just wandering if anyone lugs a heavy contourd barreled gun around to hunt deer or other big game? im sure tree stand or stationary hunting wouldnt be bad. just askin so what you all use. thanks jason

all mine are bull barrels BUT since they are 12-14 inch Contenders even the heaviest is only abvout 4lbs.

Only once - never again. The quickest way I know of to make an enjoyable walk unpleasant. A 50lb pack is easier to carry than a 12lb rifle.

[ 04-10-2003, 13:44: Message edited by: Hi-Wall ]

Twice,I was a slow learner!!!
Sold it and got something lighter and easier to carry.

I carry a 26" 30cal Shillen # 5 contour barrel around normaly, but it's only a 1/2 mile walk to my stand.
As I hunt over open fields I prefer it there, for dense brush I pack a M-94 carbine, and for group drives in standing corn I use a 12ga with buckshot.
There is no "right" answer, because it all depends on the terrain and conditions your hunting in.

Bigbore50AK: In 1976 I bought a factory stock heavy barrel Ruger 77V in caliber 7mm Express (same as 280 Remington). This Rifle had (as I recall) a 26" heavy barrel and I put a large Leupold Variable scope on it eventually. This was a heavy Rifle and I carried it many a mile on the high plains of Montana and Wyoming for both Mule Deer and Antelope. It was an accurate and deadly Rifle! The extra mass of the heavy barrel assisted my sight alignment and hold! I retired the Rifle after many years of service. I am a large person and the extra weight did not bother me. I think it was an asset. I had a wide sling and the shoulder for carrying this rig was often changed as I recall.
I have friends who use heavy barrels for Antelope and Mule Deer situations still. They enjoy them. My current Antelope Rifle is a custom made Rifle in caliber 240 Weatherby. It is built on a pre-64 Model 70 action with a heavy 27" Hart barrel. It has a Leupold 6.5X20 variable and has no slingswivel studs at all. It has a heavy wide forearmed stock on it also. I carry this heavy (12 pound 5 ounce) Rifle by hand acros both Montana and Wyoming for many hours at a time. I use my day pack as a bench rest and Antelope with in 400 yards are virtually in the bag. I am fortunate enough to be retired and have plenty of time for scouting and seldom anymore Hunt past opening day. The inconvenience of the extra weight is minimal. Although 4 years ago here in Montana opening day of Antelope season was accompanied by a blizzard and ice storm! I was not succesful until my tenth stalk of that opening day! My hands were numb from carrying that Rifle and to add to my misery I had left my heavy gloves back in Miles City at the motel! I would have paid $100.00 for a sling or my waterproof gloves that day! Lesson learned. My current Mule Deer Rifle has a 25 1/2 inch semi heavy Douglas Supreme barrel on it. It is in caliber 280 Remington and wears a Leupold 4X12 scope. It is heavy also my log book shows I have not weighed this custom pre-64 Model 70 based Rifle as yet but it weighs in excess of 10 pounds I am sure. I would not change a thing about this rig! Again the mass helps me with a smooth swing and steadier field condition sight alignment. I use a Butler Creek new style foam flex sling on this Rifle. Over the last few years I have been using a Harris Bi-Pod (swiveling model) on this rig. Deadly accurate in the field is the best way to describe this Rifle!
Weight (a little extra) in my mind can be an asset under many field conditions. My Mt. Goat Rifle though is a short action Remington 700 in 308 Winchester caliber. It is an ADL with a custom lightweight Kevlar stock. Most shots I have taken in the Goat country are moderate ranges and plenty of time for set up. Much lighter Rifle this than my other Big Game Rifles.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

I thought that way until I had to carry it around. Light weight for me.

Hcliff

I thought that way until I had to carry it around. Light weight for me. First shot is the important one. In th efield I don't worry about barrel heat

Hcliff

I prefer a heavier rifle myself. Yes, they are more difficult to carry than a heavy pack, but I shoot so much better with them. I even weighted my 22's by drilling into the butt under the buttplate, filling the hole with shot and sealing it with acraglas. I routed a channel in the barrel channel and did the same thing just to balance it out.

The only firearm I prefer as a lightweight is my "birding" shotgun.

