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hey guys. im in the process of getting my gun set up. the choate stock i have on it now is heavy. (varmint). it is weighing 14 lbs unloaded. is this typical for a bench rifle? im wanting to take it hunting as well as target shooting but i dont wanna lug around a cannon. what should i expect, weigh wise for a rifle of this purpose? in other words, what target weight should i shoot for?
i was thinking about right around 10 lbs.
As far as hunting:
Where and what are you hunting? What caliber? What type of hunt do you do (stalk, shoot from a blind)? How far are you expecting to carry the rifle?
I hunt with a gun that weight more than 14 pounds. It has the same stock you are talking about. I dont do any stalking with it, I sit at a determined stand or shooting box and wait for the deer to travel that trail. Stand/boxes are from right where you can park your vehicle right next to it to have a 600 yard walk. I have walked that and quite a bit more and the rifle weight does not bother me but we are not all built the same. If you already have the gun which is sounds you do put it together then go hunt as it is to get a feel. I for one rather have a heavy gun that will help with recoil than a light gun where instead of thinking of breathing and trigger control I am thinking on how hard I am going to get kicked... If I stalked then I would have to find a happy medium.
As far as target shooting:
If you are just target shooting and have no intention of competing the the gun can be as heavy or light as you find it comfortable taking in consideration carrying the rifle and recoil. IF you are looking into doing some benchrest competition or any other type of shooting competition then you need to check the regulations. I dont do any competitive shooting but it is my understanding that in some classes they have weight limits.
As a general rule of thumb your rifle should be lighter than your bowling ball. Just sayin'. :)
KeS
What are you planning to do to it to reduce the weight? Are you open to changing the stock/base/rings/scope? cutting down the barrel?
Totally personal, I hunt with a 13.5lb rifle, while my 8lb rifle sits at home. My light weights do not get shot hardly at all anymore. (not sure I am even going to keep them) Steep long elk climbing :I am still taking my heavy weight because quite frankly I can shoot it better. Everyone that pics it up say "no way, it's to heavy" then they shoot it and say "were can I get one". You just have to decide for yourself and what works for me might drive you nuts and shooting light weights drives me nuts.
none of savage rifles weigh less than 8lbs, my 300wsm weighs 9lbs, 110 with my 243 barrel weighs 10.5lbs and with my 284 barrel weighs 9lbs. I like the weight of my rifles, light enough to take hunting, just heavy enough to be very manageable when shooting longer strings.