Average/preferred whitetail rifle weight for blind/stand hunting

[BooneHunter]

i think a 16" barrel with a heavier profile and a can is ideal. spent most of my life hunting from a stand with a 300 win mag and 24" barrel, but now use a short 350 legend with a can and results have been just as good.

 

[Boarmaster]

I am similar, but do not use a climber anymore. I am not as steady as I was in my 30s. Last time using a climber, I had to shimmy down the tree about 10 ft when the bottom slipped on me.

I’m 63, 6’1” 325 lbs so I ain’t no ballerina myself. I had that happen to me in the early 90s. My newer climbers have a safety strap that connects the two pieces to prevent that.
They are big and stable.

 

[Rich M]

Most of my rifles are around 7#, 20-22 inch barrels. Rifle = 7#, scope = 1.5#, so 8.5#.

Deer hunting from a stand - use what you got.

@USAF Ret - climbing stands come with a rope that connects to the bottom half of stand to top half. Keeps em from sliding too far. I've got a Summit Viper and there isn't a more comfortable seat in the woods than that thing while about 15 feet up.

Also - what are you shooting a 308 for if you have a rod in your neck? 243, 350 Legend, 223 all kill deer just fine and hit you with 8-10# less recoil than 308. If you are inside 100 yards I'd say to get a 5# 357 Mag, Ruger M77/357 rifle that has 5# of recoil - it's like shooting a noisy BB gun. I've got one and it is my close up and personal hunting rifle when my wife isn't shooting deer with it.

 

[FLS]

I spent a long morning in the Osceola National Forest getting eaten alive by skeeters, waiting on daylight to see how the hell I was going to get down after my Baker climbing stands platform ratcheted itself to bottom of a long leaf pine. After that, every climber I’ve owned has a tether from the seat to the foot platform.