Best caliber for mountain hunts?

[Canadian1]

Hmm, I'm 19 and spend my whole life working outdoors, stalking, walking, running marathons ect. I'm not trying to brag just show that I'm pretty fit and used to hard work. However two days in to my recent nz tahr hunting trip I decided I hate heavy rifles, so much so that I'm now getting a new t3 lite .i can't understand why anyone would burden themselves on such a hunt with a heavier rifle.

There is a balance to be had: too light and you sacrifice shootability (i.e. practical accuracy) and too heavy it becomes burdensome. I never understood why anybody would go to such great lengths to shave grams off of their rifles. I think 6.5lbs is the absolute minimum and 7-8 lbs ideal for my hunting rifles regardless of whether I am in the prairies, foothills or mountains. I like my rifles to be trim and fast handling, but also to balance well offhand. If you can't handle carrying an extra pound or two I would say man up and stop being such a fairy

 

[shuggie]

How about a 30 boo-boo as flat shooting as a 22.250. At 600yds has a foot lbs of 2476 ,still has a speed of 2304 fps has a wind drift of 17inches in a 10mph with a 210vld berger .The weight of a rifle should not be a issue a heavy rifle around 10lbs heavier than a standard most shooters will carry more than this round there waist line and never think twice

 

[Greener Jim]

Couldn't agree more shuggie. On the weight, not neccesarilly the Boo Boo

There is more than one type of fitness. You having racing snakes and pack mules.
If you're a racing snake, pack light and get a light rifle. Make the most of that speed.
If you're a pack mule, take whatever you want you'll be slow anyway, couple pounds ain't gonna slow you down much!

Tote what you want, horses for courses.

 

[Foxshot]

There is a balance to be had: too light and you sacrifice shootability (i.e. practical accuracy) and too heavy it becomes burdensome. I never understood why anybody would go to such great lengths to shave grams off of their rifles. I think 6.5lbs is the absolute minimum and 7-8 lbs ideal for my hunting rifles regardless of whether I am in the prairies, foothills or mountains. I like my rifles to be trim and fast handling, but also to balance well offhand. If you can't handle carrying an extra pound or two I would say man up and stop being such a fairy

Im not a fairy, my rifle is 15.5lbs, that's why I've been put off heavy rifles for mountain hunting

 

[Canadian1]

Im not a fairy, my rifle is 15.5lbs, that's why I've been put off heavy rifles for mountain hunting

LOL, I was honestly just razzing.

And my God, what kind of rifle are you carrying that weighs 15.5lbs? Your rifle weight is abnormal.

 

[Greener Jim]

That is one hell of a rifle! I'm with our Canadian friend, what is it? Phots?

Mine is 11lbs with open sights. Needs it for the recoil mind.

 

[shuggie]

That is one hell of a rifle! I'm with our Canadian friend, what is it? Phots?

Mine is 11lbs with open sights. Needs it for the recoil mind.

Dont know about foxshot rifle but for the last 15yrs all my rifles have been custom built and never been under 20lbs not for everybody but it has its advantages

 

[Greener Jim]

.....phots of yours are also fine!

As i said, horses for courses

 

[scrumbag]

I'd go 7x64. Good bullets with the decent BC, holds energy relatively well, not brutal on the shoulder...

Scrummy

 

[Canadian1]

but it has its advantages

Such as?

 

[Foxshot]

Mine is only a baby, many of my friends are also over 20 lbs, it's pretty common for a custom varmint rifle. It was my only deer rifle so I couldn't choose a lighter one to take, I have now gone from liking heavy rifles to wanting light ones

 

[shuggie]

Such as?

It is more accurate its built to my specification ,faster rifle barrel twist to let you shoot heavier bullets way a better bc means i can stretch the range a bit,for me its a extra tool at your disposal

 

[bewsher500]

Dont know about foxshot rifle but for the last 15yrs all my rifles have been custom built and never been under 20lbs not for everybody but it has its advantages

Really?
does it come with its own half-track?

unless you are shooting some monster calibre/cartridge combo there is not much out there that can't be shot in a sporting format at half that weight.

 

[provarmint]

Really?
does it come with its own half-track?

unless you are shooting some monster calibre/cartridge combo there is not much out there that can't be shot in a sporting format at half that weight.

That could be unpleasant, develop a flinch and lose target picture instantly,non good for accuracy.

