Average/preferred whitetail rifle weight for blind/stand hunting

[USAF Ret]

This may have been done before. What is the average weight, and/or your preferred weight, for a whitetail rifle hunting (scope included) in blinds and tree stands? Why?

 

[Wolfshead]

My 38” 6.4 lbs. Winchester model 94, or my 39” 8 lbs Tikka T3X 308.
Pretty much all I hunt with.
I still hunt in the thick, close woods near me, and like a short, light, quick to shoulder rifle for that.
My 94 is perfect for the thick stuff, but my Tikka can do that at just a pound, and a half more weight, and is excellent for sitting some of the AG fields, and stands that we hunt also.

 

[Steiny77]

Can't say that I've ever weighed a rifle, but for the type of hunting you describe, weight shouldn't be an issue anyway.

 

[Ben Lamb]

Can't say that I've ever weighed a rifle, but for the type of hunting you describe, weight shouldn't be an issue anyway.

It's a great situation in which to hunt with older rifles, classics, etc. I've taken game out of a stand using everything from a model 70 in 06 to a 1880's vintage 450 BPE. Hunting from a blind or stand increases your options for hunting with cool guns.

 

[Sheltowee]

A lot of my whitetail hunting is in the South with longish (for that part of the country) shots available. I like a heavier, shorter barrel rifle if I'm sitting in a shooting house. My Tikka CTR comes in a bit over 10lbs fully loaded:

 

[USAF Ret]

A lot of my whitetail hunting is in the South with longish (for that part of the country) shots available. I like a heavier, shorter barrel rifle if I'm sitting in a shooting house. My Tikka CTR comes in a bit over 10lbs fully loaded:

View attachment 408109

Beautiful firearm. What scope is that?

 

[Sheltowee]

That's an old Vortex Viper 3-15 but the rifle is wearing a Trijicon Credo HX 2.5-15 these days.

 

[USAF Ret]

That's an old Vortex Viper 3-15 but the rifle is wearing a Trijicon Credo HX 2.5-15 these days.

I run Vortex Vipers on most of my hunting rifles. 4-16x.

 

[Wildabeest]

Eastern stand hunting buddy of mine came out for his first western mountain hunt a couple of years ago, bringing his Winchester model 70 bull barrel 308 with him. Not sure what that thing weighed, but it was a tank. Never heard someone string together so many four letter expletives while trouncing about the hills.

For me, I’d carry whatever gun I liked the most to stand hunt. Weight would only matter if I was planing to cover lots of ground with significant elevation changes.

 

[Wildabeest]

Eastern stand hunting buddy of mine came out for his first western mountain hunt a couple of years ago, bringing his Winchester model 70 bull barrel 308 with him. Not sure what that thing weighed, but it was a tank. Never heard someone string together so many four letter expletives while trouncing about the hills.

For me, I’d carry whatever gun I liked the most to stand hunt. Weight would only matter if I was planing to cover lots of ground with significant elevation changes.

Correction. It was a Remington 700 bull barrel.

 

[Steiny77]

My smart @ss gunsmith buddy advised me to quit b#tching about a couple extra pounds of rifle and suggested that if I wanted to pack less around I could easily take a few pounds off myself.
He wasn't wrong

 

[Mudranger1]

man y'all think way too much into things...the average whitetail hunter has no idea or even thought of weighing a rifle

 

[Ben Lamb]

man y'all think way too much into things...the average whitetail hunter has no idea or even thought of weighing a rifle

We are all slightly above average. So we got that going for us.

 

[sclancy27]

It's a great situation in which to hunt with older rifles, classics, etc. I've taken game out of a stand using everything from a model 70 in 06 to a 1880's vintage 450 BPE. Hunting from a blind or stand increases your options for hunting with cool guns.

View attachment 408106

That double barrel is badass. I feel like you need to be wearing a safari hat and short shorts to pull it off tho.....

 

[Big Sky Guy]

I put 7-8lbs. Even though you're not hiking miles, but rather more likely yards, you still have to carry it. Maybe I'm just a weak small man but once a firearm gets over 8lbs. my enjoyment of carrying it (shoulder, cross arm, etc. doesn't matter) decreases significantly. Add to that a off-hand standing shot is somewhat likely walking through whitetail woods and off-hand standing shots are more difficult to hold the weight of a heavier rifle, even with sling wrapped around arm trick (IMO). Also once to tree stand you still have to pull or carry it up. Add on I used to keep all my clothes in my pack so then you're prly hoisting up over 20lbs of crap.

If "it doesn't matter" or "7-9lbs" was a choice that's what I would have put as I never considered weight a factor in a firearm, with over 20 years hunting in Ohio, until I moved west. Would be curious what my father's Benelli SBE I with leupold scope weighs.

 

[Ben Lamb]

That double barrel is badass. I feel like you need to be wearing a safari hat and short shorts to pull it off tho.....

Nobody needs to see that. It's a fun rifle. Shoots a 350 grain bullet at about 1600 FPS. Drops a whitetail like a hammer drives a nail. The 450 3.25" BPE was considered the 30-06 of it's day. Good all around cartridge.

 

[Boarmaster]

8.5lbs. Barrel no longer than 22. Straight comb stock. STD cal.
8-8.5 is heavy enough to be steady on the shooting rail but light enough to handle easily if I need to shoot without a rest. Not too much recoil. Straight comb in case I am taking a shot and not able to get my rifle squared up. I been hammered by the back edge of cheek piece a few times because I couldn’t get my cheek up on it for some reason.

 

[X13]

I think nearly every rifle I own is 8.5 - 10.5 lbs scoped, loaded, and suppressed. An exception would be the lever guns (sub-8lbs and unsuppressed). Average is probably right around 9-9.5 lbs.

Why? Generally, I use shorter lighter guns for drive hunting, longer heavier guns for sitting. Most of the shorter barreled rifles would certainly work for both, but it's an excuse to use more guns.