How much does your African rifle weigh?

[112Savage]

 

[Flewis]

505 mrc 11:6. Cz 550 ahr 2 8:6 don’t know about the others

 

[425SCHADE]

CZ550 in my .425, 25" barrel, VX3 1.5-5 & Alaska Arms QD rings goes 4.7kg/10lb 6oz.
Add around half a pound for 5 x 400gn cartridges

 

[michael458]

500 MDM Heavy at 8.5 lbs 20 " Barrel English Stock...............

500 MDM 8.25 lbs Myrtle Stock 19 inch barrel

500 B&M 18 inch Barrel Myrtle Stock 8 lbs

500 B&M 18 inch barrel Bastogne Stock NO SCOPE 8 lbs

458 B&M 18 inch barrel Bastogne Stock NO SCOPE 7.5 lbs

On all my carry rifles they range from 6.5 lbs to 8.5 lbs........ The light ones have Ulltimate stocks, and I use those in Alaska and wherever I don't need heavier bullets........... I have some heavier rifles that would be more traditional, but I have not used any of those since the 90s and early 2000s..... When you start carrying and handling a shorter lighter and handier rifle, then you tend not to want to return to that. Even going to the range with a traditional 24 inch musket, one wonders how in the world did I carry such a thing........Even the 500 MDMs at 8.5 lbs seem like beasts now..........

Add scope to any of those and gain a lb..................

 

[Andrew62]

Kimber Talkeetna, .375H&H, with scope, 7lbs 11oz. I had the barrel cut down by 4" then the barrel re-tapered. My Kimber Mountain Ascent .308 weighs 5lbs 14oz with scope. I detest a heavy rifle, I figure if I am carrying it for hours a day I would rather have the lightest gun possible.

 

[PeteG]

Ruger rsm 458 Lott 9lbs4oz
Cz550 416rigby 9lbs4oz
Win mod70 SG 300win mag leupold scope 9lbs1oz

 

[CoElkHunter]

My African and NA big game hunting rifles all unloaded:
Browning A Bolt blued/walnut .338WM 26"bbl. w/ 2.8x10x44 : 8.5lbs.
Remington 700 DM SS/Synthetic .300WM 26"bbl. w/ 3.5x10x50: 8.5lbs.
Winchester M70 (1975 model) blued/walnut .270Win 22"bbl. w/ 2.5x10x50: 9.0lbs. (Heavier than I thought!)
Savage 110 blued/synthetic .25-06 24"bbl. w/ 3x9x40: 7.5lbs.
Interarms Whitworths blued/walnut .375, .458WM 24"bbl., custom .416 Taylor 22"bbl., unscoped, 8.5lbs.
CZ 550s .375, .458WM, .458 Lott blued/walnut, 25"bbls., unscoped, all 9.5lbs each.
CZ 550 .416 Rigby, black ceracote/fiberglass, 25"bbl., 1-5x20: 10.0lbs.

 

[Flewis]

Weighted a few more, 500j 9.5, 470 9.1, 500 9.2 and 450-400 I think 9.0 . Didn’t weigh my 416s or 375s.

 

[C.W. Richter]

None of mine are dedicated to Africa so the question is highly unimportant. I'm not sure the weight of your plains game rifle is important at all. DG rifles it can help quite a bit. But great question to keep the business going! I have exactly zero rifles that I consider my African rifles. Have one of your Chinese government hacks send me an email and I'll provide more specificity. We are of the belief that if we don't buy their crap and don't let them infiltrate our country like ants we will all be better off economically and healthwise. What's your favorite government official's andChinese rifle?

 

[C.W. Richter]

The African dangerous game rifles by and large made in America are not of sufficient heft if that's what you're looking for LOL most need significant additional work prior to going on Safari as covered in Kevin Robertson's books...

 

[Ontario Hunter]

This 30-06 WWII Springfield weighs around nine pounds unloaded. I only have a crummy antique spring operated bathroom scale at hand so can't be very precise. I have been hunting with it pretty much exclusively since 1964 (rifle, not the scale). Barrel is 24" and scope is inexpensive Nikon 3x9x40 BDL with Warne QD rings on a steel rail. It has iron sights scavenged from a 1990s Win Model 70 express. It is a nicely balanced rifle and easy to carry in hand or slung on shoulder. I am deadly offhand with this gun.

 

[Deepfork]

Savage lightweight walnut 308 scoped = right at 7 pounds. New favorite rifle

Savage 375 hh scoped = right at 8 pounds. I would prefer 8.5 but its nice to carry.

