Who hunts with a 10lb+ rifle?

[OverInfinite]

I carry around a 13lbs savage 12 FV in 22-250 for Javelina and coyotes, and my mountain rifle is a Ruger American Predator in 6.5 CM weighing in at just a hair under 10lbs. Both rifles are so budget friendly and built to be tossed around and scratched.

 

[Hooskerdrew]

Having Ty Shaw at Flatline Precision put together an 11.3-.5lb scoped rifle build as we speak. 300 Norma Mag Improved

BAT vesper action - 26oz
26" Benchmark Med Palma - 68oz
Salmon River SS 4 port brake - 2oz
TS Customs Adjustable KS1 Stock - 42oz
Hawking M5 bottom Metal - 4oz
Hawkings Lapua Hunter Mag - 4oz
Trigger Tech Special - 2oz
ARC M10 rings - 5oz
March FX 4.5-28X52 non illuminated - 28oz

Barreled action with brake weighed in at exactly 6lbs. The rest are all really close estimates.

Did you end up running those M10 rings or switch to the seekins?

 

[huntnful]

Did you end up running those M10 rings or switch to the seekins?

I switched to seekins. Now I have seekins and the Unknown Munitions Premier rings. Both are great.

 

[Hooskerdrew]

I switched to seekins. Now I have seekins and the Unknown Munitions Premier rings. Both are great.

What was your experience with the M10 rings?

 

[JohnJohnson]

What was your experience with the M10 rings?

I have 6-7 sets of the ARC M10 rings and have always loved them. They got re-designed to the M-Brace design now and I have a set of those as well.

 

[Hooskerdrew]

I have 6-7 sets of the ARC M10 rings and have always loved them. They got re-designed to the M-Brace design now and I have a set of those as well.

Copy that, thank you! I haven’t found a ton of feedback on them but what I’ve read has all been great.

 

[huntnful]

What was your experience with the M10 rings?

I wasn’t a fan honestly. Feel much better about a simple 4 screw 20in lb torque on the scope tube instead of a single 65in lb torqued screw.

 

[Hooskerdrew]

I wasn’t a fan honestly. Feel much better about a simple 4 screw 20in lb torque on the scope tube instead of a single 65in lb torqued screw.

Gotcha, thanks man!

 

[huntnful]

Gotcha, thanks man!

No problem dude

 

[Wyoming Nimrod]

I'll be 63 in a month.
Both my go-to rifles are a tad over 10 lbs.
Why? Because they shoot very well and I spend months on end scouting and hunting for a split second shot. It better count.

I can always lose a couple of pounds if it bothers me!

Are light guns nice to carry? Yup. But I do feel the heavier guns shoot much better and allow you to see the shot easier. I like the adjustable LOP and comb and a stock with a flat bottom.

One thing is that today's quality long range rifle scopes are pretty heavy. If you want a durable, reliable dialing scope you will be adding 26-43 oz to your rig. Then add rings, sling, bipods (if you are one to leave on hanging on your stock), scope level. It adds up.
I use a Sparten Precision bipod, so it is carried in a pouch and not on the rifle. Attaches quickly via earth magnets.

Most of my hunts are not super far... 2-7 miles round trip in a day hunt.

Makes good sense to me. Tell us about your go-to rifles, stock, scope, cartridge, barrel length/contour, etc. Cheers

 

[Giannandreaj]

I'll be 63 in a month.
Both my go-to rifles are a tad over 10 lbs.
Why? Because they shoot very well and I spend months on end scouting and hunting for a split second shot. It better count.

I can always lose a couple of pounds if it bothers me!

Are light guns nice to carry? Yup. But I do feel the heavier guns shoot much better and allow you to see the shot easier. I like the adjustable LOP and comb and a stock with a flat bottom.

One thing is that today's quality long range rifle scopes are pretty heavy. If you want a durable, reliable dialing scope you will be adding 26-43 oz to your rig. Then add rings, sling, bipods (if you are one to leave on hanging on your stock), scope level. It adds up.
I use a Sparten Precision bipod, so it is carried in a pouch and not on the rifle. Attaches quickly via earth magnets.

Most of my hunts are not super far... 2-7 miles round trip in a day hunt.

I love this. It makes me cringe when people say they want a sub 8lb rifle loaded. Its not even the fact that it tames the recoil. Its just straight up steadier. My 11 lb rifle is a steady as a rock when I set it on a bag and look through the scope.

 

[manitou1]

I love this. It makes me cringe when people say they want a sub 8lb rifle loaded. Its not even the fact that it tames the recoil. Its just straight up steadier. My 11 lb rifle is a steady as a rock when I set it on a bag and look through the scope.

Agreed. A rifle with a good stock and a little heft is a thing of beauty to shoot. They require much less effort to shoot accurately.

 

[Brucebarker024]

My current hunting rifle is 11 pounds loaded up. I don’t hate packing it because it’s so easy to shoot. 7 SAUM that’ll have a can once it clears. I can see 95 percent of my impacts past 200 with the break it has.

 

[JohnJohnson]

I changed my setups a fair bit recently and they can now range in weight from 12-18 pounds depending on the type of hunt it'll be. That's via switching out barreled action/scope/chassis primarily but other accessories too.

 

[wyosam]

Man you guys are tough. Out of curiosity I weighed one of my hunting rifles with its “off season” barrel on it (a 26” stainless that’s .750 at the muzzle) takes that rifle from just a tick under 8 pounds as I hunt with it to 9# 12oz, and I can’t imagine packing it around in the mountains, even in a gun bearer. I occasionally try to find a hunt to use it on. Something without much walking with long shot opportunities, just haven’t found it yet. It is nice to shoot at that weight, but I can’t say I’d take a shot on game that I wouldn’t comfortably take with it at 8#.


