Who hunts with a 10lb+ rifle?

[General RE LEE]

My 6 ARC Howa Mini with a 22” sporter barrel, B&C M40 stock, Banish Backcountry, Burris Veracity PH scope and 5 rounds in mag is 9.5 lbs. Allows for easy spotting of hits.

 

[waspocrew]

I’d have to weigh them, but most of my rifles are 10 lbs or more.

 

[fletch3742]

currently building a sub 9 lbs, the scope is my last issue to solve. probably a swarovski Z5 for low weight/good glass. will try it for awhile. current rifle is 11.7 and gets heavy on the arms on a long/high elevation spot/stalk. a lot of people say, don't worry about the weight, just get rid of something in the backpack... but it's the weight carrying around in the arms i'm try to reduce.

 

[danhuntingmi]

I do. I've even hunted with it in Idaho. Heavier guns are easier to shoot well whether or not they are more inherently accurate.

I get the idea around lighter rifles, but the benefit is highly exaggerated. People talk as if a rifle over 10 lbs and you'll collapse from exhaustion and heat stroke after 200 yards, writhe around on the ground, and pray for death. Yet almost everyone has more weight than that in their pack and on their belly

 

[wyosam]

I do. I've even hunted with it in Idaho. Heavier guns are easier to shoot well whether or not they are more inherently accurate.

I get the idea around lighter rifles, but the benefit is highly exaggerated. People talk as if a rifle over 10 lbs and you'll collapse from exhaustion and heat stroke after 200 yards, writhe around on the ground, and pray for death. Yet almost everyone has more weight than that in their pack and on their belly

I think it’s a bigger issue if you carry in hand a lot. Much like people who use a gun bearer probably don’t like a great big parallax knob (or windage for that matter). I can’t imagine carrying a 10 pound rifle for most hunts. Moose wouldn’t be bad, but also not much need to carry extra weight to hit roughly the broad side of a barn at 100 yards more effectively.


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[sierracharlie338]

I think 10 is the sweet spot for me as well. I have a rifle that’s right at 10 pounds and just seem to enjoy it the most

I have also hunted with a 17ish+ pound rifle and that was pretty brutal even in the Texas hill country.

 

[danhuntingmi]

I think it’s a bigger issue if you carry in hand a lot. Much like people who use a gun bearer probably don’t like a great big parallax knob (or windage for that matter). I can’t imagine carrying a 10 pound rifle for most hunts. Moose wouldn’t be bad, but also not much need to carry extra weight to hit roughly the broad side of a barn at 100 yards more effectively.


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I'm not telling anyone they need to carry a heavy rifle. Carrying a rifle for a long time in hand is more common amongst woodland still hunters,.which isn't exactly the most common tactic of the 21st century.

Regardless, it's an exaggeration to think that 2 lbs on a rifle is 20 lbs anywhere else. This is how some people talk about it.

It depends on how you hunt and how closely you are counting your ounces and pounds.

 

[mj23polaris]

12lbs, take it everywhere, almost no recoil with a gunwerks 2 port

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[Q_Sertorius]

Hunting in the Virginia mountains - which I know isn’t the same game as Way Out West - I always carried my 10.8 pound .25-06. I’d routinely carry it for 6-8 hours of still hunting. I shot the barrel out this year (the rifle was second hand with a barrel from September 1974), and the new one wasn’t ready before the season, so I had to carry something else. My CZ 527 in 6.5 Grendel was a lot handier, but it didn’t balance the same way.


“Keep on keepin’ on…”

 

[peaceful_ruler]

I'm here after just perusing the "What's your rifle weigh?" thread in The Lightweight Zone. The posts range from 300 magnums that weigh less than 6#'s to 6.5 CMs that weigh over 12.

The right tool for the job is important, obviously, but balance and diminishing returns need to be considered more IMO. I can't imagine the recoil of a 6# 300 WSM, yikes! At the same time, carrying a 12# gun up a mountain doesn't sound fun or practical either. Do you ONLY hunt in steep terrain and on the move and ONLY shoot out to 400 yards? By all means, IF you can shoot it accurately use a 6# rifle. But does it HAVE to be a 300 magnum?

Or, do you ONLY hunt from a stationary position with stable and ergonomical shooting platforms and OFTEN need to be able to reach out to 600 yards? Absolutely, bring a 12# rifle. But please, don't have it chambered in 6.5 CM if it's anything larger than a 200 something pound deer.

It's about playing the ballistic game...my point with the extreme examples I gave above...is the rarity of being in either scenario. Btw, both examples I gave(6# 300 WSM's and 12# 6.5 CM's) are real examples from the first page of the thread I referred too.

What about a little bit of common sense and balance? At the end of the day, you can only shoot one rifle at a time and if you are relying on a second shot you really shouldn't take the first. Give me an 8-10# bolt rifle chambered in 7mm-08 through 30-06 range of calibers and it will effectively cover 90% of scenarios of 90% of hunters out there. Probably more.

