Heavy Rifles

[agilent_one]

..so i guess I'm saying its what you condition yourself to do....happy hunting!!!

Or conversely - how intelligent you are.

Would you carry a 40 pound rifle if a 15lb model was available?

 

[Boomer]

wow....700 lbs, 8 miles, in half froozen muskeg...do you do that in one trip???? is it up hill both ways???? All joking aside, in the senario you've described I'd have to say yes every extra pound would count...but also putting yourself in that situation would be kind of like Honestly, I've never met, knew, or heard of any one person packing 700 lbs of animal 8miles in the conditions you've described and I'll also add that if I ever meet this person I'll address them as SIR and I certainly won't argue with them!!!!
and here I was thinking packing an extra 7 or 8 lbs of rifle weight isn't a burden....silly me!!!

When I was a youngster I was often accused of being tougher than I was smart, I shudder to think that accusation could still hold true today, because today I'm no where near as tough as I was. Back then I only cared about being in the bush and hunting; distance or the length of time it would take to recover an animal meant little to me. Today when a big animal is contemplated, I usually consider such things as the distance to a vehicle, to water where it can be recovered with the help of a boat or float plane, or I say to hell with it and wait till there's enough snow and hunt by snowmobile. Some would consider this progress, I'm not so sure; but perhaps I'm still tougher than I am smart. Either way, I still think 10 pounds is the upper limit of acceptable hunting rifle weight.

 

[Dogleg]

Would you carry a 40 pound rifle if a 15lb model was available?

If I had a 40 pound rifle, I would go out of my way to find a situation to use it.

 

[archie_james_c]

Where is the experience of the "If you cant hit it at 500 yards with an 8 pound gun, you cant hit it with a 15 pound gun. " coming from? I'm guessing you've never use a heavier rifle before.

I've owned EDGE stocked 6 pound scoped UL's, 8 pound sporters and 700 Polices. And I shoot to 400 yards. I shouldnt have spouted off about 500 I was just assuming thats what everyone around this sight thinks of when they say "long range hunting" (except for the .338 LM guys).

I hit my 12X12" gong @ 400 yards as many times with my 6 pound guns as I did with my Police, shooting from field positions. (Prone off backpack, kneeling w/gun resting on tree's, etc.).

But hell if you want to pack a 15 pound gun do it man! I'm just saying for practical long range hunting (inside 400-500 yards) I would think an 8 pound gun will do what a 15 pound gun would do...if the shooter has the time in behind the trigger. But Im just some guy on the internet.