Thread: How heavy should a hunting rifle be?

Originally Posted by Floundering Around

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I know you said this post wasn't about calibre, but you could be on to something with the 30-06. It wouldn't be too bad of a starter calibre if you can handle the recoil (your build/stature will be relevant here) as it would allow you to drop pretty much every animal in NZ. It also performs pretty well ballistically for on older cartridge and it has plenty of killing power to give you a bit of margin. It could mean you don't need to buy two different rifles if you want to hunt tahr or chamois later on alongside deer and pigs etc.

110kg, 6"3. I have a .22 for little stuff. Just need something for big stuff. I know it will decapitate wallabies and goats, but I don't mind that. I don't eat their heads anyway. I was looking for plastic 308 but decided recently that an old 30-06 would be much more style.

Originally Posted by Brad S

Actually a better question to ask is has someone thought of a way to protect hearing while hunting with an unsuppressed rifle??

I can recommend the below, but at $1700 for a set they're not cheap:

https://soundgear.com/collections/cu...custom-product

Of course you can then use them for all your shooting sports (e.g. shotgun), not just hunting with a rifle.

Originally Posted by 16Tontovarish

nah, it's always good to go over. same as pack weight.

for myself, i used to carry a bergara b14hmr which, by the time i had a scope, bipod and sling, was damn near 7kg all up. I loved that damn rifle, between it's sheer mass and a muzzle brake it kicked like a .22, you could use it to hold a tarp down in the wind, and it was so solid that it was basically unbreakable.

nowdays I carry an extreme hunter, which clocks in at about 4kg carry weight. less pleasant to shoot prone or seated but way nicer to carry up hills or shoot offhand.

I've got an HMR they are great rifles, but whoever came up with the "H" is either an optimist or a masochist

To the OP I say go for it. 30.06 is a great round and heavy rifles are character building

Weight is one factor but the other thing to consider is length of rifle, including a suppressor. Dragging long rifles thru scrub & shite bush is not much fun. It gets old real quick. I assume if it’s on older model 3006 then it’s probably a 24in bbl? Add another 4-5 in for suppressor and that’s a big cumbersome unit to drag thru scrub. You could chop barrel back to 20 or 22in, I would not go shorter than 20 myself for long action like 3006. And then a suppressor is a must unless you want to loose your hearing.

carry earplugs for the times yo uare setting up for longer shot,or range work..for the up n shoot type shooting,you wont be shooting many rounds and dont notice it..if your mate fires behind you yo usure as hell will..but not fella on the trigger. the blast is going away from your ears,still bad but not really really bad.... I rate using chainsaw without muffs for 5 minutes about same as couple of shots..and the good lord knows how many times Ive done that over the years.

Originally Posted by chainsaw

Weight is one factor but the other thing to consider is length of rifle, including a suppressor. Dragging long rifles thru scrub & shite bush is not much fun. It gets old real quick. I assume if it’s on older model 3006 then it’s probably a 24in bbl? Add another 4-5 in for suppressor and that’s a big cumbersome unit to drag thru scrub. You could chop barrel back to 20 or 22in, I would not go shorter than 20 myself for long action like 3006. And then a suppressor is a must unless you want to loose your hearing.

yip a slightly longer barrel is MUCH MUCH easier on your ears than one below 20" said it before....just ask the fellas whos mate has a short shotgun..they dont want to shoot with him for long.

Sako Finnlights are the perfect weight for a hunting rifle in NZ

Attachment 238118

2 litres of water weighs 2 kgs,carry 1 litre of water.5kg rifle,just carry less in yr pack.Instead a packet of bullets,just carry 5rds.Lighten yr load allround.Some guys carry a lot of unnecessary gear on them.

Originally Posted by Trout

2 litres of water weighs 2 kgs,carry 1 litre of water.5kg rifle,just carry less in yr pack.Instead a packet of bullets,just carry 5rds.Lighten yr load allround.Some guys carry a lot of unnecessary gear on them.

And body fat

Originally Posted by Trout

2 litres of water weighs 2 kgs,carry 1 litre of water.5kg rifle,just carry less in yr pack.Instead a packet of bullets,just carry 5rds.Lighten yr load allround.Some guys carry a lot of unnecessary gear on them.

1ltr is still 1kg lol but your 100% correct... the weight of rifle will be fine.try lugging full wood 303 for a couple of days,or something with a bull barrel every now and then and anything else becomes more than ok lol.

Originally Posted by Brad S

110kg, 6"3. I have a .22 for little stuff. Just need something for big stuff. I know it will decapitate wallabies and goats, but I don't mind that. I don't eat their heads anyway. I was looking for plastic 308 but decided recently that an old 30-06 would be much more style.

110kgs,you light bugger.Id love to be 110kgs,dont worry just enjoy life while we can.

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

Sako Finnlights are the perfect weight for a hunting rifle in NZ

Attachment 238118

So a bit heavier than a t3 is the sweet spot eh

Originally Posted by Trout

110kgs,you light bugger.Id love to be 110kgs,dont worry just enjoy life while we can.

I'm actually less than that, only 108kg now. Exactly 2 weeks ago I was 122kg. Due to a weird illness I've been dropping 1kg every day.
But approx. 105-110kg is my slim weight, in winter about 10kg heavier than that, because that's squat PR time.
Weird, I know.

Originally Posted by 7mmsaum

Sako Finnlights are the perfect weight for a hunting rifle in NZ

Attachment 238118

I actually had an 85 finnlight 2, which never actually made it to my safe before I decided I'd rather have a rifle half the price with twice as much character.

100+kg @ 6’3” its probably ideal