[ 04-11-2003, 04:37: Message edited by: Pa.Frank ]

I hunt with a 24 inch #5 barrel on my deer rifle. I don't stand hunt either. Normally 5-10 miles a day in the south Cascades and Siskiyou mountains. We don't carry a rifle slung. It's in you hands where you can take that quick shot if you have to. You pack light to fight. Leave the spotting scope in the truck with the sixpack and the huge lunch and giant binos and lazer range finder and three layers of winter gear and axe and bipods and shooting sticks and deer cart and what ever the heck else you wont really use. A well balanced heavy rifle is not that bad to carry.

Ditto

i never understood why so many people think that a 9 pound rifle and scope is so heavy. everyone wants a 6 or 7 pounder. well that's fine if you are really not able to carry something heavier. but good grief, what's the big deal. what happens after you hump your 7 pound rifle back into the woods and shoot a deer? i never even saw a deer that weighed under 9 pounds. if you can't carry a 9 pound rifle, how in the world do you carry out a dead animal? i'm not tryin to be a smart ass, but for heaven's sake, the rifle is hopefully the lightest thing you'll be carrying out of the woods...right??

Maybe something is wrong with my form but I much prefer the balance of a muzzle heavy rifle. Not that I prefer to shoot offhand but sometimes a rest is in short supply. Anybody that thinks otherwise hasnt done much still hunting/stalking. I have grown fond of barrles ~.875" at the business end and synthetic stocks. Heavy tubes but light stocks and scopes suite me.

From Jack O'Conners book Sheep & Sheep Hunting...

Now and then some ambitious neophyte sheep hunter drops by my place to show me his notion of a sheep rifle. Usually it has a long barrel, now and then with some dreadful contraption of a muzzle break, and generally is chambered for some frighteningly powerful magnum cartridge with which our beginner plans to knock off a ram at 600 yards. Often these monsters weigh from 9 to 10-1/2 lbs with their 26" and sometimes even 28" barrels. They are about as handy to get around with in the mountains as vaulting poles.

I agree with Jack.

Ive never had the privledge of hunting sheep, but if I did I would go lightweight for that due to the terrain. Having said that, Ive used 9 lb rifles and even an old octagon bbl 45-70 to go after deer and didnt mind it at all.

If you want to lose 2 or 3 lbs, take a crap before you leave. I'll keep my 10 pound rifle any day over a dinky little carbine.

I have a new .338win that has a heavy barrel. It is a T/C Encore though, and tips the scales just at 8.5 pounds scoped and loaded. It's so compact with the 24" HB barrel, that it's really a pleasure to carry. Very balanced too, points well.

My scoped Springfield Armory M1A weighs right about 11 pounds. It doesn't seem heavy to me and I carry it all day, every day of deer season.

I used to hunt in upstate NY with a heavy barrel 25-06 but I just sat in a treestand over looking a huge corn field, it was just the ticket. Now if I hunted in the mountains I would use my winchester M100 .308. Now that I live in Missouri my main two rifles are the win m100 .308 and a marlin 45-70, I seldom get a shot over 100 yds as I hunt the southern part of the state. If I hunted up north over the huge soybean fields there then that heavy bbl 25-06 would be right at home again.

My own experience covers both. I have a 7 lb., 2 oz. Lt. Mtn. Rifle. It balances on the front reciever ring, and has a beautiful 2 lb. trigger. I also have a very nice, 12 lb. Long Range Rifle. It has a first class trigger @ 3.5 lbs., and balances at the front reciever ring.
The difference, in a sitting position w/ a shooting sling is dramatic. At 400 yds., the 7 lb. rifle will put 3 out of 4 into a 9-10 inch target. The 12 lb. gun shoots all of it's rounds into 6 inches all the way to almost 600 yds.
In the field, it seems to boil down to how much energy one has to do what one needs to do. I understand Alaskan Sheep Hunters say "the guy with the lightest rifle shoots the best sheep". What this means to me is you can literally walk further, climb higher, and hunt harder with the lighter rifles. They just take alot less out of me. Again, my own field experience backs this up.
So, to me, it comes down to having both, and picking the one that matches the conitions I'll be facing.
I don't climb much when I hunt Pronghorn. But I sure do when I hunt high desert muleys. I take the 12 lb. rifle for one and the 7 lb. rifle for the other. Or one of my "in between rifles". E

I have been packing 9.5 Lb. 26" barreled guns for about 50 plus years and they bother me not at all...

