Heym SR20
Well-Known Member
What a lot of people forget is that its not the weight of a rifle that is the issue per se. Its the balance. Pick a proper big game rifle. They weigh 10, 12 even 14 lbs. But the balance well and when carried they seem to loose their weight.
By contrast the so called - lightweight rifle of today is a nose heavy affair since all the weight is in the barrel and moderator and the super lightweight carbon stock is no counter balance.
And then you see a light rifle with a 56mm scope with magnification that is suitable for spotting ticks on a buffalo’s testicle at 2,000m. And a bipod / tripod that would look out of place on a 20mm anti aircraft gun. Then you add a cheek piece bag on the but with 20 rounds of ammo. And to carry the whole lot you add a sling harness more suitable to a yoke for clydesdale to pull a plough.
Simplest way to shed weight is shed components. Firstly go for a skinny barrel, but make sure its a good one. Magazine - an internal blind mag has no parts. You don’t need a 20 rd quick detach suitable for a squad automatic. Scope - its a hunting rifle where you need to put a bullet into an animal at up to 300m. You don’t need a heavy weight target / sniper scope with complicated reticles and large turrets. A couple of milldots perhaps. 42mm objective more than enough. Mounts - do you really need a full length rail etc. Good quality steel mounts are slimmer, sleeker, stronger and probably lighter than cheap bulky aluminium.
Moderator - do you really need one? How much environmental disturbance does the one shot you take on a deer really make? A 22 or 24” inch barrel is a lot quieter than a 20”. And you get much better ballistics. If you need a moderator go as small and light as possible. No it won’t reduce the sound as much as a piece of scaffolding pipe but …..
Bipod - these add hugely to embuggerance of rifle carry. The ruin the balance and dig in your back. Do you really need one. Woodland / fields - mostly we shoot off sticks so a bipod is unnecessary weight.
In the mountaIns we often carry a day pack. You take this off to shoot and put it on the ground. How difficult is to put it in front of you and use it as rest.
In the mountains we always used to carry a rifle in a slip. Keeps it clean, dry protected and much more comfortable to carry. The slip was used as a rest when shot the deer with 4x scopes.
By contrast the so called - lightweight rifle of today is a nose heavy affair since all the weight is in the barrel and moderator and the super lightweight carbon stock is no counter balance.
And then you see a light rifle with a 56mm scope with magnification that is suitable for spotting ticks on a buffalo’s testicle at 2,000m. And a bipod / tripod that would look out of place on a 20mm anti aircraft gun. Then you add a cheek piece bag on the but with 20 rounds of ammo. And to carry the whole lot you add a sling harness more suitable to a yoke for clydesdale to pull a plough.
Simplest way to shed weight is shed components. Firstly go for a skinny barrel, but make sure its a good one. Magazine - an internal blind mag has no parts. You don’t need a 20 rd quick detach suitable for a squad automatic. Scope - its a hunting rifle where you need to put a bullet into an animal at up to 300m. You don’t need a heavy weight target / sniper scope with complicated reticles and large turrets. A couple of milldots perhaps. 42mm objective more than enough. Mounts - do you really need a full length rail etc. Good quality steel mounts are slimmer, sleeker, stronger and probably lighter than cheap bulky aluminium.
Moderator - do you really need one? How much environmental disturbance does the one shot you take on a deer really make? A 22 or 24” inch barrel is a lot quieter than a 20”. And you get much better ballistics. If you need a moderator go as small and light as possible. No it won’t reduce the sound as much as a piece of scaffolding pipe but …..
Bipod - these add hugely to embuggerance of rifle carry. The ruin the balance and dig in your back. Do you really need one. Woodland / fields - mostly we shoot off sticks so a bipod is unnecessary weight.
In the mountaIns we often carry a day pack. You take this off to shoot and put it on the ground. How difficult is to put it in front of you and use it as rest.
In the mountains we always used to carry a rifle in a slip. Keeps it clean, dry protected and much more comfortable to carry. The slip was used as a rest when shot the deer with 4x scopes.
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