1-2 Pounds more on a hunting rifle allot?

I noticed that you are looking at a very inexpensive bolt action to be topped with a very expensive piece of glass ($1500-$2000), like an S&B, Swaro, Euro Zeiss etc, all great scopes, superior construction, superb optics, lots of bucks and lots of weight. How about a Kimber Montana with Liteweight Talleys and a good quality Leupold or Zeiss in the $600-$1000 range, more than adequate for most types of hunting, totaling around the $2000 mark, loaded and ready to go at around or just under 7 lbs. Quality rifle and glass, great to shoot and even better to carry, as Gatehouse says, learn to shoot it properly and with precision, then use the leftover change to buy the best hunting boots available and go walkabout.
 
I like about 7.5lbs all up for a carry rifle, for me, this is about the right weight, balance.

I have a very light 5lbs all up .260 custom kimber and is a joy to carry, but the extreme light weight. Makes it a bit harder to hold steady on an off hand shot, Spent plenty of time packing around a 10.5 lb .270 in my younger years and never got used to it, heavy rifles generally shoot well, but for any kind of multi day or alpine hunting trip, They wear you down slowly over time, same as heavy boots. dulls alertness and reactions.
 
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A good many years ago i bought a Sako 995 in 338 Lapua, topped with a Zeiss Diavari 3-12x56. With a sling, loaded, this unit was just shy of 13 lbs. 5k into a walk, and you would want to throw it into the bush and walk out. No amount of changing shoulders helped.

Using that example, think of the hunting you are likely to do. If it is being dropped off at a seizmic/hydro right of way, or a tree stand.....well the weight is irrelevant. If you are going to walk the high places, or cruise through the ridges.....something a lot lighter would work much better. Light rifles are not necessarily inaccurate, they will just string if you want to shoot quickly and overheat the barrel.
 
check out Howa's new alpine mountain rifle, prophets should be able to order them in or irunguns, buy once cry once.

5.7lbs yo!
 
one of the fittest men I have hunted with pushed deer hard and long in Northern Ontario up, down and along some pretty good ridges; he preferred a Ruger 44 carbine with iron sights
 
As I get older, I find myself coveting lighter rifles. I have a 6.25 lb .243 in the safe and I recently bought a nice savage 99f (featherweight) in .308. I have a nice , light for caliber, ..30/06 as well. If I am to do any amount of walking, one of theses 3 get the nod. No more lugging the heavy ones unless it is straight to the stand.
 
nomad 68 said:
As I get older, I find myself coveting lighter rifles. I have a 6.25 lb .243 in the safe and I recently bought a nice savage 99f (featherweight) in .308. I have a nice , light for caliber, ..30/06 as well. If I am to do any amount of walking, one of theses 3 get the nod. No more lugging the heavy ones unless it is straight to the stand.
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x2. My BLR .243 with a 2-7x seems to get the nod for still hunting deer more all the time ... Couldn't agree with you more.
 
nomad 68 said:
As I get older, I find myself coveting lighter rifles. I have a 6.25 lb .243 in the safe and I recently bought a nice savage 99f (featherweight) in .308. I have a nice , light for caliber, ..30/06 as well. If I am to do any amount of walking, one of theses 3 get the nod. No more lugging the heavy ones unless it is straight to the stand.
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Nomad the 99F in .308Win is a deadly choice if you are a still hunter, and also from a stand or blind out as far as most of us can practically shoot without a rest and known ranges. We are on the same mind, the bolt gun goes to the stand, the carbine comes out after sitting if we are going to explore a section through timber. Any one can double duty, but if you have both genres why not use them.

These lever guns are not the lightest, but when something feels natural in the hands when you cradle it, it's almost like losing a pound or two.
 
saskcop said:
x2. My BLR .243 with a 2-7x seems to get the nod for still hunting deer more all the time ... Couldn't agree with you more.
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You have a nice still hunting combo on 2X or 3X that can double duty from the stand as well. A great choice. I only had the .308Win BLR, but I bet the .243Win is more of a tight grouper than the .308. The 2X-7X is a wonderful all around scope if 300 yards is maximum, and the 6X setting can still get it done there.
 
RememberTheSomme said:
Nomad the 99F in .308Win is a deadly choice if you are a still hunter, and also from a stand or blind out as far as most of us can practically shoot without a rest and known ranges. We are on the same mind, the bolt gun goes to the stand, the carbine comes out after sitting if we are going to explore a section through timber. Any one can double duty, but if you have both genres why not use them.

These lever guns are not the lightest, but when something feels natural in the hands when you cradle it, it's almost like losing a pound or two.
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I have another 99 as well with 20" barrel, in .300 sav which is a nice one to carry. Also have a Marlin 336 Texan in .30/30 to make the choice of what to take harder lol. I have always been a bolt action guy but I really like the 99's and 336's.
 
I had the 336TS in the early to mid 80's, it was one of the best carrying rifles I had. I sold it to a co-worker around 1987, always wondered where it went hehe, you never know. I prefer the straight stock but will have to put up with the curved lever on the 336Y I guess.
 
