What are we sacrificing?

[gigajoe]

I'm currently building a custom off of a tikka t3x, my first hunting rifle. I love this forum for its user's vast scope of knowledge and experience, but one thing keeps irking me a bit. I see all these posts about I'd hunt with an 8lb but not a 10lb rifle etcetera but at the same time I see other posts claiming that a heavier rifle is more comfortable and accurate to be behind. My question is this. What are we sacrificing by being a weight weenie? Money? Accuracy? Why? I used to race bikes so I can definitely understand the mindset but there seems to be so much sacrificial loss over a couple pounds at the expense of accuracy. Is there a benefit of having a heavier and higher quality more accurate build and just being stronger and more fit to go into the field with it?

 

[jhm2023]

The short answer: For the true backcountry hunter, you carry a rifle more than you shoot it. Like 50+ miles carried for one shot. For the average person this won't really matter.

The longer answer: Weight isn't the only deciding factor of accuracy. If all is equal except weight, the heavier gun can be easier to shoot. At the same time I can hand a novice shooter a heavy rifle with a hot garbage design of a stock and a super obnoxiously loud brake, and also hand them a well designed ultralight with an appropriately matched cartridge, and they will shoot the lighter gun better. Add a lightweight efficient suppressor to the mix and tame some of the recoil and bring that muzzle blast way down and watch the flinch go way down and accuracy increase. There's definitely a bell curve to money spent to ounces saved.

 

[Mojave]

What is backcountry to you?

How overweight are you? It is much more work to lose 20-30 pounds of body mass, than to lose a pound on a gun.

 

[Slick8]

^^^ I agree with the above but if you need to lose 20-30 pounds are you truly a back country hunter.

I'm in decent shape for 54, perhaps just a little above average. As a flat lander that could certainly lose a few lb's I consider 5-6 miles per day round trip in mountains as all the "back country" I want to get. I also consider being able to do that 5-7 days straight with scouting and having the ability to pack out game.

I have one lightweight now in 7 SAUM and was on the 5.5-6 lb. rifle kick for a while. Partly as it allowed me to run a heavier full function scope and still have a decently weighted rifle.

I have a 338 RUM due in shortly that will be closer to 10 pounds scoped and definitely subscribe to the theory that I could drop 2-3 pound of the ole middle muscle to compensate for the rifle.

 

[Slick8]

There's definitely a bell curve to money spent to ounces saved.

I agreed with all said above but this is so true; guns, bows, tents, boots, golf clubs, race cars, boats...you name it extreme performance or weight will cost and when you hit that point of diminishing returns it goes up exponentially.

 

[HingleMcCringleberry]

It's pole vaulting over mouse turds....paralysis by analysis.....mental mastur......you get the idea.

I'm guilty of having worried about the weight of my gun. Now I just go hunt. I've determined I shoot better with rifle that is 8 to 10 pounds. Anything lighter is more difficult to shoot from field positions Anything heavier is....heavier. Luckily that weight is common with most factory rifle setups. If I only had a 13lb gun and had to hunt with it, I would.

Don't let weight be a barrier to getting out and hunting.

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Been playing the game for like 5-6 years. Just starting to really figure out what works for me.

The only time I’ve truly felt like damn this rifle is heavy, was when going to where the sheep live. Only time.

My .308 as a 12 1/2 lb rifle made ragged hole groups.

The .308 in a lightweight tiny stock would only edge around the bullseye.

Depends what you’re after. It ruins my entire everything when I’m not shooting the best I can. Usually that means a tad heavier of a platform for me.

 

[Pony Soldier]

I have two rifles - same caliber, same type but one weighs 1 lb less. Until I saw this weight focus on the forum, I never even weighed them. What the attraction was of one over the other was fit. The balance and the feel just matches me. I have a third that is 2 lbs lighter that I use as backup - occasionaly- but I am still attracted to the fit of the first one.

I rotate them around at times for luck but still find myself back to the first one for the feel.

