Sheep build, UL backpacking rifle

Here's one for ya. Ultralight rifles AND exercise. Why does it have to be one or the other?
I concur. Nothing wrong with exercise and getting in shape, and is important for sheep hunting. Also nothing wrong with ultralight rifles. The o.p. has a goal weight in mind for a rifle, fact/experience based information on how to help him meet that goal is what he is looking for. Giving him lifestyle advice, while not wrong, isn't really the point of the conversation. For that, go here -

 
I once owned an original ULA in .338 WM. No matter how I gripped it the trigger guard slammed into the knuckle on my middle finger. I cried a little when I sold it, but not as much as when it hit my hand.
This is very true, lol. My 300 WM is the same. I can only imagine with the 338. I've since learned to hold a little to the rear and anchor the grip with my thumb. It's a must and required a bit of adjustment on my part. I thought I broke my middle knuckle on my middle finger the first time I fired it. As bad as that sounds, the rifle is comfortable and confident to fire, even on the bench, albeit a bit difficult to keep steady and settled due to the light weight.
 
I concur. Nothing wrong with exercise and getting in shape, and is important for sheep hunting. Also nothing wrong with ultralight rifles. The o.p. has a goal weight in mind for a rifle, fact/experience based information on how to help him meet that goal is what he is looking for. Giving him lifestyle advice, while not wrong, isn't really the point of the conversation.
You need to think about the game as well. This is a person who does not have a sub 6# rifle. To just get one and climb a mountain to shoot a Ram? I don't think so. Climb a mountain with a 6# rifle and then take a quality shot to put the animal down is incredibly difficult. My comment is more to prepare for the shot when you are fully taxed and tired. A light rifle is not going to be the answer to this kind of hunt. Im not calling anyone out of shape but someone has to speak up for the animal. Also have hunted a Ram in Wa state where you get one in a lifetime. I fully understand what this person has in front of them. I carried a 8.5# rifle with pack and was very tired when we hit the 3/4 point. But when you get behind your rifle the adrenaline and heavy breathing you need some weight to help steady your rifle. We were looking at 400-700 yard shots. This kind of hunt is not for the unprepared.
 
One has a payoff and the other is a novelty rifle. When sheep hunting, it's not sit and wait. It is climbing. Is that 2.5 lbs you saved going to make a huge difference? Probably not, conditioning your body is what is needed for sheep hunting.
To each their own. I have not sheep hunted. I have hunted out of a pack and climbed. In my experience, by day 3 that 2.5 pounds is noticeable. By day 7, yes, it's a huge difference. And all rifles are "novelty rifles" depending on perspective.
 
You don't shoot sheep when you are out of breath, unless you have already winged it and are trying to chase it down. Sheep have to be examined to be sure they meet the standard and that takes a bit. A few times I have surprised them, (and myself), at ranges so close it was obvious they were keepers but that is rare. No rifle is best for sheep, it's all about what is best for the hunter. Light rifles are nicer to carry and heavier rifles are nicer to shoot. I've used both to kill sheep and it's more about the kind of hunt you are on. Backpack hunting is the most difficult choice and with me it usually came down to which rifle I had the most confidence in. Caliber and bullet weight often made a bigger impact on the choice. Big rams can soak up a lot of off-centre hits before they go down. I shot one ram with a 130 grain bullet and it took a couple hits before it dropped, and after that I went with 140 partitions or heavier. If I were hunting with a 6.5 caliber I would be using a at least the that 140 grain weight and perhaps heavier. In the end, you hate to be sitting around after thinking I would have got that ram if I hadn't gone with the minimums on everything.
 
I'd like to know from some of you guys who've hunted sheep a lot. What's an 'average' range? I mean I know that varies with equipment and guide, etc but is it inside 500 yds typically? You have to excuse me I've never hunted any kind of goat/sheep.
 