I can simply shoot them better off hand and even with a rest they steady faster...My double rifles have weighed 9.5 to 14 lbs. and I have packed them up to maybe 20 miles per day on an elephant track..Idaho where I live is no walk in the park and I pack a 9.5 Lb. gun hunting deer and elk...

I have no use for light weight rifles because I cannot hold them still after a short run and I'm sucking air...I'm hunting not on a picnic and I want to hit what I shoot at....A couple of pounds one way or the other makes little difference to me...The problem today is most hunters are not in phyical shape to hunt and I believe that is why they pack light rifles or they have let their imagination run rampant, or perhaps read too many gun magazines.

thanks for all the info, this is the most responses ive ever got from a question. id like to build a gun that on the lines of a tactial style but i live in indiana so all i do is shoot paper and if i ever see a coyote i wana shoot one. so i wanated to no if it would be a good idea if i ever get to go some were i can hunt something in the lines of big game with a rifle. just like atkinson said im not in very good health thanks alot jason

The typical US hunting rifle weighs 8-9 pounds because heavier rifles get harder to carry faster than they get easy to hit with, and lighter ones get harder to hit with faster than they get easier to carry. There are exceptions, but the rule generally holds true. I like a 30-06 to go about 8.25 pounds.

If you like the tactical rifle look, a carbon-fiber barrel would give it to you without the extra weight. Hope this helps, Okie John.

If one goes hunting in the mountains, such as a self guided sheep hunt, and carries on his person all he is to live on for a week, then he will appreciate a light rifle.

I will not argue with one who says that he has done that and a 9-10 Lb rifle is not too heavy for him, but it is too heavy for me.

I found that I had to keep my pack to about 35 lbs, to be able to hunt without becoming exhausted. After that hunting is no fun.

In the 60s we did not have so much light equipment, and I and my buddy did not carry a tent. We used a light plastic tarp to keep us from getting too wet if it rained. In addition, I did not carry a coat. Instead I layered my clothing with a GI wool shirt, down undershirt, and a thin poncho. That was all I could carry.
This was in Alaska where I was stationed from 1960 - 1964.
Realize also that we had to carry the game out of the mountains to the landing strip. That might take two days.

So I like light rifles. I shoot them as well, and I can carry them much better.

Jerry

[ 04-13-2003, 07:14: Message edited by: JerryM ]

It's a good question.. do youbuy a light wieght gun that's easy to carry one weekend/week a year, yet kicks the crap out of you every other weekend all year long?

Or have a comfortable gun all year long that's a bit heavy once a year?

Each person should use whatever gun that they have confidence in. Shooting skill can be honed however with a lot of different weight rifles.

I am with Eremicus and I use rifles that are suited to the task. Also a persons physical condition is the real world. Not everyone is twenty years old nor are we all six feet four.

For varmint rifles the accuracy requirement is much higher as the animals are smaller and in some cases the ranges are very long. So I have some heavier rifles for that purpose.

For game hunting when it's primarily in a forest and the average number of shots fired is zero it does not take long to find a light and handy rifle to hunt with. Such rifles can be shot well if one practices with them as I suggested above and in fact get on and stay with moving game better than rifles that are muzzle heavy.

"All guns good, shootem good"

After all the chest beating, posturing, bragging and just plain lies about how we can carry heavy rifles all over the place without getting tired....

I'll contend that any man that hunt's whitetail, hogs, bears, elk or moose with a rifle that weighs over 7.5lbs before optics is either a glutton for punishment or not too bright.

Unless, that is of course, that he doesn't do much walking in which case the weight of the rifle is somewhat irrelevant.

Modern lightweight rifles can usually be made to shoot well under an inch from cold barrels and that's more than accurate enough for almost any hunting situation.

If you can't shoot a light rifle accurately then blame yourself... Not the rifles...

$bob$

$bob$,

I'd say you're right. I think that lighter is better. My favorites are my 5-6.5 lb Contender carbines (with optics). I hunt with heavier but now plan on NOT doing a lot of walking when I do so. This from an old infantryman who carried a LOT including M60s and other MGs for hours without a break. It is supposed to be fun.