 

[5MilesBack]

When I was young, we used what we had for any and all gear and that's what it was.......weight be damned. We packed a tent that was probably 15+lbs and our rolled up sleeping bags were bigger than our loaded packs. My rifle was also heavy by today's standards, but we didn't know anything else. We loved every minute of that.......well, except for the cold. Sometimes not knowing what you don't know.......or not caring......is bliss.

 

[Unckebob]

The most accurate hunting rifle I have ever had, was a Kimber Hunter in .243. The first (IMO the most important) shot was always dead nuts on the point of aim during range tests. The next 2 were sub moa every time. It was perfect for hunting.

But, it had a pencil barrel unsuited for long strings of fire.

For practice, I use a heavy rifle in a chassis. It takes a a lot of shots to really heat up the heavy barrel.

 

[hereinaz]

It’s always tradeoffs.

When you sift through comments, you have to look at people talking about weight and then look at the variables. Weight is only one part of the equation in the tradeoff in a rifle build.

Weight matters, but the cost for losing every pound is higher depending on the recoil level of the cartridge because it takes much greater skill to manage a lightweight and high recoiling rifle.

I shoot these rifles about the same suppressed: my 7mm mag around 12 pounds, my 25 ma/6.5 creed at around 9, and my 6mm around 7.

If I want to go lighter, then I pick a smaller caliber.

 

[mitchparker1980]

I also used to competitively ride mtn bikes and was a weight weenie.

Diminishing returns and a rifle to suit your purposes.

If I was going on a backcountry hunt, I'd want the lightest weight rifle possible. I would happily exchange light weight for a tiny bit (maybe) of accuracy | and a light weight rifle is "technically" as accurate as anything if we are shooting in a vacuum...but, we do not - so a light weight rifle isn't as stable, gets blown around by the wind, etc., etc.,

A bull barrel (Sendero) rifle is quite heavy. Heavy makes it absorb recoil and offers a more stable platform...but, I sure would not want to drag one around on a backcountry hunt. But, they are amazing if you hunt out of deer blind, where you park your truck (usually) within a few hundred yards of the blind.

Then there is the middle ground. Kind of the jack of all - master of none. It does everything well, but isn't as light as a backcountry rifle (so not as light to drag around) and kicks more than a Sendero type rifle, but is lighter.

This is why I have a Sendero type rifle for hunting West Texas (out of tower blind) and I also have a light rifle for chasing Speed Goats (lots and lots of walking). My next might be the "in-betweener", just because.

 

[mtwarden]

With practice, you can learn to shoot a lighter rifle. The accuracy “trade off” between light and heavy rifles for hunting in the field is of much less concern than say benchrest shooting at a range.

If a person likes a heavier rifle, that’s fine— personally I’ve become fond of light rifles for hunting.

 

[manitou1]

^^^ I agree with the above but if you need to lose 20-30 pounds are you truly a back country hunter.

I'm in decent shape for 54, perhaps just a little above average. As a flat lander that could certainly lose a few lb's I consider 5-6 miles per day round trip in mountains as all the "back country" I want to get. I also consider being able to do that 5-7 days straight with scouting and having the ability to pack out game.

I have one lightweight now in 7 SAUM and was on the 5.5-6 lb. rifle kick for a while. Partly as it allowed me to run a heavier full function scope and still have a decently weighted rifle.

I have a 338 RUM due in shortly that will be closer to 10 pounds scoped and definitely subscribe to the theory that I could drop 2-3 pound of the ole middle muscle to compensate for the rifle.

Yeah, I am of the same page. I am putting together a shooter that will end up being a hair over ten lbs. I want a good ergonomic stock, adjustable cheek piece, a thicker barrel and steadiness.
I bird hunted for years with heavier double guns and always outshot my cohorts.

I need to lose my winter "storage" anyway!

I also have a tendency to kill game beyond 600 yards.

 

[StupidLightweight]

As a rifle nut with too many lightweight rifles, my best advice is the "three don'ts."

--Don't ever weigh your rifle
--Don't ever pack a lighter rifle because it's hard to go back to heavier guns
--Don't go too heavy (10+ pounds) and don't go too light (sub-6 pounds)

It's that simple.