Maybe just get into better shape and then this won't be a issue for you. Not to mention it will help well beyond this hunt. Ultra light rifles or exercise, these are the choices we all have.
I think we have one other choice too, exercise AND an ultralight rifle. That's my choice. I really don't get this argument, I hear/read it often, a lightweight rifle is still lightweight whether you work out or not. Even if a guy were to shed 20 pounds on his gut, the UL rifle is still lighter and easier to carry, even easier now that the extra 20 pounds is gone.
 
I think we have one other choice too, exercise AND an ultralight rifle. That's my choice. I really don't get this argument, I hear/read it often, a lightweight rifle is still lightweight whether you work out or not. Even if a guy were to shed 20 pounds on his gut, the UL rifle is still lighter and easier to carry, even easier now that the extra 20 pounds is gone.
How many people can make a quality, long shot with a 6lbs rifle? Long beyond 400 yards. 90% of hunters would never take a shot over 350 yards with their 10# rifle. There is more to this equation than the weight of a rifle. This is where we need to think about the game as well. This is where the lightweight rifle becomes compromised. These are tough animals with a strong will to live. Heavy for caliber bullets in a 7mm wsm is one of the favorite choices for builders who build rifles just for this purpose. When you don't want to accept the recoil that comes with lightweight rifles in calibers needed to take these animal, the animal suffers.
 
How many people can make a quality, long shot with a 6lbs rifle? Long beyond 400 yards. 90% of hunters would never take a shot over 350 yards with their 10# rifle. There is more to this equation than the weight of a rifle. This is where we need to think about the game as well. This is where the lightweight rifle becomes compromised. These are tough animals with a strong will to live. Heavy for caliber bullets in a 7mm wsm is one of the favorite choices for builders who build rifles just for this purpose. When you don't want to accept the recoil that comes with lightweight rifles in calibers needed to take these animal, the animal suffers.
This is the LRH site. A good number of the 10% are here (that shoot past 350 Yards). You are correct. To shoot a light rifle accurately at distance takes practice and dedication. Attention to detail in equipment and application almost to a fault. There might be a couple people around here that check the boxes, just sayin.
 
To answer the question, what is the average range for shooting sheep is difficult because it comes down to choice. I have been in on lots of sheep kills and I have seen some real horror shows. Seeing rams from a long ways off is easy. The hard part is getting within a range that you feel comfortable with. Too many people let fly way beyond their ability and they don't seem to care that they are gambling on poor odds with that animals life. Over the years I have come across many sheep that got away and died. On one occasion I finished off a ram that had his front shoulder smashed a few days before by a hunter shooting from at least a 1000 yards. He fired sixteen rounds before he hit it. The animal didn't even know it was being shot at for the first dozen or so - and when he did hit it and it ran off, his recovery effort was half-hearted to say the least. When I found it deep in a creek bed where it was cool he was burning up with fever and full of maggots. I put him out of his misery and used my tag on him. It was all I could do to take the cape off the smell was so bad. A couple other times when I heard about long shot hits that weren't followed up I would find the animal by looking and listening for the crows a few days later. You can lob shots at sheep easily. They rest in the open rocks in the middle of the day and you can see them from miles away. Getting within a range where you feel confident in a humane kill is what sheep hunting is really about, and that depends on the quality of the hunter.
 
A few pics of some lightweights....
For you righties, an ultralight rifle is gravy, it's us lefties that have a challenge on our hands for anything but a T3.
For a righty (like my wife) I'd do a Kimber Montana and be done with it. Second pic is a LH NULA, third is a LH 700 .280 I built. last pic is a LH HS Prec. 300 WSM that I tweaked with some weight loss. I sold the gun after dealing with the recoil. :/

The SWFA 2-10x32 is the way to go for an ultralight. imho...
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I have a HS Precision PHL (left hand) in 270wsm. I believe I could drop it off the side of a mountain and pick it up and it would hit whatever I aimed at. It is a shooter
 
Some great information here. Especially this last page here. I just got back from a couple weeks of sheep hunting in some of the toughest stuff I've ever been in and that was in Arizona. I have a 5lb 12oz all up .270 Win 700Ti that I built for sheep hunting. It say home as I carried a 10# Blaser R8 in 264 Winchester. 8# is just about right to carry and shoot IMO.
 
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