How heavy is too heavy for you?

[Slick8]

Anyone ever notice that somehow a 7lb rifle is a wand while a 5lbs bow is a boat anchor?

At any rate, mission drives the gear. I walk about 4-500 yards to my blind on private land, and sit for the rest of the day. So I have no problem toting my AR in 450 Bushmaster that, while I don't know off the top of my head, has to be in the 13-14lbs range or so. Nothing I would carry out west, but works fine in the Michigan woods

The other thing I'll mention is that on a "real" hunting trip aka camping so everything is on your back, there is more than one way to skin a cat. You can have a 9 lbs gun vs a 6lbs one if say your bag and tent are ultralight, since it's really the total load out that matters, not any individual piece


YMMV

Agreed, most of my hunting in Texas involves a 4-800 yard walk to the stand. Some people insist on dropping you off at the stand.

I have no issues carring my 8 pound 7 saum or 16 pound 6 Dasher. No sling just balanced on top of my shoulder safari style.

Im fortunate to make one or two trips a year to NM where I may walk 2 miles in a day or 8 depending on what Im doing. Then the rifle is loaded in my pack for long walks and slung for short ones.

 

[Slick8]

The gram must be eves dropping on my post not just conversations.

This popped up after posting the above, looks pretty cool and will have the weight carried on the hips.

View this content on Instagram

View this content on Instagram

 

[camping1601]

Where the rifle balances is far more critical than the overall weight. If two 8# rifles are the same with the exception one balances at the front of the bottle metal and the other at the rear action screw.....there's a huge difference in how they'll handle, both shouldering and recoil.

I always ask, what's the budget, what do you want it to weigh using what parts and where do you want it to balance......many times the recipe ends up with a silly barrel length or contour to meet those goals.

I fluted the barrel on my Tikka and it carried noticeably better in hand.

 

[Davyalabama]

Grassin, as long as you can move that gun silently and with little movement, there is nothing wrong with carrying that gun. I take it, you are probably shooting a larger caliber and want the weight for recoil? I'm with you, I don't walk that far either, so ounces don't matter to me. I shoot a magnum caliber, I'm not into saving ounces and loosing fillings.

You mentioned PRS, do you shoot matches, or do you just shoot a lot personally?

20+ lbs, no, I'm not going to lug that much around. Now, let's say I have several big shooting houses with very nice substantial windowsills that are very well supported and all I have to do is get in the house, open the window, lay the big gun up there on a tripod and wait for him to come out, that is an entirely different scenario.

Here it is in a nutshell, if you can shoot your gun efficiently, kill animals with it and handle it in the hunting you do, and the gun still works, I wouldn't change rifles one bit!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I don't change unless it is warranted, not because some youtube wannabe hunter or salesman came up with the next latest and greatest. A quality rifle, cartridge/bullet and accessories are going to put that round exactly where you decide it is going to go. Yes, there are a few variables, but those are on you too.

I'm not sure I could handle a long, heavy 18+lb gun easily in a small ground blind much less a tree stand or sitting on the ground, now that's just me. I know I don't have the strength for it. I use one rifle, I know it and it knows me. We've been together longer than my wife and I. "Dance with the one the brung ya."

 

[WCB]

Did you try to make the gun heavy? 10lbs would be my cut off for a hunting set up unless maybe hunting a box blind with a short walk. But Im not touching anything in the mid teens for actual field use.

I just weighed my two heaviest set up rifles. Savage .223 Varminter with full aluminum bedding rail 26" varmint barrel with a 4-20 scope. 12lbs. great for Pdogs.

Savage High Country 6.5crd with a Weaver Tactical 2-10x right at 10lbs (my go to gun right now).

I don't care if it is a 300yard walk Im not carrying an 18lb rifle.

 

[Yoder]

Instead of spending crazy money trying to find the lightest gear, I would just hit the stair climber and start rucking more.

 

[WoolyBugger]

I hunted the January antler less season in NE Iowa with a 15.5 lb Bergara hmr. What @Yoder said, being in good shape lets you worry about more important things than gun weight.

 

[JCMCUBIC]

Almost everything I hunt is mountain sides. I usually have a pretty good hike in. I'm fit. I don't have a cutoff weight for rifles...but the rifles I use most are 7.5 or less scoped.

I'd be scared to see the amount I've spent on rifles/stocks/scopes over the last 20 years. None of it was because of "need". I enjoy rifles, enjoy shooting, and love hunting. There's worse ways to spend money.

I should sell a few that haven't been used in a while though...

 

[SloppyJ]

@grassassin where you at? I hunt the Ozarks too.

I have some lightweight stuff but I'm a big enough dude where some weight doesn't bother me. I wouldnt take my 28lb prs rig out there as my first choice but I could make it work. If I'm under 12lb with a full mag, scope, and suppressor, I'm good.

 

[manitou1]

At 64 yrs old I would prefer a bit lighter but all my rifles are tipping the scales around ten pounds, give or take a few oz, mostly due to long range optics.

I live and hunt the mountain West and at my age I TRY to keep my kills within a two mile pack out.

That being said, it is very rare that I hunt less than a mile from the truck for mulies or elk. Antelope are a different story.

 

[7RemMag]

Between all the rifles my father and I have(along with my sister), virtually any centerfire runs in the 5-7 or MAYBE 8 pounds. Much more than that gets a little too cumbersome. dial turning scopes. Typically 4-16x magnification or thereabouts. No bipods. Parallax adjustment maybe. Carry with just a regular old sling. Balance certainly is a factor in “felt” weight in my opinion. My Dad’s Model 70 7 Rem Mag and my Howa 1500 are within ounces in weight, but his carries on the shoulder(or in the hands) way nicer. My current “lightweight” rifle is a Mark V “Live Wild” in .280 AI, and it handles beautifully. I think that setup is around 6 lbs.

 

[eaglemountainman]

Eight years ago, a buddy had me heft a Kimber Montana that he had just acquired. That was it for me. I don't carry heavy rifles afield anymore. My no-brainer, do everything, kill everything, go-to rifle since then has been a Montana in 7-08 wearing 2-7X33 glass. With 3 rounds, total weight is 6 lb .7oz.

 

[PaulB84]

It's not like ultralight doesn't have its own set of problems either. I've seen more scopes,( some crap, some very high quality) wrecked on ultralight rifles in modest calibers. You'll also usually find those rifles heat up and twist/shift badly after 2-3 shots. Not an issue in a dedicated hunting rig, but obnoxious at the range when you have to wait minutes between shots to ensure consistency

There's no free lunch in physics