Too Heavy or not?

[akaodie]

I use a AR30 chambered in .300wm I get strange looks when I go hunting with friends when they grab my rifle cause its so heavy. I don't care cause I know the extra weight helps me steady for my shots. I live on the East side of Kodiak Island so alot of the terain is steep, thus the reason most of my friends use light weight rifles.

Now to the question. What is the weight of the rifle that you primarily use?

 

[Pdvdh]

A variety of weights. Only the user can determine when too heavy is too heavy. By far and away the majority of my hunting is backpack hunting. When I start cussing the weight of my rifle, I know it's too heavy - for me. Too heavy has changed some over the past 40 years. But anything more than ~12 1/2 lbs was too heavy for me, even in the prime of life. Now anything more than ~10 lbs is too heavy for any length of backpacking in the mountains and valleys.

It depends a lot on one's method of hunting, the time and duration spent traveling versus stand hunting, the total weight in the backpack, and also how the game is transported back to civilization.

 

[Timber338]

When I'm hunting where shots will be about 600 or so yards or less, I like a fully outfitted rifle to weight about 8 lbs. I personally consider a fully outfitted 8lb rifle to be very light weight.

For a long range hunting rifle where I'll reach out to my maximum capability, I like the rifle to weigh 9-9.5 lbs. It's not that I don't want to pack a heavier rifle, it's that any heavier and it becomes very cumbersome to stalk through the forests efficiently. As I go lighter than about 9 lbs, long shots become too challenging. If I were stretching the weight I could go up to 10 lbs and still hunt comfortably, but I have proven to myself that 9.5 is all I need to accurately shoot long range.

From a balance point of view regardless of total weight, I like my hunting rifles to have ultralight stocks and relatively light scopes so the majority of the weight is in the barrel. This does considerably stabilize offhand shots that you take in the forests.

I should add that my 8 lb rifle just collects dust... everywhere I hunt has shot opportunities that far exceed my capability.

 

[revturbo9967]

around 10 lbs is where i like to draw the line with most of my rifles, although my 338 LM weighs around 14 lbs and it feels light for what it is.

 

[Engineering101]

Most of my hunting rifles have varmit contour barrels and weigh 12 lbs or so. I have a few others in the 10.5 to 11.0 pound range that I consider light. The way I see it, I don't have to pay in gym membership as I am carrying my workout weight (the rifle) with me where ever I go.

 

[txhoghunter73]

15 lbs is where I draw the line. But i am kind of thinking about a sako a7 big game, or a browning hells canyon in 7mm rem mag. Probably topped with a Leupold LR-T 4-14x50

 

[shooter7]

I've found my limit to be 14 lbs for a hunting rifle. I only say that because I have an outdoor profession where I get to hike with a pack most work days and I'm young and dumb. I hunt elk in colorado, usually above 10,000 feet. I have considered buying or building a lighter rifle but a 14lb 300wm is just such a pleasure to shoot.

 

[chalkeye]

8lb all up. I spend more time hating carrying a heavy gun, than I do hating the recoil

 

[FEENIX]

My current hunting rifles are from 10-12 LBS hunt ready going up and down the MT wilderness along with 30-35 LBS pack.

I am currently building a custom rifle; not sure what the final weight is going to be but the XLR element stock is 7 LBS and the 27" Lilja Sendero contour is just shy of 5 LBS already; might end up 15-16 LBS hunt ready without the 30 OZ suppressor.

 

[roop]

My current hunting rifle is around 12-12.5 lbs. It feels pretty good, until I help someone over a fence who is sporting an 8 lb rifle.

I think there is a weight limit in Idaho, 15lbs with everything.

 

[TXAoudadKlr]

14.25lbs for my 300AX my 458socom weighs about 12lbs. I too like my rifles to have a good weight to them.

 

[akaodie]

Thanks for all the replies. I don't feel too bad now for not having an 8lb rifle. I also never thought about the ease of shooting a 15lb 300wm, I guess I get to laugh when I see my impact on the follow through.

 

[WildRose]

I use a AR30 chambered in .300wm I get strange looks when I go hunting with friends when they grab my rifle cause its so heavy. I don't care cause I know the extra weight helps me steady for my shots. I live on the East side of Kodiak Island so alot of the terain is steep, thus the reason most of my friends use light weight rifles.

Now to the question. What is the weight of the rifle that you primarily use?

It's only "too heavy" if you find the weight to be a problem.

I have more than a dozen rifles ranging from under 8lbs to over 15lbs and which one I grab on any given day depends on where and how far I'm going to have to pack it. I'm not old but my body sure is so weight matters more every year.

 

[FEENIX]

It's only "too heavy" if you find the weight to be a problem.

I have more than a dozen rifles ranging from under 8lbs to over 15lbs and which one I grab on any given day depends on where and how far I'm going to have to pack it. I'm not old but my body sure is so weight matters more every year.

Yep! On one of my last week's elk hunt, my buddy and I hunted one of the gulch at the Rocky Mountain front and it took us 3.5 hours to climb and 2 hours to descend.

If I wasn't working out on my physical conditioning at least 3-times a week all year around, I would be hurting big time.