 

[ejg]

20lbs? have a FTR Rig here with 35" tight twist target barrel that weighs less including scope and bipod.
If more shooters would test the capability of lighter rifles at longer ranges they would be astonished how accurate they can be if built right. I draw the line at around 16mm muzzle diameter as that means M14/M15 threads are possible for the moderator. T3 lite has around 16mm Muzzle diameter.
By the way what ranges are we talking about? 300m deer? 400? more? maybe 1000m???
For up to 400m one would not need anything out of the norm, just a well built rifle. Most factory rifles need some tweaking.
edi

 

[shuggie]

Really?
does it come with its own half-track?

unless you are shooting some monster calibre/cartridge combo there is not much out there that can't be shot in a sporting format at half that weight.

As i said earlier it was a 30 boo-boo as for the weight if you look around most folks will be overweight by 10lbs i dont have a problem way that but if your rifle is heavier than most folks its a issue its used for stalking and target

 

[bewsher500]

That could be unpleasant, develop a flinch and lose target picture instantly,non good for accuracy.

Accuracy has nothing to do with losing sight picture on firing
If the man is shooting at 4-600yds anyway he has plenty of time to see what is happening (I personally can't think of a situation where getting within 300yds is out of the question but thats just my take on it!)

if you are developing a flinch then your rifle doesn't fit you or your technique is poor

Too many people watching "American Sniper" and starting off thinking the best option for them is a crossed arms - no thumb hold.
That's fine on a 50lb sniper rifle on a flat platform with a rear sand bag with hours of condition monitoring.....

that ain't hunting!

Getting the bullet in the right place has nothing to do with the calibre/cartridge combo
If you can put a 6.5mm bullet in a 4" at 400-600yds in a 15-20 mph wind, across a valley with a rising current you can probably do it with a 7.62 or any other calibre bullet!!

Hunting isn't target shooting and the TE/TV and bullet construction discussion should come first.

Its a fundamentally stupid question along the lines of "is the .243 too small?"
what are we hunting in these mountains?
Black Bear or Chamois? Thar or Mouflon?
Ranges expected?

But whether you choose a super high BC bullet from a sexy new cartridge with the latest mono metal construction.....the bullet's performance is not the factor that will decide if that animal dies quickly or not at "mountain" ranges.

 

[shuggie]

Accuracy has nothing to do with losing sight picture on firing
If the man is shooting at 4-600yds anyway he has plenty of time to see what is happening (I personally can't think of a situation where getting within 300yds is out of the question but thats just my take on it!)

if you are developing a flinch then your rifle doesn't fit you or your technique is poor

Too many people watching "American Sniper" and starting off thinking the best option for them is a crossed arms - no thumb hold.
That's fine on a 50lb sniper rifle on a flat platform with a rear sand bag with hours of condition monitoring.....

that ain't hunting!

Getting the bullet in the right place has nothing to do with the calibre/cartridge combo
If you can put a 6.5mm bullet in a 4" at 400-600yds in a 15-20 mph wind, across a valley with a rising current you can probably do it with a 7.62 or any other calibre bullet!!

Hunting isn't target shooting and the TE/TV and bullet construction discussion should come first.

Its a fundamentally stupid question along the lines of "is the .243 too small?"
what are we hunting in these mountains?
Black Bear or Chamois? Thar or Mouflon?
Ranges expected?

But whether you choose a super high BC bullet from a sexy new cartridge with the latest mono metal construction.....the bullet's performance is not the factor that will decide if that animal dies quickly or not at "mountain" ranges.

If you shoot at longer range and have your mag turned up on the scope you will lose sight picture after the shot .Putting a bullet inside a 4inch at 4 to 600yds would be very difficult in a 15 to 20mph you would need to be able to read a less than 1mph change in wind speed and very few can do this and at these wind speeds you get big variations in speed

 

[Hales Smut]

I wouldn't say that we need to go the " Ultra Light Arms " direction. A 2.8-3 kg rifle + decent 0.6 kg scope in good mounts is a good start for all hunting/stalking. A small backpack can be an excellent support. Serious Hill stalking will be close to mountain hunting. In German -Austrian mountain hunting forums, you read that also these men try to limit the range to 200-250 meters. Depending on the game the cartridge can be chosen. A 270 / 7x64 or 30-06 will be very versatile. Norma's catalogue shows that the 270 shoots flatter than a 6.5-284 with similar bullet weights. So why go exotic?
As said before. We are not in "American Sniper " and shooting to far at game is not what we look for.

 

[tackb]

heavy rifles are easier to shoot well , it takes a better technique to shoot light rifles well

I have a 260rem in a pse composites stock (thanks ejg) the weight difference between my McMillan A5 and the E-TAC is remarkable.

have a normalish weight rifle that your confident with plus (and this bit is easy) work on your fitness the quicker you recover the faster you can make the shot well.

or get a youngster to carry your stuff for you...........................