too heavy? please help

[rjackh]

savage 10fp in mcm a5 stock- 10 lbs
then add base and scope (not sure which one yet)
add bipod

would this be too heavy to carry around in the field a little? most hunting rifles at stores are like 6 lbs... i was gonna have the barrel cut down to 20" which might save a pound or two. any help? thanks

oh and i wont be doing like backpack hunting, just carrying to the blind or some spot and stalk here and there.

 

[4bycamper]

I do a lot of hiking when I hunt. So I like to keep my walking rifle to under 9 lbs scope and all, but that's just me. Anyone else ???



JM .02

 

[rjackh]

ya that makes sense. i mean im not gonna be climbing mountains chasing elk or anything but my place is sorta in the hill country. lots of up and down walking so i dont want to be lugging a 16lb gun...

im guessing if i cut the barrel and add optics and bipod it would come out to like 11 lbs. this seems manageable to me. im young and able, i guess i could get used to it. i just dont want to get sick of it and designate the gun to targets ya know? this is a lot of money for me to spend on a gun and i want to get it right the first time...

anyone else?

 

[4bycamper]

In your shoes I would not cut down the barrel. A new Savage barrel in #4 is something you could install your self. Then you could have a swap barrel rifle.



JM .02

 

[rjackh]

In your shoes I would not cut down the barrel. A new Savage barrel in #4 is something you could install your self. Then you could have a swap barrel rifle.



JM .02

wait could you explain this a little more? not sure i know what you mean

like have a heavy barrel for benchrest and light barrel for hunting?

 

[Buffalobob]

If I remember correctly an inch of barrel weighs about 2 ounces and you lose about 20-40 fps per inch.

I routinely carry 12 - 18 pound rifles for miles up and down mountains. Add to that a 40 pound pack and I will have done a good day of work by the time I get back to camp (especially if I start to find some interesting rocks and fossils that need to be put int he pack - I found a fossil rock seam yesterday while deer hunting and brought out three rocks).

 

[rjackh]

wow you lose speed when cutting the barrel down...? i thought i had read somewhere on the tacops website that 20" was like the prime length...?

 

[Buffalobob]

I have seen a lot of amateurs show up with tactical guns with 18-20 inch barrels and have to go home because they could not stay sonic to 900 yards. My 308 F-class rifle has a 28 inch barrel and probably weighs 15 pounds. It was carried for a mile to kill this deer. Of course I am not excessively stupid, and I let my son carry it to and from the shooting point we use.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f84/home-thanksgiving-49348/



The way I look at it is that an inch of barrel weighs less than Baby Ruth and does you more good.

 

[rjackh]

thats a good point, might be more of a paint to carry around but it will be more accurate have less felt recoil and is good for me

wait whats an F class rifle, i have been wondering that for a while.

 

[4bycamper]

wait whats an F class rifle, i have been wondering that for a while.

You could go to 6mm benchrest.com ... there's a lot of rifle competitors there.
I learned a lot from them. You could too. Also better than I can explain it.




JM .02

 

[Buffalobob]

Here is one article by me and another by Ed.

F-Class Competition As Training For The Hunt

Getting Started In Tactical Rifle Competition

Here are some videos of my kids and the rifle in question.

http://www.longrangehunting.com/forums/f73/long-range-f-class-41573/



There are several different version of F-class by distance - short, medium and long range. These are also subdivided by military calibers (308 & 223) into F-TR and F - Open. There is a variation with open sights called Palma.

Savage makes a rifle just for F-class in both F-TR and Open (6.5-284)

Savage Arms 12FTR Precision Target Rifle Series

You will notice that Savage puts a 30 inch barrel on it !!!!!!!! Think about it for a minute.

 

[Moman]

I wouldn't cut down the barrel on this. It's really not going to be too heavy for what it sounds like you want to do with it. Choose your optics and mounts carefully. You can get aluminum rings/bases for this and save a little weight.

 

[MontanaRifleman]

It's really up to you. Some people dont mind carrying around a heavy rifle and some do. I have probably put on 50 miles this hunting season with a rifle that wieghs a total of about 12 lbs with scope, bipod and ammo.

As mentioned before, you are not going to loose much weigth by cutting off a few inches of barrel. If I wanted a ligther rifle, I would either get another barrel or another rifle.

Cheers,

Mark

 

[LRHWAL]

"It's really up to you. Some people dont mind carrying around a heavy rifle and some do." - I must agree with that. It really depends on the kind of hunting and more importantly the type of shot you are most likley to need to take.

I carry a 15 or 16lb rifle a lot. I don't believe in saving weight on a barrel profile - within limits of course. I'm not that partial to buggy whip thin barrels, but some shoot well. Length doesn't save much.

A great deal of the weight comes in the scope, rings and base. I'd look at saving there. Tactical scopes are often unnecessary and really heavy (although I use them myself).

Get a good sling and you will find that the rifle can feel a lot lighter.