Rifles, Light Or Heavy?

[ACP230]

I have rifles as light as four pounds, a Bronco .22 single-shot, and as heavy as 11 or 12 pounds, an M1A and a Ruger 77VT. My Ruger 77RL weighs six and a half pounds with scope and sling and seems like just the right weight for a deer rifle.

The RL carries easily and is very accurate for the first two or three shots. I killed my last deer with it after a stalk but mostly sit and wait for them these days. That means that a heavy rifle has no advantage over the RL, since either would be rested for a shot at deer.

What's your overall preference, light or heavy rifles?

What do you like for deer hunting?

 

[444]

I guess that question depends on a few different factors. Two are your physical condition and your style of hunting. When I have hunted whitetails in Ohio, I pretty much just sat against a tree or in a treestand and never moved. Rifle weight wasn't a factor. I have also hunted elk and mule deer in the west where I walked in steep terrain hour after hour and considered the most important piece of equipment to be my rifle sling. I don't own any rifles that are super heavy. I do own a Ruger Ultralight in .30-06 and if I know I am going to be doing a lot of walking I take it.
I guess if I could only have one rifle for big game hunting, it would be the lightest rifle I could get. I can't see any real downside to it for that application.

 

[Sunray]

Yep, what kind of hunting? Stand, stalking, high mountains? Use the right tool for the job.

 

[keederdag]

I'll go heavy for gp. I'm only 30, so maybe I'll change my mind later! Most my rifles weigh in the area of 10lbs, I dont see this as a burden; and it's never been a problem so far. Ive hunted AZ,CO,OK,AK,TX,WA,OR. Humped a bunch of ground, and have no complaints about the rifle. I tend to shoot rifles in this weight range better than lighter rifles. Offhand and on the bench. I practice prone, knealing, sitting, standing (off hand) and bench. All around I prefer heavy.

 

[E=MC^2]

I like them compact and lightweight.

Although our whitetail season is 9 days long, I only get the chance to use 4 of them because of work. During that time I cover a lot of ground. My wife and I use a Ruger 77MKII Compact and a Winchester M70 Compact, now. I do have other rifles in the locker but enjoy the lighter stuff more. Both the compacts are MOA accurate and most(nearly all) of our shots are under 50 yards, anyways.

 

[WYO]

I love my Remington Ti, but I must admit that it is a little light up front, even with a relatively even balance. I find myself looking for a tree or other rest, or sitting or going prone, at shorter distances than I used to with my heavy .338. After hunting season is over, I probably am going to explore some options for shifting the weight forward.

 

[dakotasin]

my preference is for the light end for some circumstances, and light end of average for others. the difference is terrain. in wooded, hilly terrain, the lighter the better. for open terrain, i like a rifle like a rem 700 bdl, and then stick a bipod under it. some of the weight is offset by leupold glass (lighter than other brands), and talley lightweight mounts.

i like magnums, and other 'hot' cartridges, though, so i prefer barrels of at least 24" - no compacts for me!

 

[Art Eatman]

For about thirty years, my #1 choice was my long-barrelled '06; it totalled about 9.5 pounds. The last several years I noticed it had gotten heavier, along about sundown. Nowadays, it's more relegated to sittin'-huntin' situations. Walking, now, I'll grab on to the 700Ti in 7mm08.

Art

 

[Ryder]

I use both

But if you use that Ruger 77VT you won't need 2 or 3 shots ACP230.

That's the advantage for me. The pinpoint accuracy of my 12.5 pound 243 drops em in their tracks.

I use my short guns when the woods get claustrophobic.

 

[Black Snowman]

I mainly target shoot so I like 'em heavy to keep recoil down. If I do any game hunting again I plan on using my FAL clone. I don't have to worry about damaging or devaluing it buy dragging it through the woods

 

[ACP230]

The "two or three shots" part of my post referred to shooting groups with the 77RL. Most of the time I've only needed one shot per deer with it.

I haven't found an accuracy load for the 77VT yet, so my RL is more accurate than the .308 target rifle at the moment.

 

[Art Eatman]

For hunting, the first shot from a cold barrel is the most important, for accuracy or point of impact.

So, when one has several rifles that are equally effective as to the cartridge, it seems to me the best one to use in hunting is the one with which you can most reliably hit the target from an impromptu position.

, Art