Let me chime in with my 2 cents worth. I can totally relate to what the other mature guys say about weight and age. When I started hunting deer and/or moose, I used a full military Lee Enfield No.4. At that time,I was built like the proverbial brick s#@t house, and a heavy rifle didn't bother me at all. I nailed my first deer with that venerable old rifle at about 150 yds. with a lung shot. Time went on, and I got a great deal on a Ruger M77 varmint rifle (the older one with the blued barrel and walnut stock) in .308 and it came with a Leupold VariX2 2.5-10X40. Again, a heavy rifle but no problem at the time. It did great for precision range shooting and it got me a lot of deer over the years. It was never a comfortable rifle if I had to push or bush walk due to it's weight, but for almost all of my hunting years, I've been just walking to my chosen spot and spending the day sitting.
Now I have a sporter No.4 that's a much more comfortable rifle to lug around, and if I'm pushing or scouting I like my 20 ga. slug gun. Everything has glass on it, and I don't have the muscle mass I once did, so I've had to make certain concessions to the years. If I was your age, I would buy a nice .308 with good glass. You can't go wrong with Leupold, higher end Nikon, or even Bausch & Lomb, and not break the bank. If you don't hand load, look into it. I load for all my rifles, but over the years I have worked up match and hunting loads for my .308 and I can take it to range to shoot for distance or just look at my reloading logs for the best deer, moose, or bear load. Given the sheer number of bullets available for that calibre, you can't go wrong.
 
Get the rifle that you will use the most. If you are primarily a hunter more than a shooter, get the hunting rifle. If you will use the rifle primarily for busting paper then go with a heavier rifle.

Choose the rifle that will cover the majority of your usage.

Sometimes we overthink this stuff: regardless of what we've been told by generations of gunwriters - a 2 lb heavier rifle won't make so much difference to a physically fit adult in MOST hunting conditions. If you're going to be climbing mountains then you'd be well advised to go with the lightest rifle you can afford.

I'm 57 and reasonably fit. I can carry a 9lb+ rifle all day without needing medical attention, but it does get heavy by the end of the day.
 
jethunter said:
Get the rifle that you will use the most. If you are primarily a hunter more than a shooter, get the hunting rifle. If you will use the rifle primarily for busting paper then go with a heavier rifle.

Choose the rifle that will cover the majority of your usage.

Sometimes we overthink this stuff: regardless of what we've been told by generations of gunwriters - a 2 lb heavier rifle won't make so much difference to a physically fit adult in MOST hunting conditions. If you're going to be climbing mountains then you'd be well advised to go with the lightest rifle you can afford.

I'm 57 and reasonably fit. I can carry a 9lb+ rifle all day without needing medical attention, but it does get heavy by the end of the day.
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Jet I can carry one as well, and do regularly.

I'm not quite as old as you but I was within two grades of you in school. As a matter of fact, I carried my scoped Remington 7400 in .30/06 everywhere last few years, because I had no short, light carbine anymore. Add the 5 rounds of ammo and a traditional leather sling to the scope, mounts, and bases and its well over 9lbs. Shorter, lighter rifles just feel so much better when the day starts to get boring, unless it's just standing there in the corner of your blind mind you..
When we started scoping rifles, we took away an inherent ability to be able to be trail carried with ease. I find myself constantly trying to cradle and change up the enhanced package when tired. Remember the old iron sighted 1894s and even the iron sighted No1 and No4 Le enfields. carried at arms length(trail carry) all day. You will tire 60% slower when you can actually relax your hand with thumb around a rifle compared to cradling it in the hand because of optics.
I always found my 9.5-11 pounds rifles are usually held by the barrel carried over the back like a 4X4 post as I take the road for a short cut back to my truck for the last part of my morning still hunt when it starts to drag out.
 
A pound or two is a lot on a rifle. Typical hunting rifles tend to be around 8.5 pounds scoped. If you add a pound to that its starting to seem heavy, add 2 pounds and you're up into some bull-barrelled clumsy things and heavy express rifles. Its not so much that I can't carry it as that there better be a good reason.

Working the other way a 7.5 pound rifle seems particularily light, and a 6.5 is practically like thistle down. On flat ground much of it is noticeable but not the end of the world. Introduce a slope into the equation and every pound feels like a ton.
 
At one time weight didn't matter to me. As I age I find I'm reaching for lighter guns to carry around hunting. I can still trek across a muddy concession with a 12 lb 10 ga shotgun but find I'm using a 7.5 lb ou 12 ga more. Same for small game like squirrels. My lever or pump are much more comfortable to carry than my heavy barrel guns
But when it ones to hunting big game I suck up the pain and carry a rifle I know will get the job done even if everything goes wrong and even if it tears me apart. Start a training exercise to get into shape before the hunting season. You won't regret it

As a side note. Gatehouse nailed it with his first response
 
I hunted my first season (last year) with a savage 10 (I'm mid 20's and fairly solid/fit) if you're still hunting, and hunting hard, you'll rethink it pretty quick. There's a reason I just bought a setup that weighs a few pounds less for the upcoming season.
 
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