Is a 9lb rifle too heavy? Opinions?

Why do people even ask these questions??

Get a 10lb tree branch & carry it around, draw it up to your shoulder & see if you can hold it there & for how long??

Seriously, not picking on you but ****, 10oz of ammo, 22oz of scope, bla bla bla.

Sick of hearing how much anyone can carry & shoot from someone else :rolleyes:

Time for a self imposed time out!!

Good night & goodbye for now
 
Depends on a lot of things. One of the rifles I carry (not in the mountains) is pushing twenty. My most used meat stick is about 13.5. I'd love to build a light weight hunting rifle but money and priorities ;)
 
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Why do people even ask these questions??

Get a 10lb tree branch & carry it around, draw it up to your shoulder & see if you can hold it there & for how long??

Seriously, not picking on you but ****, 10oz of ammo, 22oz of scope, bla bla bla.

Sick of hearing how much anyone can carry & shoot from someone else :rolleyes:

Time for a self imposed time out!!

Good night & goodbye for now

L 😇L!
 
For sit hunting, the heavier the better. I like a 10lb scoped rifle for hiking the mountains here in Mt. It's a good trade off of shootability and packability.
I had Alex put a 24" krieger #4 contour 6.5 284 on my winchester m70 in a manners eh2 stock. It has a bushnell 3-12 lrti scope and comes in about 10lbs. I put a ferro concepts sling that attaches on my stock with front left and rear right flush cup on the buttstock. this allows you to snug the rifle to the front of your chest and seems to really lessen the weight of the rifle. Thanks again for the great work on this gun Alex! It is by far my favorite rifle. Bart
 
You can figure that a standard Mod 700 BDL 7mm RemMag/300Wm and a 2.5x8 or 3x9 Leupold will weigh a tad over 9lbs when loaded. Tens of thousands of them are used ( I did myself for years). So nah. What you may find is that you actually "need" ( there, I said it) two rifles....one heavy for LR, whether its on the Beanfield or Prairie, and a lighter 7.5# for mountains or Still Hunting, etc. Case in point...I like a lively handling rifle, and my "heaviest" was the aforementioned 7mm Mag BDL. It was fine, bit not as lively as I liked for the woods. When I moved to Utah, I only had my uncles old 1917 Sporter w/4x Tasco ( I was fresh out of Bible college) and it weighed 10+lbs. It was a shooter, but way too heavy for the mountains "for me". I bought a Mod 700 280 Mtn rifle, loved it! Then, in '93, I went on a real "Guided , Combo Mule Deer/Antelope hunt out of Laramie. Am & PM we went up into the hills, was a perfect rifle for that. middle of the day we out on "the short grass" prairies. OMG, the 'wind" not only blew my bullet off course ( I missed 5 bucks in a row around 350yds or so) but it blew "me and my rifle" around! I was either sitting supported or sitting/shooting sticks and it was awful. I later killed a 15 1/2" pronghorn when I stalked up behind a snow drift fence and "wrapped myself" up in it, ha. I got him at 200,

Later in life, I found that a 9+ lb wood stocked Mod 700 Classic 300WM worked fine in the open dunes of Namibia, but even there, I never shot game past 375yds or so. I am amazed at these LR Hunters, I don't know how they do it, ha. At 67, bolted together now, I don't go far from the truck anymore either. So, trying to "make do", for me, "won't do". If I take a light rifle out on the prairie, I just focus on getting close, like I do in the mountains. As mentioned by many here, 'try out" and see what "you" like. Have a ball dude!
 
I pack a 13.5lb rifle all over the hills in North Idaho. 6 mile hikes in steep terrain is common. What I have found is that my choice of sling has everything to do with controlling the weight. Try a few and see what works for you.
 
Find a place where you can walk 200 yds and pack your rifle back and forth a few times, or better yet a bunch of times and you will be able to do it no problem. My 35 Whelen weighed 9.5 unloaded and I used it for a "walking gun" in Wyoming. It gets lighter the more days you hunt. Or you can walk with it while you get in shape. But 5Rwill told you not to listen to us! Good advice
 
I like my heavy weigth rifles for what they are,,, but the time has come for me to try a ligther unit...

7 to 7 1/2 lb all in,,, not that i cover alot of ground on foot,,, but the idea of having my rifle in my hands makes it easier to forge the woods and buck-brush,,, of course it really depends on your needs and wants along with the areas you hunt and shoot...

I know that i can loose another few lbs from my 200 lb frame,,, but my arms and worn out back have to pack my rifle where I travel...

The old standard years ago was the 10 ish lb rule,,, the old timers slowly changed it to 8 1/2 lbs,,, the folks that did the mountain hunting thing like the 7 to 7 1/2 lb idea,,, of course they have been able to move this line to 5 and 6 lbs...

Other factors at play as well,,, the size of the cartridge,,, weigth of the bullet and how much punch-junk coming out of the pipe will the shooter feel at his end...

That and the make up of the rifle plays a role to...
There are folks on this forum that are running 338 lapuas in the 8 1/2 lb range,,, i wouldn't go that route my self,,, lucky thing my 308 Winchester and 6.5 A-Square are tame recoil rifles,,, its a fraction easier to keep them simmered down... Ha

So yes,,, figure out your needs and wants and go from there,,, either build heavy to start,,, since you can lighten it up later on,,, or build lite then beef it up if you decide,,, theres lots of ways to skin a cat,,, finding what works for you will come in time as the years pass by...

Cheers from the North
 
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