Moderate recoil. Moderate weight of gun. Moderate price of ammo and gun. Moderate bullet frontal diameter and moderate BC. Better than average barrel life and more efficient moderate barrel lengths.

I run two big game rigs. If I find myself more often to be in the mobile hunting scenarios I grab my 8# 280 Remington. If I'm more likely to be stationary and/or shooting long I'll bring my 10# 280 AI.

BTW, the 280 Remington is easily capable of 1500 fpe at 500 yards. Let's not try to compensate for poor accuracy with bigger....well, we all know that guy!

 

[JohnJohnson]

But please, don't have it chambered in 6.5 CM if it's anything larger than a 200 something pound deer.

I'll link some threads where you can either learn more or just go to have a good ol' argument if you like. That way this thread doesn't end up like 50 others that have been de-railed by this topic.

.223 for bear, mountain goat, deer, elk, and moose.

DON'T HAVE TIME TO READ 176 PAGES? HERE'S THE CHEAT SHEET. “Bullets matter more than headstamps.” “Spent primers offer the supreme tutorial”. I’ve read it here and elsewhere online. It got my attention. I started digging and asking questions and listened. The 77gr TMK delivered by a .223...

rokslide.com

6mm /.243 hunting success on Big Game

With the success of .223 and 6.5 threads on big game, thought I’d throw this one into the mix. Show and detail your results harvesting big game (deer, bear, elk, moose, African game) using 6mm/.243 cartridges. Please detail bullet, MV, impact velocity, and whether hand load or factory ammo.

rokslide.com

6.5 Creedmoor on Elk?

I recently just purchased a Bergara B-14. Haven’t shot it much besides breaking the barrel in. I’m just curious as I’ve watched a lot of videos on the ol’ youtube of some guys claiming 6.5 cm is a large enough caliber to bag Elk and others claiming not. I was wondering what were your guys’...

rokslide.com

 

[peaceful_ruler]

But please, don't have it chambered in 6.5 CM if it's anything larger than a 200 something pound deer.

The context of this phrase was a long distance capable/dedicated sniper rig. Can it work? Sure. Is it an ideal cartridge choice for large game at long distances? Not even close...

Context my friend!

 

[greyghostnw]

Ten pounds is the sweet spot for my 300 rum. Thats with everything including 10 rounds of ammo on board. Shoots amazing and i carry it in hand from truck to truck all high country. Usually 5k up to ridge and go from there. I wouldn’t want it lighter I’ve experimented and its current lay out is just right. Spot shots, settles nicely, dont notice it much in hand. etc…. I think cartridge specific counts as well though and its intended use and accuracy expectations….My timber rifle certainly isnt ten pounds… Good luck.

 

[OK Shooter]

Very new to long range shooting. I keep reading that a heavy rifle is easier to get steady.

Is there really a noticeable difference between say a 8 pound rifle and a 10 pound rifle?

I would think you would have to add really significant weight, like 5 plus pounds for it to even be noticeably steadier?

 

[peaceful_ruler]

Very new to long range shooting. I keep reading that a heavy rifle is easier to get steady.

Is there really a noticeable difference between say a 8 pound rifle and a 10 pound rifle?

I would think you would have to add really significant weight, like 5 plus pounds for it to even be noticeably steadier?

Going from 8 to 10 pounds is a 20% increase in mass…that’s pretty significant. Going from 6 to 8 pounds is even more significant because that’s a 33% increase. Conversely, going from 12 to 14 pounds will be less noticeable. the law of diminishing returns

 

[OK Shooter]

Very interesting, never thought of it that way.

 

[huntnful]

Going from 8 to 10 pounds is a 20% increase in mass…that’s pretty significant. Going from 6 to 8 pounds is even more significant because that’s a 33% increase. Conversely, going from 12 to 14 pounds will be less noticeable. the law of diminishing returns

I like that you put it this way. I went from a 14lb 300 Norma to a 12lb 300 Norma and the additional recoil wasn’t a deal break by any means. I decided the extra 2lbs wasn’t quite worth it.

New rifle is 8.25 without the scope. Should come in around 10.5lbs scoped. And then wear a 20oz bipod. Perfect weight IMO

 

[peaceful_ruler]

Every one has a different recoil tolerance level. Personally, the 30-06 family of cartridges can be about 7# minimum weight for me to shoot well. Magnums more like 8# and Creedmoors more like 6.

 

[GoatPackr]

Recoil tolerance is a small piece of the pie. Gun movement from recoil and time it takes to be back on target for potential follow up and spotting shots is the biggest part of the equation.
For me seeing where the animal went after I pulled the trigger on the big recoil rifle sucked. By the time I moved the rifle back the animal was either laying dead behind a log or run off in the bush. Either way I had no way of knowing what happened without a spotter.
Smaller guns, shorter barrels even if lighter weight is new to me but I'm digging it.

 

[General RE LEE]

Hunting fields, deer often run back into the woods if they don’t drop in the field. I have had to track a few and being able to see where they entered woods after the hit is important. Much easier to watch in the scope with a light recoiling rifle vs the having to see what happened from a hard kicking gun.