I was wondering what different folks consider a heavy rifle? I built my .257AI to what I felt was heavy for a hunting rifle. Wide target stock in Clairo walnut and a 26 inch varmint weight barrel on a commercial mauser action. With scope and no sling it is almost 11 pounds on my bathroom scale. Great to shoot but sux to carry when bipods are on it..

My .300 Winny is at the smiths right now but it is stocked in curly maple with a heavy thumbhole stock and it tips the 10 pound mark if memory serves me. Slightly more comfortable to carry than the .257 even with pods.

The .308 I just built with only a 24 inch sporter barrel and Houge stock still comes in at 9 pounds.

When I see guys talking about 8 pound and lighter guns I can't imagine them. My boss gets rifles built under 6 pounds with the scope for his big game hunts. They would be like carrying feathers.

My Model 70 7-STW is 9 lbs. 14 oz. and if it were a gun I carried a bunch I'd change something. Most of my stuff runs 8.5 - 9 lbs. I have a Mk V Ultra Lightweight 25-06 that goes 6.5 lbs. scoped and loaded and I love it!!!

my lightest centerfire rifle is a 45/120 "nitro" at 6.5# .. medium? i have a 7.25# scoped mexican mauser in 358 winchester .. and my heaviest? my 550 express is 10.75, and my 550 flanged double is 12.25 ..

i consider the 550 express to be WAY too heavy ..

8# works for anything that doesn't start with a .4

My 300RUM with 5.5 contour barrel with scope and sling weighs in at a mere 11 lbs 6 oz. But its a long range tack driver. Definitely not for Sheep hunting. But most of my spots here are less than a mile walk.

God Bless, Louis

Back in 1981 I put my PF M70 in 30-06 with a Leupold 3.5-10 on the scales and was shocked when it read 11+ lbs, IIRC. So, I 1982, I had this made when fiberglass was first starting to hit the market.


A Rem 700 ADL, lightened to 6 lb 7 oz with the M8 Leupold 4x on it. I still have it but it's now in 30-06 AI with a 26" Lilja barrel and a slightly heavier scope.

I recently took possession of this beauty in 257 Roberts. It weighs spot on 8 lb with the 2.5-8x36 VX3. I consider it the upper end of light, possibly the lower end of medium weight.


Now the upper end of the weight scale is this Surgeon/26" Krieger/AICS in 6.5x47 Lapua weighs 17 lb 12 oz as is.

Would I hunt with it? Sure, but only cause I can carry it in this Eberlestock Gunslinger II pack with internal scabbard.



My next two customs are about weeks to month away from completion.

A Pierce short action with a Broughton #3.1 ss barrel in 6.5x47 that will sit in a McM Rem Sporter Edge filled stock and will have a NF 2.5-10x32mm on top.

And a Pre 64 M70 in 9.3x62 which will have a 24" Pacnor #3 in one of D'Arcy Echol's Legend stock. On top it will have a VX3 1.75-6 in Leupold QR rings/bases.

I'll bet both will be around 8 lbs.

Alan

Well, I have a 12# Heavy bbl'ed AR15 and a 7.4# Remington .257 Roberts.

It really depends on the application. IMO, an '06 based rifle w/ 24" bbl should weigh no more than 7.5" naked, 8.5# with scope and rings. That for me is about the limit of portability for any real length of time to carry a rifle.

My .257 Bob is my "carry" rifle, coming at 7.5# loaded, scoped, no sling.

My AR is Benchrest work.

My .375 H&H weighs 9.5# scoped - but that's a dang heavy scope on it and a stock swap combined would put it at 8.5# empty. So I can see the future of a lighter rifle with that one.

It's all subjective. Don't walk much? Who cares about the weight. One of the guys I hunt with (stand hunting) uses a 13# Sendero. He carries that rifle all of 200 yards. It's all relative.

Personally, I don't like rifles that are very light, or having short barrels.

My normal hunting rifle, a 375/404, which has a 26 inche barrel, weighs 9 pounds with scope and 3 rounds of ammo.

I have been hunting with this rifle for several years, and have on occasions carried it for up to 15 hours a day.

