How heavy?

[alldayhunter]

I am relatively new to long range hunting. I am in the process of moving to Colorado and am looking forward hunting out west. i am wanting a rifle that is a good shooter for longer shots but is not too heavy to carry. Eventually i want to build a long range rifle for prone shooting but right now i want to build or buy a rifle that is a good medium. One that i can pack but is accurate to a reasonable long range. How light of rifle can I build and how far cna i look to be accurate. Thanks for all the help. I have learned a lot just by looking at this site. I have 2 actions to build on one short and one long. I am also trying to buy a savage 12bvss in 300 win mag to build a long range gun on. Right now i am looking at building my go to rifle. Thanks again.

 

[James Jones]

First off you don't have to have a realy heavy rifle to be accurate , their are plenty of featherweight rifles that will make first and second round hit way out , the problem is that the thinner the barrel the faster it heats up and starts to affect groups. Anouth thing to look at is that most rounds considered for "long range" hunting have a reasonable amout of recoil and it gets worse with the weight of the rilfe is dropped. Alot of guys alos find it hard to hold a light gun steady.

I personaly don't want to carry a 16lb rifle around hunting unless I'm just going to one spot to set up and shoot from , I think that a 10lb rifle/scope is a good carry weight , that can be done with a regular long action a #5 conture barrel and a reasonable scope and ring setupwith a good composit stock.

What actions do you have and what critters at what ranges are you considering shooting them at? If its deer at 400yds that a short action in 243-308 will work great but if its Elk at 800yds then your gonna want a bit more power

 

[James Jones]

On another note , every BVSS i have seen was a great shooter and that would make a great base to build a long range gun on

 

[screech]

I just got back from shooting with my dad and we were shooting his 7mmstw in a factory sendero and it easily held sub moa at 900yrds. I was verry impressed. We had fun shooting at 10 inch rocks at 800 and 8inchers at 900. we never hit the 8 incher at 900 but we dont really know what we are doing. we had to keep bringing down before we ran out of bullets. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/grin.gif

 

[royinidaho]

What JDJones said +

Heavier is better, with your personal end use, of course.

I don't know if CO has a max weight limit as does Idaho (16# including everything that is attached to the rifle.)

16# is a bit heavy for the way I do things but it would be more stable for LRH than my 12 pounder. With the planned modification the 12 may bump up towards 14 though.

That's my go to gun for LRH.

For a carry gun I'm finding I get along well with a 10# 338 RUM. Light enough to get around the mountais the way I do it and heavy enough to be stable for that long shot off the sticks when needed.

What I think I'm finding is that the lighter the rifle and the rougher the terrain (unevenness of the bipod feet and the more miserable the shooting position)results in unexplainable misses. /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/frown.gif

 

[J E Custom]

I agree with JD and ROY 10 to 12lbs is about
max for a carry rifle and if you have to make
an offhand ,running ,out of breath,windy or any
unstable shooting position shot the weight will
steady you down.

If you can drive up to the shooting position
and set up then weight is not a problem.

ROY I had never heard of a weight limit on a rifle
for hunting but it sounds like IDAHO doesent want
50 cal to be used because these are the only rifles
that need to weigh more than 16lbs.

I wonder how many other states have weight limits
on hunting rifles ?

If any one knows please pass it on .

J E CUSTOM

 

[royinidaho]

J E Custom,

"ROY I had never heard of a weight limit on a rifle
for hunting but it sounds like IDAHO doesent want
50 cal to be used because these are the only rifles
that need to weigh more than 16lbs."

That's true. Many moons ago F&G found some folks w/a 50 BMG doing in some elk on the next mountain and figured it was unfair chase or something. It sure didn't take them long change the regs.

That topic was on the table again this year along with in line MLs but it never made off of the table. However, in-lines cannot be used on designated muzzle loader hunts. The in-line guys have to hunt w/the rifle folks except for some limited range areas.

 

[screech]

The heavier the more steady the rifle is. It can be done with a sporter weight rifle. Since Im not as expierenced as some on here I use a heavier rifle so it turns more in my favor than the elks. I like about a 11-14lb. rifle. If I am going to be packing in the woods it will be lighter but also not used for long range hunting.

 

[bjlooper]

I have two questions one if you are using a Bi-pod or a bag for you Long Range shooting does weight really make a diffrence.
Two has anyone used a Advanced Barrel System barrel to make a rifle light enough to carry.

DRB

 

[zingdingo]

Weight does make some, small, difference off a bipod. That being said, I shoot the exact same size groups off a bipod as a full tilt benchrest with my sporters. If I were building a carry gun, geared tword long range, I would want it on this side of 10 lbs. I'd recommend you get something in that weight range, and then put a few hundred rounds through it off a bipod (after researching bipod technique). I think you'll find after that your plenty steady/confidant.

As for ABS barrels, no experience myself, but search for 'thunder' if you haven't already.