Backcountry rifle weight?
- Thread starter huntin24/7
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std7mag
Well-known member
Yeah, none of us are getting any younger. I'm north of 50 now myself.
You don't think about how heavy the rifle, or anything is until you carry a lighter one. Then you wonder why you didn't go lighter years ago!
The axiom is true.
When walking miles, ounces equals pounds.
When your talking backpack hunting, especially at higher elevations, it's not just the rifle.
The backpack itself, water, food, rain gear, knife, extra clothes for temp changes. And if you are lucky and harvest game, your carrying that back also.
So why wouldn't you want a lighter rifle or bow?
You don't think about how heavy the rifle, or anything is until you carry a lighter one. Then you wonder why you didn't go lighter years ago!
The axiom is true.
When walking miles, ounces equals pounds.
When your talking backpack hunting, especially at higher elevations, it's not just the rifle.
The backpack itself, water, food, rain gear, knife, extra clothes for temp changes. And if you are lucky and harvest game, your carrying that back also.
So why wouldn't you want a lighter rifle or bow?
Last edited:
Addicting
Well-known member
I have on that was 9.5lbs that I didn’t like carrying. My friend had a custom Pre64 done up that came in at 10lbs. The McMillan stock makes the balance on his rifle feel significantly lighter than it is. I hope that when mine gets done it comes in the sub 9lb range.
ImBillT
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- Oct 29, 2018
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I’ve carried my antelope rifle on two elk hunts and three mule deer hunts. It’s over 13lbs. It does take a slight toll, but it’s not the difference between being able to get somewhere or not.
The day before elk season this year I ended up going about 6mi in and covering a lot of elevation change. My gear plus rifle came in at 85lbs, and it absolutely destroyed me. I decided that I couldn’t get an elk out of there on my own unless I shot it first thing the first morning so I went back to the truck. A little over 13mi total. Wrecked me. I didn’t hunt hard for days after that. It wasn’t the rifle though. I took my day pack in on the last day and it plus the rifle come in around 35lbs. I covered 23 miles and it didn’t really bother me. I took my 10lb .308 on my next back country trip though. It was a nice change.
Your 10lb rifle is fine. Lighter is definitely nice. I’m not sure what my wife’s .243 weighs, but it ain’t much, and it’s very nice to carry on long trips. Still, not nearly a necessity if you’re young and healthy.
The day before elk season this year I ended up going about 6mi in and covering a lot of elevation change. My gear plus rifle came in at 85lbs, and it absolutely destroyed me. I decided that I couldn’t get an elk out of there on my own unless I shot it first thing the first morning so I went back to the truck. A little over 13mi total. Wrecked me. I didn’t hunt hard for days after that. It wasn’t the rifle though. I took my day pack in on the last day and it plus the rifle come in around 35lbs. I covered 23 miles and it didn’t really bother me. I took my 10lb .308 on my next back country trip though. It was a nice change.
Your 10lb rifle is fine. Lighter is definitely nice. I’m not sure what my wife’s .243 weighs, but it ain’t much, and it’s very nice to carry on long trips. Still, not nearly a necessity if you’re young and healthy.
Dinkshooter
Well-known member
Just weighed my Tikka T3X lite for giggles. 8.4lbs with empty mag, leather sling and silly big 50mm objective scope that I sometimes think needs to go.
noharleyyet
Well-known member
Good thing Oak carries your ammo...
Dinkshooter
Well-known member
Well Duh, the way I shoot that is some serious weight.
SaskHunter
Well-known member
I carry an 8.5+lb rifle on any hunt. I honestly get annoyed faster carrying my lighter bow than I do my heavier rifle...
Doublecluck
Well-known member
I’ve set out to build several mountain rifles that have somehow all morphed in to tanks that shoot really far. The previous seasons I’ve carried 10 lb rifles all over Montana as much as 13 miles in and never really thought much of it. This past season I picked up a Christensen Ridgeline and I gotta say it was a pleasure to pack, didn’t even know it was there. 2-3 lbs doesn’t seem like a lot but it is.
ImBillT
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- Oct 29, 2018
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It’s good advice, but doesn’t exactly work out as an equal trade. I went from 260lbs to 190lbs, and although I can go farther, get there faster, and breath a lot less hard while doing it, the amount of weight that I can handle in my pack is pretty much completely unchanged. Bench, squat, and clean & push press all dropped substantially.
Addicting
Well-known member
Congrats on the weight loss!
Hummer
Well-known member
First, if you're not weighing your rifle complete with all accessories and a full magazine like you carry it in the field, you're not being honest with yourself and you won't have a baseline for determining what will work better.
Second, regardless of your age, mass and strength, a heavier rifle will result in greater cumulative fatigue at the extremity of your arms, on your shoulders and down through your spine to your feet. It's the same with the pack you carry. In the near term and in moderation that weight can build strength and conditioning but in excess the cumulative weight wears and tears on the whole body, now and even more as you age.
Third, a heavier rifle can staunch recoil and muzzle rise which can be an advantage when sitting stationary. But while mobile and still hunting the weight will slow your reaction and your ability to get on target quickly. In both hunting and gunfighting, speed and accuracy are crucial to success. The fatigue from weight over time plays an important role in your reaction time.
Fourth, a lightweight rifle offers some challenge to accuracy but practice and skill can overcome and make you a better marksman and a more effective hunter able to go farther, longer and with more energy.
Fifth, nobody ever said, 'I wish I had carried more weight on my hunt". "Lighter, stronger, better", is more than just a slogan, it's a goal to efficiency, and to success.
Look above at all the the excuses for carrying a heavy rifle and claims that the weight is no bother. Hunting big game is not bench rest shooting and it doesn't require that level of accuracy. Let me suggest that if you want to continue hunting effectively when you are my age, you'll give serious thought to hunting better and stronger by going lighter.
Second, regardless of your age, mass and strength, a heavier rifle will result in greater cumulative fatigue at the extremity of your arms, on your shoulders and down through your spine to your feet. It's the same with the pack you carry. In the near term and in moderation that weight can build strength and conditioning but in excess the cumulative weight wears and tears on the whole body, now and even more as you age.
Third, a heavier rifle can staunch recoil and muzzle rise which can be an advantage when sitting stationary. But while mobile and still hunting the weight will slow your reaction and your ability to get on target quickly. In both hunting and gunfighting, speed and accuracy are crucial to success. The fatigue from weight over time plays an important role in your reaction time.
Fourth, a lightweight rifle offers some challenge to accuracy but practice and skill can overcome and make you a better marksman and a more effective hunter able to go farther, longer and with more energy.
Fifth, nobody ever said, 'I wish I had carried more weight on my hunt". "Lighter, stronger, better", is more than just a slogan, it's a goal to efficiency, and to success.
Look above at all the the excuses for carrying a heavy rifle and claims that the weight is no bother. Hunting big game is not bench rest shooting and it doesn't require that level of accuracy. Let me suggest that if you want to continue hunting effectively when you are my age, you'll give serious thought to hunting better and stronger by going lighter.
geetar
Well-known member
Jason Hairston and the KUIU guys actually did studies with one of the universities and found that there was no difference in the weight on your back in a pack or on your physical body. Basically they determined that being overweight was the same physical exertion as overpacking.
D
Deleted member 28227
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But can you carry the pack for longer and hike faster?
Addicting
Well-known member
As long as you keep Hammering!
D
Deleted member 28227
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