Would you guys consider purchasing an 8 pound .308 hunting rifle ? (not scoped)

Mumbles Marble Mouth said:
I bought an 8lb .270 hunting rifle no scope. My other rifle is a 9lb .375H&H no scope. Its a strategy actually. To get more guns down the road. When I get too old to lug them around, I have an excuse to my wife to get another gun. That might not work though because were getting her a rifle of her own and its going to be a pretty light weight gun. Not sure what I'm going to say to her when she says, "just use my gun."
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Trade her in at 40 for two 20's...
 
I was checking out what I consider to be a heavy carry rifle recently... It was a Tikka T3x TAC A1... I'm guessing it was about 11 lbs with no glass, no should strap and no bi-pod on it. It was front heavy for sure and I don't think I'd want to lug that around for too long. I would image it was deadly accurate and might have weighed close to what the M-700 weighed - or perhaps more then the one the OP is considering. If I was to seriously consider this type of Rifle I would have to ask myself - Where Am I likely to use it. Maybe it might be a "bean-field" type of rifle for what a 308 can do. Might do some target - longer range stuff... Or a rifle that would be used from a blind or tree stand set-up. It's not likely that I'd carry it on long hikes in the bush though. Experience has shown that lightness (to a point) is great for longer hikes & carries; and most importantly it must meet a suitable accuracy factor. Most guys know that a typical 30-30 with open sites is an all-day-carry rifle for brush hunting. I sorta compare other rifles to that and consider if it meets a similar criteria. Hope it works out for you.
 
I've been eyeballing that same rifle myself, but I simply can't see a use for it. I'm way past the point of buying another accurate .308 rifle just for the sake of having another accurate .308 rifle. To my mind, if I am going to carry that weight all day hunting...and I can still manage to do that, and still do it regularly...then I sure as hell don't plan on it being a .308! Conversely, if I am going to carry a .308, then I want it to have the quality that is, to me, the main appeal of a .308: I want it to be short and light. That gun is the perfect weight for a hunting .338 or .375.

Big and heavy? Sure, if the payload matches. Short and light? Nice to use.

But...short and heavy? WTF???
 
I'm gravitating to lighter hunting rifles myself. Like to be 6.5 lb or under for rifle alone.Got my first sub 6.5 lb rifle 5 years ago and was hooked.Having said that, I have bought a couple of heavier ones since. The weatherby vanguard s2 is as heavy as I'll go on a bare rifle now.
 
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When shaving 2-3 pounds is this considering you are packing a lot of other stuff with you? Binos? spotting scope? Lunch ?
I don’t see a huge deal in loosing a few pounds . I’ve walked plenty far with a rifle or shotgun but never really packed a crazy amount of stuff
Just wondering how far the hike has to be to make it worth while creating a ultra light rifle?wî
 
I packed an 11 pound rifle for the last 20 years and was always of the opinion that I would not accept the defeat of getting older and having to shed some weight. Then last season I absconded with my wife's little finnlight in 7-08 and I must say, it may make some miles with me in the mountains yet!
 
FGR said:
I packed an 11 pound rifle for the last 20 years and was always of the opinion that I would not accept the defeat of getting older and having to shed some weight. Then last season I absconded with my wife's little finnlight in 7-08 and I must say, it may make some miles with me in the mountains yet!
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I'm in my mid-50s now but a full stock Lee Enfield No.4Mk.2 is still not too heavy, mainly because I am large. The gun is the same weight if you are a smaller person but all else being equal, it's a bigger proportion of body weight. Expecting to get into close bush I carry a lighter rifle sometimes but mainly because my lighter rifle is more compact. While serving in the British Army I went from the FN FAL to the SA80 which because of the optic sight was near enough the same weight. The SA80 felt like much less of a load because it was compact.
 
TheTooner said:
. The SA80 felt like much less of a load because it was compact.
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Yes... I have a Rem 7615 that is quite compact and the small 'centre of mass' makes it quite a bit easier to carry in the bush. I think we underestimate the ease with which one can maintain balance with such a rifle compared to a longer firearm...the result is that its 'felt' weight seems less (despite the fact that it isnt all that light)...I presume because you are not constantly trying to recover the balance as you would with a longer rifle. ...
 
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