How much is too much.

[Mr. Flintlock]

I was just wondering how much a 54 long rifle should weigh. Thanks

It depends on the barrel weight and profile. It's a personal preference.

 

[Mr. Flintlock]

It’s looking like 9lb9oz. It’s a golden age, 42 straight octagonal made from hard maple.

If one can't carry a 10 pound rifle in the woods, he probably is not in good enough shape to be in the woods. IMHO. No offense intended to anyone.

 

[SOLANCO]

If one can't carry a 10 pound rifle in the woods, he probably is not in good enough shape to be in the woods. IMHO. No offense intended to anyone.

Also depends on what you are doing. If you are hiking to a stand or blind to sit all day weight is clearly less of an issue.
But if you are following dogs all day after bunnies or birds every pound saved is a blessing. Especially if you are in rolling terrain. And if you are moving all day there is other stuff to carry. Water, lunch, phone, compass, map, etc. Hopefully some game in your bag after a bit. It adds up. My unmentionable doubles that I toted for bunnies and birds all weighed 6 to 6.5 lbs. My heavier guns went into blinds with me.

 

[TraderVic]

If one can't carry a 10 pound rifle in the woods, he probably is not in good enough shape to be in the woods. IMHO. No offense intended to anyone.

We'll just agree to disagree on this one. At 69, I'm carrying lighter guns when and where realistically possible. I'm still carrying and muzzleloader hunting with my Lyman GPR 54 rifle, which weighs around 9 lbs or so. It's still comfortable to still hunt with. Hopefully, I'll work into a flintlock in the near future and would prefer to stay in the 8 - 9 lb range for both carry/hunting or targets.
.....just me

 

[hanshi]

I had a 42" X .50 flint longrifle that was amazingly accurate but had a straight barrel. Killed a bunch of deer with it but it was heavy enough to hurt a bad wrist. I sold it and got a new .50 X "B" X 38" flintlock that weighs a few ounces over 7 lbs. The lighter weight and swamped barrel makes it a dream to handle, carry and hunt with.

 

[rickystl]

Every lb. seems to make a big difference. At 72 they're ALL starting to get heavy. LOL

Rick

 

[Montgomery]

If one can't carry a 10 pound rifle in the woods, he probably is not in good enough shape to be in the woods. IMHO. No offense intended to anyone.

When I was in the service (USMC) we were issued m14's and if you got one with a glass stock, you were happy! You get No gold stars for carrying excess weight. IMHO

 

[jackpine54]

My gpr weighs 9.5 lbs, my earlyish styled longrifle weighs 9.5 lbs. Both are .54 and flintlock. I'd rather carry the longrifle if walking a lot because it seems lighter. I know they're the same weight so it must be the balance.

 

[tenngun]

I made a Leman style trade gun in .54. I went with a one inch barrel instead of a 15/16. The butt plate resembled a gurka knife. Very curved and thin.
Upper arm cross body hold
It still beat the crap out of me with every shot.
The energy of tge ball, near two thousand foot pounds is equal to the energy on the breech plug. It has to dissipate via the guns weight and the size of the butt.
So my .62 TFC is very comfortable to shoot, even though it’s a lot more lead popping out.
One has to find a mix tween weight to carry and a hundred and eighty degree movement of your shooting shoulder.
Six and a half or seven pounds is great to carry, ten great to shoot
I think ninish is a good weight in a .54 rifle gun.
Smooth can be lighter since you don’t need to load for bear with it
Distribution of the weight also matters. A Fowling gun stock well offsets the lighter barrel.

 

[Montgomery]

My gpr weighs 9.5 lbs, my earlyish styled longrifle weighs 9.5 lbs. Both are .54 and flintlock. I'd rather carry the longrifle if walking a lot because it seems lighter. I know they're the same weight so it must be the balance.

I agree. My GPR is always "nose" heavy .

 

[TraderVic]

When I was in the service (USMC) we were issued m14's and if you got one with a glass stock, you were happy! You get No gold stars for carrying excess weight. IMHO

Agree with your statement regarding M14 fiberglass stocks. I usually carried one on roving patrol on my destroyer while in certain SE Asian ports.
Would love to have one nowadays..

 

[büchsenmacher64]

If one can't carry a 10 pound rifle in the woods, he probably is not in good enough shape to be in the woods. IMHO. No offense intended to anyone.

I like the way you think!

 

[Montgomery]

I like the way you think!

I can carry one. the question really is, why would I want to?