles tend to run about 8.3 pounds scoped. Heavier than that I don't need or want when humping the hills.


Love my .308W Ruger Scout with irons at 6.25 pounds and irons. Comes in at 7 lbs with the Vortex Scout scope. Carries great.

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

More than 12 #..

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.