I was wondeing about the rifle weight question. I do not own a big bore now, but really like the the idea of owning and hunting with a big bore here in the US as a hunt anywhere elese is an economic impossibility at this time. I am a big guy (5'11" and 260lbs) and am in pretty goood shape. I was wondering what thw felt diffference would be beteen a 9lb gun annd a 13 ponder. I have done a bit of backpacking and realize what a difference 4lb can make in a trip, but was wondering what effect the added gun weigh would have on a typical Contiguous NA hunt.

Carl

I do a lot of back packing and hunting I find rifles up to 10lbs not to bad to carry. I find that carrying my 13 to 16 lb varmint rifles harder and they spend more time hung by the sling then in my arms. They are harder to bring to bear on running game. My 10 lb 416 taylor isn't to bad to carry and get into action. But then I wouldn't want it any lighter because of recoil. I carried my 9lb 338 in AK last fall and didn't have any trouble at all. But then I am in good shape (5'11" 178lbs) run 4 to 5 miles every other day lift weights bike a lot in the summer ect.

In an "African Carry" position I can carry an 18 pound rifle all day. It does help if one is wearing a heavy coat though.

Scott

Scotts,
Say there your in pretty good shape and must be tougher n nails to pack a 18 lb. rifle all day long on a elephant track....I know some PHs that can't do that.

My limit is about 10 or 11 pounds and 9 is a bunch better. I don't use a sling for the most part. My Searcy double is 10 pounds I think..Thats all I want to carry...

Ideal rifle weight has a lot to do with upper body strength. If you're a desk jockey and don't lug heavy stuff around all day, it's harder to carry a rifle in your hands all day than if you're a construction worker. I think that's what John Taylor meant when he wrote about very heavy rifles being good only for men of "exceptional physique."

I learned this the hard way when I still-hunted for three days with a fairly heavy rifle. I had prepared my legs but not my arms, which felt like they were being pulled out of the sockets, and I blew an easy snap shot on the last morning in front of witnesses. When I got home, I bought a steel fencepost, cut it in half and duct-taped the halves together, then lugged it around when I did my other training. Big difference. If you were in the military, you remember Rifle PT -- Uncle Sam had you do it for a reason. Same with bayonet drills. Both do wonderful things for all the right muscles.

In the end, the best training is to spend a lot of time in the woods with your rifle in your hands. At least that's what I tell my wife. Hope this helps, Okie John.

Not in the shape I once was in. I can still swing a 15lb hammer for the better part of a day though, splitting wood.

Of course, Ray, I may be lying about that just like everything else.

Scott

You could probably get away with an 8lb maul if you used an axe instead of a hammer.

Canuck

Canuck,

Don't you guys use "Monster Mauls" up there? Unbreakable (literally) and they don't get stuck either. If you don't have them, bring some up and they will sell out faster than beanie babies.

Okay wise guy!



Here is the 15 pound hammer, a 10 pound wedge, an 8 pound wedge, and a 3.5 pound single bit axe!







As you can see those wedges have seen just a tad of work.



Most of the wood I split is 2' to 3' thick and is oak, ash, or cottonwood. The last is easy to split.



Keep it up and I will have to get pictures of the saws!



Mark, have you used one of them there mega wedge hammer things? They seem mighty awkward to me, as in frighteningly so.



Scott

Well scott that sure is one way to work out the arms. For the time being I'll stick to the weight room and my old college football workout. Thanks for the input everyone.

Carl

If your question on weights has to do with felt recoil, there are better ways to deal with recoil than weight such as a really good recoil pad (but not a muzzle break, please). BTW don't listen to some people on this forum who can't tell the difference in recoil between a 375H&H and a 416Rigby Of course after a couple of pink gins, I can't tell the difference between a big bore and little willy. There, now I've probably offended everybody on this forum...oh wait that wasn't a 45-70 you were going to be packing was it?
Russ

As far as recoil goes, a 9# rifle is going to kick alot more than a 13# rifle, that's just physics. Even 1# can make wuite a diff. in recoil dpending on where that 1# goes(ie, barrel). For me, anything much over 10# is going to wear you down if you have to carry it in your hands all day, I don't care how good of shape you think you are in.