A funny thought about weight

cam1936

cam1936

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I recently decided that the 34 oz B&C stock on my sheep rifle needs to get swapped for something lighter. So I'm buying a Wildcat Composites and having it installed, bedded and painted. All said and done it will cost about $450 bucks to save about 16 oz. (I sold the take off stock)


Well I was going through my sheep gear list tonight and weighing all the small little items that I hadn't got around to weighing before. Now, I have always used Nalgene bottles outdoors, Dad always used them, they are rugged and they work. Always used them, never questioned them. The damn things weigh 6.2 oz each! (1 L wide mouth). I found a Platypus 2 L water bag that weighs 1.2 oz for $15
So by using the Platypus I save 11.2 oz for the grand total of $15.

Kind of makes you wonder about misplaced priorities.
 
cam1936 said:
I recently decided that the 34 oz B&C stock on my sheep rifle needs to get swapped for something lighter. So I'm buying a Wildcat Composites and having it installed, bedded and painted. All said and done it will cost about $450 bucks to save about 16 oz. (I sold the take off stock)


Well I was going through my sheep gear list tonight and weighing all the small little items that I hadn't got around to weighing before. Now, I have always used Nalgene bottles outdoors, Dad always used them, they are rugged and they work. Always used them, never questioned them. The damn things weigh 6.2 oz each! (1 L wide mouth). I found a Platypus 2 L water bag that weighs 1.2 oz for $15
So by using the Platypus I save 11.2 oz for the grand total of $15.

Kind of makes you wonder about misplaced priorities.
Click to expand...

I bring water in the disposable plastic bottles it's sold in... lighter and cheaper. Backpackers have lots of tricks for shaving weight too... cutting your toothbrush handle in half etc.
 
More important then a few on ounces saved on gear, or a rifle, is around your waist. People seem to think they can eat cheeseburgers 7 days a week and hold down their helium filled couches for excersize all year, then just pack light gear on a sheep hunt and they're good to go.

Get in shape, and get used to carrying more than your timmy's coffee and a box of doughnuts from the truck to your house!!

Why can't we go on these hunts the way our fathers did? It worked for them.....
 
Cleftwynd said:
Why can't we go on these hunts the way our fathers did? It worked for them.....
Click to expand...

Lighter gear will definitely help you hunt harder no matter your fitness level. I think if our fathers and grandfather had access to the gear we have today their is no doubt it would replace at least some of their stuff.

That being said, a fit guy with a 70 lb pack is going to do better than someone who is overweight with a 40 lb pack. Mental toughness is also a huge factor. I've gone through stages in fitness in the last 10 years, from ultra fit in my alpine climbing days, to pretty fat for awhile when I started this current job. Even when I was overweight (still not obese or anything), when I would hit the hills with very fit people I would not have an issue keeping up, and on long grinds I would often pull ahead. I'd like to think it was some sort of latent cardiovascular fitness, but I think I was just better at suffering then they were.

Ultimately whatever you can do in both pack weight, fitness and toughness will help you hunt harder.
 
cam1936 said:
I recently decided that the 34 oz B&C stock on my sheep rifle needs to get swapped for something lighter. So I'm buying a Wildcat Composites and having it installed, bedded and painted. All said and done it will cost about $450 bucks to save about 16 oz. (I sold the take off stock)


Well I was going through my sheep gear list tonight and weighing all the small little items that I hadn't got around to weighing before. Now, I have always used Nalgene bottles outdoors, Dad always used them, they are rugged and they work. Always used them, never questioned them. The damn things weigh 6.2 oz each! (1 L wide mouth). I found a Platypus 2 L water bag that weighs 1.2 oz for $15
So by using the Platypus I save 11.2 oz for the grand total of $15.

Kind of makes you wonder about misplaced priorities.
Click to expand...


I have 2 of those stocks (since 1997 or so). I love them. Very rugged, very light.

I have McMillan stocks too, but IMHO, the Wildcat Composite stocks are as good as you can buy.
 
cam1936 said:
Lighter gear will definitely help you hunt harder no matter your fitness level. I think if our fathers and grandfather had access to the gear we have today their is no doubt it would replace at least some of their stuff.

That being said, a fit guy with a 70 lb pack is going to do better than someone who is overweight with a 40 lb pack. Mental toughness is also a huge factor. I've gone through stages in fitness in the last 10 years, from ultra fit in my alpine climbing days, to pretty fat for awhile when I started this current job. Even when I was overweight (still not obese or anything), when I would hit the hills with very fit people I would not have an issue keeping up, and on long grinds I would often pull ahead. I'd like to think it was some sort of latent cardiovascular fitness, but I think I was just better at suffering then they were.

Ultimately whatever you can do in both pack weight, fitness and toughness will help you hunt harder.
Click to expand...

Truer words have never been spoken. I have a full metal lower back fusion (Aug 2012) and I find myself waiting for everyone on a mild 1 mile hike through the Canadian Shield. Is about determination and "mental toughness" as much as it is about your actual physical fitness level. Someone like Ardent might show me up, but even though I am WAY out of shape, I'll make sure I push him to prove it.

Stop worrying about onces on a rifle, until you have worked on your personal pounds. THEN, the rifle ounces will matter.
 
It's a whole lot easier to shed pounds from the pack then it is from the waist...........besides you'll do that as the hunt progresses, my last sheep hunt I lost 12 lbs in 5 days. The mental toughness alluded to here, is everything when back pack hunting. Anyone who starts off a backpack hunt with 70 lbs is an idiot and destined to fail.......JMHO. Back when I used to do these types of things my sheep hunting partner and I had our pack weight down to 35 lbs including rifles and ammo heading in for a 5 day hunt.
 
I think the greatest gains in the previous decades is the clothing. Quick drying, very light but still incredibly warm. Boots are lighter now as well, probably your single most important piece of equipment in the mountains. As far as the cost of customizing your rifle, no justification required.
 
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