Hunting Gun Weight

[Billy Boy]

When picking a muzzleloader to hunt with how much attention do you give to it's weight?

I've got a couple of true Hawken type rifles that are fairly heavy. Recently I've become acquainted with a .54 Lyman Trade Rifle which is shooting well and is is a whole lot easier to pack around. Another lighter gun I shoot the T/C PA Hunter Carbine.

I suppose if you hunt from a stand the heft of your gun might not be so important.

Lighter the better now. Recoil isn’t a problem - probably only shoot it coupla times a season.

 

[John Spartan]

As mentioned above the difference between 7 and 10 pounds is nothing. And it shouldn’t be to most people unless you have a medical condition.
A guns balance is what I think people really mean when they describe a gun as feeling “heavy” or “light.” They check the weight later as part of the confirmation process.
An awkward (unbalanced) 7 pound gun will feel heavier when carrying then a 10 pound gun that is balanced IMHO.

 

[Rawhide67]

I tend to prefer short and light. Even in my unmentionable guns.
I acquired a club but Fowler, 16 gauge, that I'm going to hunt deer with. 28" barrel. My turkey gun is an Italian copy of a trade gun/canoe gun. Again, short barrel. Also have a beautiful Hawken built by Tom Nixon, with a Bill Large JJJJ barrel. I've literally never shot it. I wouldn't hunt with it because its way too heavy for my tastes. And I'm afraid to scratch it.

I hunt in the trees, sometimes very thick. Short and light just works better for me.

 

[John Spartan]

Short vs long guns in the brush is another story!

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I really appreciate a gun between 6 lbs and 7 1/2 lbs…that’s my sweet spot. Much over 8 lbs, and I better just love that gun a lot to lug it into the field for a day of walking and hunting.

 

[Irish lad]

When young , an 8 lb. .50 cal. scratch built long rifle was acceptable , but at 70 , back to scratch built 6.5 lb. .50 cal.. Can't walk all day in the Pa. Mtn.s like when young.

Amen to that!
Irish

 

[sheriff john]

Outside of dove hunting, chances of firing more than a few shots during a day are non-existent for me. Barrel length more problematic than weight at this stage in life. Two I have always wanted to shoot a deer with proved way too heavy - both originals. One's a heavy-barrel target rifle, the other a .54/12 gauge. Guessing over 10 pounds each. Hunting recoil's never been my problem.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Outside of dove hunting, chances of firing more than a few shots during a day are non-existent for me. Barrel length more problematic than weight at this stage in life. Two I have always wanted to shoot a deer with proved way too heavy - both originals. One's a heavy-barrel target rifle, the other a .54/12 gauge. Guessing over 10 pounds each. Hunting recoil's never been my problem.

10 pounds!!!…that’s a fare amount of mass. You could load those things for dinosaurs, and have what?…Maybe 3 or 4 ounces of felt recoil.

 

[Crazy Jay]

I picked up a tc hawken 50 cal with a rusty barrel and had Mr Hoyt bore it to 54 with a 1/66 twist.It is perfectly balanced and very accurate.

 

[sheriff john]

10 pounds!!!…that’s a fare amount of mass. You could load those things for dinosaurs, and have what?…Maybe 3 or 4 ounces of felt recoil.

I've shot them both and that was fun, but toting that much gun, a thermos of coffee, lunch, candy bars, powder/shot, and toilet paper was just too cumbersome. Some go in the woods to hunt, I go to graze.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

I've shot them both and that was fun, but toting that much gun, a thermos of coffee, lunch, candy bars, powder/shot, and toilet paper was just too cumbersome. Some go in the woods to hunt, I go to graze.

You’d be fun to hunt with…if we got lost, we’d be well fed, till one of us scored and made meat…then we’d eat like kings.

 

[sheriff john]

You’d be fun to hunt with…if we got lost, we’d be well fed, till one of us scored and made meat…then we’d eat like kings.

I've mostly tried to make my "outdoor memories" pleasant, not featured in the "I Survived" portion of Outdoor Life. Somedays, a little nap against a tree is what's called for...it's all good.

 

[Rifleman1776]

Whatever you are comfortable with. For most of my life I never had trouble carrying a Brown Bess, heavy Jaeger or my flint longrifle. As age and health problems caught up with me, I can hardly pick up those anymore. I now, have a light flinter I carry and use. It is a Chamber "Little Fella" built by Dave Persons. And, it's a beauty.

 

[Phil Coffins]

I wonder if you can’t handle a 9 pound rifle how do you get a deer out of the woods?

 

[Nor'Easter]

I've mostly tried to make my "outdoor memories" pleasant, not featured in the "I Survived" portion of Outdoor Life. Somedays, a little nap against a tree is what's called for...it's all good.

I've nodded off a few times but last year was the first time I dozed off sitting in the sun, and woke up 2 hours later. I should have sat still, but instead had to get up and look for tracks. There were none - a salve for my pride .

 

[Nor'Easter]

I wonder if you can’t handle a 9 pound rifle how do you get a deer out of the woods?

Farm tractor with a front end loader! Smarter not harder. I like the time in the woods / pursuit - shooting - eating. The rest is 'work'. Drew a moose permit this year, will be hunting my own farm. You can bet your last dollar I will try to drop it where I can get to it with a tractor.

 

[gunpa]

Since getting lung cancer I don't hike the hills like I used to. But like Pat McManus I drive around looking for a place to hunt. That's not road huntin! My 8 + lb muzzleloaders aren't a burden.

 

[Phil Coffins]

Yes, Pat McManus is my role model! I think all his story’s are about my life. Except I’m Rancid Crabtree.

 

[Jay Templin]

When I hunt at home, I don’t worry about weight at all- it’s only a quarter mile round trip to my stand and back. Depending on who I go with, some of the property we hunt is darn near vertical, and while going downhill with a 10 pound gun in the morning ain’t so bad, getting up that hill- especially with a deer- is a job of work! Rather have a pistol, then!
Jay

 

[Jay Templin]

Yes, Pat McManus is my role model! I think all his story’s are about my life. Except I’m Rancid Crabtree.

My mother turned me onto Pat McManus when I was a teen in the 80s. I used to read his books to her of an evening while she was sewing or painting. Had to stop reading them in the car after she had such a fit of laughing- it may have been th’ ba’r in thet ol’ brush pile- that we almost ran into the ditch.
Jay