hey fellas, i have a topic that some of you might want to discuss , or maybe haven't given any thought to at all . rifle weight . i've recently had a push feed model 70 rebarreled from 243 ,( anyone want to buy a swan barrel , only used after church on sundays
), out to 358 winchester . now it's a 22" barrel , 1.137" at the shank and tapers down to .748 at the crown . it's a straight taper, so it "looks" a bit chunky . it didn't seem any heavier in total weight to my 6.5x55 23.5" barreled model 70 but . i think the .358 hole down the guts might have something to do with that
i umm-ed and ahh-ed about getting a lighter profile just because it would "look" right , be a little lighter to carry , and be quicker to point .
to settle any doubt , i went and bought a set of hanging fish scales from BCF, and yeah those two rifles total weight is pretty well much the same , at 8 1/2 pound . doing more research on the web, reading numerous fourums and online gun writers , it seems that a lot of people with rifles that kick a bit have a preference for a heavier rifle over a light one . considering that i want to ramp up my 358 loads to something not far under 35 whelen type recoil, i think i'll leave the weightier barrel alone for the moment . it seems to be steadier holding offhand than some of my lighter rifles as well
other rifles weighed ,with scopes fitted , but unloaded ( of coarse ) sauer 100 - synthetic 223 - 7.3 lb , cz 2e american 22 lr - 6.2lb , model 70 222 - 81/4 lb , and the biggest suprise was my 64a ( pistol grip model 94 with a 24" barrel and half mag ) , it weighed under 6 lb with a williams peep ! thin barrel on that one i think . to pick it up , yeah , the cz 22 is heavier
so do any of you fellas have any preferences of weight versus use/caliber and applications ?