Hunting with a CVA Optima now which is serviceable but I have decided to upgrade to a Knight.
I was set on the Ultralight until a local shop posted an unfired Mountaineer for sale for $600. The price is extremely tempting but the 2.5 lb weight difference is making me think twice.
I hunt in the midwest for whitetails, but I am getting more into hiking into large pieces of public ground and have been trying to lighten my load. Our terrain is easy but it's often snow covered and cold as hell, meaning bulky clothing and difficult hiking.
The ~$300 difference in price is notable up front, but doesn't really matter in the grand scheme over multiple years of hunting. I feel like that 2.5 lbs would be notable every time I picked it up.
I know the heavy gun will shoot softer (and has 3" more pipe) which might make a fun long range M/L project, but those shots are quite rare in my area. I could snag the Mountaineer this week and probably hunt with it this season, but I'd wait on an Ultralight until next year to find a good deal and get it shipped to me.
What do you guys think?
I was set on the Ultralight until a local shop posted an unfired Mountaineer for sale for $600. The price is extremely tempting but the 2.5 lb weight difference is making me think twice.
I hunt in the midwest for whitetails, but I am getting more into hiking into large pieces of public ground and have been trying to lighten my load. Our terrain is easy but it's often snow covered and cold as hell, meaning bulky clothing and difficult hiking.
The ~$300 difference in price is notable up front, but doesn't really matter in the grand scheme over multiple years of hunting. I feel like that 2.5 lbs would be notable every time I picked it up.
I know the heavy gun will shoot softer (and has 3" more pipe) which might make a fun long range M/L project, but those shots are quite rare in my area. I could snag the Mountaineer this week and probably hunt with it this season, but I'd wait on an Ultralight until next year to find a good deal and get it shipped to me.
What do you guys think?