Yes, i ahev posted them before on this board, plus another Alaskan hunting board. but i am sure most of the data was posted here to asnwer different questions.

I have chased Tahr and Chamois in the Souther Alps and the Organ Mountains. As a matter of fact, my Kiwi buddy who I hunt with will be here at the house in less than a month. This will be his 3rd trip to hunt over here with me. He also does not like fly-weight rifles.

BUT...Kiwis hunt drastically differently than we do in AK. We did use a chpper to just fly us into the DOC Tahr block and come pick us up when it was time to go. In Alaska, you would have hiked into where we were. He still doe snot believe me, even though I have given him names of friend of mine in AK who will hike in even farther there where we were hunting. When you are moving several miles a day with everything on your back, ounces of the rifle take on new meaning. Unless you have been there, you can't truly appreciate it.

Also, very, very few people know how to build a true flyweight rifle. A gun butcher will just buy soem light parts and stick them together. That is a sure recipe for disaster. If the rifle is not properly balanced, a light rifle will handle terribly. When built properly, they handle like a dream. i have killed game shooting off hand off of both shoulder with my light rifle and never found it wanting.

Another key point to bring up is practice. i have shot more rounds than most people I know. Back when I was shooting in competition I shot an incredible amount of ammo. And it wasn't just banging away-every shot was serious and had my undivided attention. Very few people shoot like this. If more did shoot like this, then they would be better off,but few folks are that committed.

For osmeone with less experience, a heavier rifle is often easier to shoot.

For those building lightweights on the M98, then go with a blind magazine and save weihgt. All of the Rem Ti rifles are blind magazines, as are almost all fly-weight rifles.

For those trying to build a light rifle on th eM98, Steve Houghes wrote an article in the June/July issue of Sports Afield about a 6 1/4# (w/o scope) rifle on a Mauser action. And this rifle had a full cheekpiece and a 25" barrel. Eliminating the cheekpiece and cutting the barrel to 22" would remove a lot of weight.