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[Article 4]

I run multiple (7 in total) ELR hunting rifles and PREFER them to be over 10 lbs and sometime can be 12 or 13. I am 57 and still go deep and hike miles and miles on DIY hunts out west. Mountains, wide open plains, and travel to Arizona and other places to shoot and hunt.
Stability to me "outweighs" the 3 or 5 lbs that someone might save running a lighweight rifle. Exception, high altitude sheep. I run them with the best accessories I can afford. Kahles scopes, Atlas Bipods, Suppressors and high quality and heavy duty scope rings and mounts. In the end, I am supremely confident that my durable and slightly heavier rifles will perform every time - example:
I was in Montana on a horseback hunt and while dismounting, the horse spooked and dropped me on the ground on top of my rifle, strapped to my back. Scope and rifle hit the ground at the same time. I was worried.
Found a small rock at 100 and took a shot...hit dead center the first round and the second.
Weight equals stability, repeatability, durability and increased accuracy....so I run them heavier

 

[rcook10]

Carried a long action 270 with a harris and big scope for a lot of years. Shot great, not my favorite rifle to offhand shoot with or carry though. I don't use a gun bearer and infrequently use a sling, there are a lot of close and fast encounters where mounting a gun fast is a priority. Once I started trying more fly weight options I have had a hard time going back after carrying a 6.5 pound scoped suppressed 308 in the field. I have shot game past 300 in field positions and with the can it points and holds offhand great.

 

[NX8B8]

Me? Sure.
Savage 110 Ultralite 300 WSM
Savage 1 piece bolt handle with large knob
Desh Industries Bolt Lift Kit
MDT HNT26 Chassis
Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x 44mm Impact-29 MOA reticle
YHM Phantom M2 Suppressor

Last year I bought a Savage Impulse in the 308 Win cartridge. I was impressed with the accuracy and quality of the gun so I started looking at Savage Arms for a light weight elk gun and landed on the 110 Ultralite. The blue printed skeletonized receiver, Proof Research carbon fiber barrel and the trigger sold me. I liked the stock's adjustability, but it's forend is soft and flexible plus the bedding didn't look that great. It's probably okay for non magnum calibers, but for 300 WSM I felt I need something more substantial. I wanted to keep the weight down which lead me to the MDT HNT26 which weighs in at 2 lbs. , but it cost as much as the gun.

The bolt lift was terrible straight out of the box. I thought something was wrong with it until I read more about it. It's a common complaint for the Savage 110 actions. Installing the longer bolt handle and the Desh bolt lift kit helped it a bunch. The bolt slide is still a bit sticky, but it should smooth out after I start shooting it and cycle it a few hundred times.

I haven't shot it yet, I'm still collecting components to reload and develop a round for it. I'm starting with the Nosler AccuBond Long Range 168 grain bullets with Norma brass and CCI 250 primers. It's be difficult finding components for the 300 WSM. In hindsight I should have looked at the availability of cartridge components first.

Anyhow, that's what I ended up with.

I

Me? Sure.
Savage 110 Ultralite 300 WSM
Savage 1 piece bolt handle with large knob
Desh Industries Bolt Lift Kit
MDT HNT26 Chassis
Leupold VX-5HD 3-15x 44mm Impact-29 MOA reticle
YHM Phantom M2 Suppressor

Last year I bought a Savage Impulse in the 308 Win cartridge. I was impressed with the accuracy and quality of the gun so I started looking at Savage Arms for a light weight elk gun and landed on the 110 Ultralite. The blue printed skeletonized receiver, Proof Research carbon fiber barrel and the trigger sold me. I liked the stock's adjustability, but it's forend is soft and flexible plus the bedding didn't look that great. It's probably okay for non magnum calibers, but for 300 WSM I felt I need something more substantial. I wanted to keep the weight down which lead me to the MDT HNT26 which weighs in at 2 lbs. , but it cost as much as the gun.

The bolt lift was terrible straight out of the box. I thought something was wrong with it until I read more about it. It's a common complaint for the Savage 110 actions. Installing the longer bolt handle and the Desh bolt lift kit helped it a bunch. The bolt slide is still a bit sticky, but it should smooth out after I start shooting it and cycle it a few hundred times.

I haven't shot it yet, I'm still collecting components to reload and develop a round for it. I'm starting with the Nosler AccuBond Long Range 168 grain bullets with Norma brass and CCI 250 primers. It's be difficult finding components for the 300 WSM. In hindsight I should have looked at the availability of cartridge components first.

Anyhow, that's what I ended up with.

not sure what you figured out now, but I can’t recommend the 175LRX highly enough. Made reloading incredibly easy, reviews are awesome . Dropped a Ak bull moose on the move at 400yards, about a hands worth of blood shot meat lost. Both lungs were pudding .

 

[HuntnPack]

Been a couple years since I last posted in this thread . Things have changed. Old age.
Ran a few lighter rifles & Now going back to
A bit heavier. Latest build will be 10# with optic & around 10.875 with Suppressor.
I’m after the better shootability weight provides.
I’ve got a nice rifle carry system that makes packing still comfortable. Enables me to backpack hunt the way I Like.

 

[Tilggie]

I thought my setup was on the heavy side at 10.5lbs. After reading this it sounds like I am at a good weight, Lots of good info offered