How light is light in a mountain rifle?

Q: Today, ultralight rifles are the bandwagon de jour. Ultra Light started the trend with rifles that tipped the scale at about 2.3kg (5lb), and was followed at a later date by Kimber and more recently by Howa with a rifle that feels like a feather in your hand — and is just about as steady when the time comes to take the shot.

You have not seen a barrel waving about, describing circles in the air, until you drop into the prone position after a steep 500m climb or sprint across a clearing to take aim at the disappearing rear end of a sambar stag.

Suddenly, the advantage of carrying such a light rifle disappears, and you have plenty of time to ponder about it as you trudge back to camp empty-handed.

I know you like a light hunting rifle, but yours is a Kimber 84L in .25-06 and I’m sure it has more heft than my 2.7kg (6lb) featherweight outfit.

Could you give me a breakdown on your outfit? What do you consider the ideal weight for a mountain rifle?

Vincent Gilbert

A: Contrary to popular belief, the favourable ads and blogs, I am not convinced that a mountain rifle needs to be overly light.

In fact, I believe there is a case to be made for both a longer barrel and a few more grams. As a guy who has carried rifles up mountains from New Zealand to Alaska, I appreciate the advantage a little extra heft can give you when you have to make a tough shot after a tiring climb.

In .25-06 my Kimber 84L Classic Select weighs 2.9kg (6lb 6oz). Fitted with a Swarovski 3-9×36 scope, the weight becomes 3.3kg (7lb 4oz). Add 225g (8oz) for a leather sling and five cartridges in the magazine and the rifle tips the scale at 3.5kg (7¾lb).

For me, that’s just about ideal and no burden to carry in any kind of terrain.

But you must realise that this is my personal preference and if a hunter prefers to carry less weight, then I am all for it.

After I tested one of those superlight Howas and set one up for a friend of mine, I must admit I was mightily impressed, not only with the way it balances and handles, but how it consistently landed three shots inside one MOA.

I certainly wouldn’t feel handicapped using one for deer hunting under any conditions.