It does get tiring, but never to the extent that I would ask the tracker to carry it.

I am 5'6", and weigh 130 pounds.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Personally, I don't like rifles that are very light, or having short barrels.

You wouldn't like any of my guns in that case.

For me it all depends...I have a 14lb 18" h-bar Noveske AR-10 with a Nightforce 56mm scope on ... HEAVY

I have a 338RUM that came in at 8lbs....a little to light for that shoulder cannon. Had a McMillian Hunter stock made up but added 1lb sniper fill to the plastic (polymer...my bad) and due to the decelerator pad I can shoot 40 rounds no problem....that is 9lbs 2 oz.

But my favorite woods gun is a 7.1lb Savage 308 with a cut down 20" Mauser barrel.

I think light weight and you better be careful of caliber!! Nothing worse than thinking of the recoil when trying to make a good shot. And I'm far from recoil sensitive....but it will creep in on ya!

Dear Donald:

I have found that a rifle that weighs 8-9 pounds with a 22-24 inch barrel is about right for me. But the balance is more important than the weight.

I had a Ruger 77 Target rifle with a 6-24x Bausch and Lomb scope and 26 inch barrel that was up around 12 pounds. That was unwieldly. I dumped it after one summer of ground hog hunting 15 years ago.

On the other hand, I agree with Saeed as to rifles being too light.

I just sold a Sako L-579 in 243 Winchester, because it was too light and more importantly muzzle light. I missed two standing shots on groundhogs this summer that I normally make, because the rifle would not settle down.

I am 5'10" and 205 lbs.

A well balanced 8-9 lb rifle with a proper sling seems about right for me. On the other hand a 7-8.5 lb shotgun feels about right, too.

Sincerely,

Chris Bemis

One of my 375 H&H Magnums. Barrel length with brake 13 inches. Weight maybe 5 or 6 lbs.; I confess, I've never bothered weighing it.

I've never really gotten hung up on how much a rifle weighs, how long the barrel is, etc. The longest barrel on one of my rifles is 28 inches and the heaviest is probably my 458 Lott when loaded at 9 or 10 lbs. (OK, I've never weighed it either).

Maybe my lack of caring about things like length and weight have something to do with the fact that for my whole life starting in my teens, nothing was really made to fit me so I had to learn to adapt to short beds, tight cockpits, etc.

I'm 6' 10" and about 305 lbs.

I much prefer light rifles. If it is over 8#, I generally do not keep it. I like rifles like the Micro-medallion (or hunter), Model 7, or Winthester Featherweight. Just my preference.

With bi-pod and all, my long range rig weighs in right at 12 pounds. That's as heavy as I would want to go for a plains rifle.

i find the weight of the rifle goes along with what i'm doing with it. if i'm climbing mountains i really like something light, if i'm varminting i want something medium to heavy, if i'm doing extreme range i want heavy. just depends

IMO rifles over 9# are starting to get heavy. Balance or totability has something to do with it however.

For me, when the rifle gets over 9#, it's getting heavy. My 404j comes in at 10.5#, perfect IMO, wouldn't want it lighter. My 280, just over 7#, wouldn't want it any heavier. Just depends on how you hunt & what caliber you shoot. I've got a heavy. 25" 260ai I would love to take for pronghorn. With bipod, it's pretty close to 12# but wonderfully accurate @ extreme distance.

"If" i have to carry it very far, i don't have much use for a heavy hunting gun. I shoot lighter guns just fine, so why pack all the extra weight?

My "go to gun" weighs 7 pounds loaded, sans scope, and that's not too bad to carry... Even when i let my friends use it, they do pretty good too.



If needed i can snap the scope on for long shots...

DM

Thanks for all the replies. I guess my rifles are not that far out of line. Just weighed the 700 I bought the other day. With scope, it is between 8-9 pounds with the plastic stock. That will soon change when I put the laminate one on it next week though.

i built my 7stw at 10 pounds

I like a rifle that weighs about 7 1/2 lbs all up.My heaviest is a MRC 300WSM in a Mickey stock.It is just at 9 lbs all up.