Howa 30-06 - too heavy for mountain hunting?

[Brian in Montana]

My Tikka T3X, .308 with a Leupold 3-9 is very light. I'm not sure what it weighs, but this thread has me curious. Anyway, after hauling my 300WM around for years, it makes a huge difference on long humps. I like hiking in to places. The light weight rifle makes a lot of sense for what I do.

 

[Deleted member 16014]

I really enjoy carrying a sub 7 pound, scoped rifle. It's only too heavy if you think it is. Not everyone can shoot a lightweight gun well. Not many free lunches in the world.

I carry somewhat heavier rifles but agree with this. If you hunt and shoot enough to know what feels right, you just stick to a weight range that suits you and shoot happily ever after.

 

[choc dogs]

Nope, too heavy, buy another gun. We're here to enable your decisions. In all seriousness, I'll be packing an 8 1/2 pound plus rifle this year, and I'm a fat old man. I shoot it better than some of my lightweight rifles for certain situations, so I'll carry it. Do what you want, enjoy your hunt.

 

[JLS]

I think that most people would be better off losing a few pounds off their body than worrying about their standard weight rifles being too heavy.

Probably for a large portion of America, yes. I probably climb more vertical feet in one season chasing a dog in the chukar hills than many hunters will in 5 years. Losing a pound off the weight of my shotgun (from 7.5 to 6.5) was a very welcome change.

If you can't shoot them, they aren't a good deal. But, if you can shoot them accurately there is really no reason to carry an extra couple pounds on your shoulder all day.

 

[westernslope]

Everyone's comments are making a ton of sense. There's so much to consider when buying a rifle. There's weight and recoil. There's ballistics. There's the folks who say you need more power for when less-than-ideal shots aren't available, and there's the folks who say that you shouldn't be taking those shots at all. Some people say a beginner needs less recoil, others say a beginner needs more power to make up for subpar bullet placement. Others say shot placement is all that matters and remind us that people kill grizzlies with .223s all the time in Alaska, but at the same time they will say "shoot as much as you can without excessive recoil."

After a days thought and a visit to Sportsman's Warehouse, I'm leaning towards one of the 20" barrel Kuiu Howas. It's not that much lighter, but half a pound less is nice and the shorter barrel has obvious upsides as well as downsides. Mostly I like the cerakote. I'm thinking 308 or 7mm-08, pretty much whatever's available in the store next time I visit. This would have me at under 8 lbs shooting one of two calibers that Randy Newberg uses in a lightweight Howa rifle. I'd like it if Howa lightened up their long action! Then I'd be really excited. In the meantime, I think my first big game rifle will be a short action and almost exclusively for elk. Hope that's not crazy.

 

[Sawtooth]

Not crazy at all. Both options will work for you just fine. After carrying around a Smith and Wesson 1500 270 Win.(Made by Howa for S&W) for 33 years, I finally decided to shave a couple pounds off the rifle by buying a Tikka in 308 Win. Both guns have done their job, but my 52 year old shoulders and back don't miss the added weight.

 

[uncle sage]

Most of my hunting these past 20 years or so has been with either a factory Win M70 Classic in 270WSM or a custom barreled Rem in 280AI that weighed 10 pounds scoped. In those years i went from pretty fair shape to so disabled that i can't get that far from my rig. As my condition progressed the 280AI more often stayed in the safe.

I once had a older guy who lived for muley season, ask me if i too could tell if there were bullets in the magazine just by picking up the gun and feeling the weight. He said that he could, and i believed him, still do.

 

[plumber1969]

I think the correct answer lies in how much you know about yourself. I live in Hawaii and hunt in the lava fields at an elevation of 6-7,000 feet. My rifle is and 8.5 lb Savage in 30-06. I never considered it a heavy rifle until I compared it with the new rifle a friend had acquired. I am recoil shy and would not like to shoot the '06 in a lighter rifle without a compensator - then I would also probably need hearing protection.

What kind of condition are your in? Would a pound or two make that much difference. Can you shave the weight from items in your pack? I think a good reliable, accurate rifle with good optics is more important than worrying about a couple of pounds.

What is there to hunt in the lava fields? Just curious.

 

[Bigjav]

get a good sling or attach it to your pack, you won't be able to tell the difference

 

[BuckFeverBob]

It may not be the weight of the rifle, but perhaps the way your carrying it. Try ditching the sling and using a gun bearer from Kifaru.
I used one on my MR pack last fall for a hunt, that and a pair of trekking poles made a huge difference.

 

[Steiny]

My buddy had a pretty good response for this ....... If you're concerned about 2-3 more pounds of rifle weight making your hunt more difficult, then maybe you should think about taking 2-3 pounds off of your belt line.

 

[belly-deep]

My buddy had a pretty good response for this ....... If you're concerned about 2-3 more pounds of rifle weight making your hunt more difficult, then maybe you should think about taking 2-3 pounds off of your belt line.

It’s not really that good of a response, for many reasons.

 

[Rickt300]

It’s not really that good of a response, for many reasons.

Maybe not but getting in a bit better shape before you start running around at 8000 feet plus is a fine idea, wether or not you lose a couple of pounds!

 

[CampRipleyLF]

Heavy guns do exist but I wouldn't say anything around that 9 pound area that heavy. Yes there is lighter but they are not always better. Just bring what feels good for shooting, there is plenty of opportunity in your other gear list to cut weight. I'd start there before buying a new gun or taking one that I really don't want to take. Good luck out there man!