About twenty years ago I was on an invitation elk hunt in Colorado. One of the other hunters had a 30 caliber something, but the opening in the barrel looked like a BB gun with that bull barrel wrapped around it. The weight of the gun was just over 13 pounds. The guy was a stocky college football looking guy. He was really strutting that first day or two. By day five we were giving him Hell. He couldn't keep up. He was constantly resting the gun on the ground. (I held the gun one time while he crawled over a fence. It wore me out.) By the time the hunt was over he finally admitted that carrying an artillery piece on a walk & stalk was pretty dumb.

While I'm pretty young myself my experiences have been just like JerryM and Bob have said.

My main rifle is a 7.5lb before scope with a 26 inch tube. The weight isn't too bad but the barrel length is too long if I want to actually hike someplace where their is some tree cover. I'm about an average size guy of 180 lbs but in probably better than average shape for my age. I couldn't handle carrying a 8.5 or 9 lb rifle (before scope) if I was going to try and spend the day hiking into difficult country.

On the other hand I have a friend who is 160 lbs who loves the heavy barrel rifles. He however likes to sit and spot while I like to walk more.

To each their own for certain but I think if you spend your money on a good quality rifle it will shoot well enough that a heavy barrel factory rifle won't give you much of an advantage in the field.

I'm hunting with a 9# 24"barreled 30.06 with a synthetic stock...just right...

I've carried 9lb rifles and I've carried 7.5lb rifles... 7.5 lbs is better.

BA

I take whatever is the most accurate for the type of game I'm hunting. All things being equal, I prefer the heavier rifle because of the extra steadiness it gives me.

Most of my stalking is for about 2-3 hours over terrain that probably resembles your back yard. I find my 9lb rifle ideal,(#3 profile 24", steel scope and wood stock) Once I start lugging a roe sack, telescope, 1st aid kit, thermos, sandwiches and spare fleece all day in inhospitable terrain it becomes less ideal. I have just sprung for a little break open single shot that will weigh no more than 7lbs scoped. It remains to be seen how accurately I can shoot it when my heart is going like a steam hammer but it will be a lot more pleasant to carry.

I thoroughly agree with Hobie, hunting needs to be fun, discomfort is not fun.

All my hunting rifles are of normal weight except one, and that is my special Mule Deer rifle. It is a Winchester Model 70 Laredo with bull barrel and boss, in 7mm STW. With a 6.5 X 20 Leupold on it there is considerable heft. I use it to stand hunt on my mountain in Colorado, that is a short walk of 1/2 mile from my ATV. I put up with the weight because it spits 160 grain North Forks or Barnes XLC's in one ragged hole. My 14 year old grandson has also discovered it's steadiness on Whitetails in Tennessee and Kentucky. He calls it Bertha and has killed several Deer with it. Good shooting.

[ 04-16-2003, 02:43: Message edited by: phurley ]

My favorite "walkabout rifle" is a Model 7SS in 308. It weighs in at 6.25 pounds before optics with a 20" barrel. It packs a pretty good whallop.

If that's not enough... My latest aquisition is a Savage Weather Warrior (stainless/synthetic with 24" barrel) 16fss in 300WSM and it only weighs 6.75lbs without optics.

If that won't do it I have a Winchester Model 70 SS Classic CRF in 375H&H. It weighs in at 7.5lbs before optics.

If that ain't enough... I'm gonna climb a tree and let the damned animal have the damned rifle... <g>

That's my story and I'm stickin' to it....

$bob$

I have a nice light '94 for the thick stuff, but on watch, I don't mind my 28" Octagon heavyweight 1886 Winchester. Probably at least 15Lbs steady as a rock.

I COULDN'T HIT SHIT WITH MY MODEL SEVEN BAREEL BOUNCING ALL AROUND SO I HAD A NUMBER # 5 SHILEN PUT ON A 700 ACTION CUT AT 20" THE WEIGHT STABILIZES THE FRONT IT IS THE ONLY RIFLE I CAN REALLY SHOOT OFF HAND WITH, NOW I AM HAVING ONE BUILT WITH A 22" KRIEGER

Different strokes for different folks.

Methinks it would be a matter of application. For every rifle there is a time and place. I seldom hear complaints about the weight of double rifles though it is true they are usually transported by vehicle or bearer. Then there are the times when one goes for a long walk after something with teeth and what not, when it is perhaps preferable to have the piece in hand. I don't suggest heavy just for the sake of exercise but it has its place.