I have that savage, great rifle they only made for a couple of years. The walnut stock is even hollowed out to save weight. Mine weighs a tad under 5.5 lbs, 20 inch barrel. With the Leupold VX3-HD 2.5-8x36 and A Browning horse hair sling it weighs 6.4lbs. Here is a pic of the Savage with my first African trophy. By the way, mine is a tack driver. 1/2 inch groups at 100. The Black Wildebeest was 303 yards.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

I have that savage, great rifle they only made for a couple of years. The walnut stock is even hollowed out to save weight. Mine weighs a tad under 5.5 lbs, 20 inch barrel. With the Leupold VX3-HD 2.5-8x36 and A Browning horse hair sling it weighs 6.4lbs. Here is a pic of the Savage with my first African trophy. By the way, mine is a tack driver. 1/2 inch groups at 100. The Black Wildebeest was 303 yards.

View attachment 529980

Wow. A 375 H&H @ 5.5 lbs must have some serious recoil and muzzle jump. Is it ported?

 

[Deepfork]

Wow. A 375 H&H @ 5.5 lbs must have some serious recoil and muzzle jump. Is it ported?

The other Savage...308.

 

[John458Lott]

Here is a list of rifles with and without scopes that are suitable for Africa, this is not meant to be the only rifles suited for African hunting it is just rifles either owned or available to me for weighing. Note all weights listed in pounds.

9.48lb 7.62X51 FN-FAL carried by Rhodesian soldiers during the bush war
8.23lb .308 Ruger M-77 scoped Kahles
9.64lb. .375H&H M-70 Win scoped Swarovski
11.00lb. .375H&H M-70 Win scoped Swarovski
12.50lb. .375H&H M-70 Win scoped Swarovski--Please note this is a take down rifle with a non sighted .300 win barrel, I believe it would be about 1 to 11/2lb. lighter.
9.24lb. .404J Mauser Jefferies. Non scoped
7.80lb. .404J SSB Magnum Mauser Rigby. Non scoped
9.90lb. .404J CZ Trijicon RMR
9.90lb. .404J CZ Kahles. RMR
10.60lb. .450-.400 88b Heym double rifle. Non scoped or RMR
10.50lb. .470N 89.b Heym double rifle. Non scoped or RMR
10.70lb. .416R Original SSB Mauser Magnum Rigby

I had no other rifles to weigh please add to this list.

I read different peoples opinions on weight and what constitutes to much weight and due to weight and caliber it may called a shoulder cannon. I referred first to the FN-FAL simply because it was a rifle carried daily by Rhodesian soldiers in the bush this weight is with an empty 20rd mag. I would say that they were in better shape than most of us.

I was totally surprised when I saw the weight of my favorite .375H&H/.300 WM. it really never felt that heavy to me. Of the rifles that I have listed above the one that is the most pleasant to carry is the Jefferies .404J. the balance is perfect. Almost any scoped rifle does not feel what I would called balanced, not only balanced at the shoulder, but also carrying. Most doubles in the 11lb. range seem comfortable to carry, as does my .416 Rigby, god forbid if it had a scope it would be around 13lb. no thanks.

This range of rifles cover the weights that most visiting hunters and PHs would carry. I have not specified the popular Blaser R-8 because I did not have one to weigh. I also did not have any PF rifles to weigh, FN-FAL excepted.

Lon

You Sir are a man of good taste. I have never seen so many rifles listed by one person in 404J. My Argentine 1909 M98 404J with S&B 1.25-4 weighs 10lb 6oz and my M70 375 H&H with Swaro 1.25-4 weighs 10lb 1oz. As you said balance is so much more important that pure weight. Both barrels are 23" which is just about perfect IMHO.

 

[bowjijohn]

My R8 404 Jeff is around 9.5 Lb with an RD 20 on it @ 24”barrel in 22mm

Relatively comfortable to get 6 rounds off in 30 seconds- some shots even stay on target

At the risk of being boring and pedantic, the FN-FAL was not our only standard issue during the bush war

Some of us got the A1G1 SLR

Both were fine tools for the job though

Both coped with the environment ok

 

[Kevin Peacocke]

Heym 450/400 10 pounds

 

[Rare Breed]

I can see you have learned beyond the proper LOP the right amount of weight based on caliber I learned the hard way (I can be such a knucklehead)

 

[WI-2021]

My African rifle hasn't been to Africa yet, but then, neither have I. Hoping to go in 2025. The rifle is a custom build .300WM. Mesa Summit, 22" Carbon Six, AG CAT. It weighs 9.25 lbs wearing a sling, Trijicon Accupoint 2.5-12.5, and a TBAC Ultra 5. The Ultra 5 won't be making the trip though. It's a bit over 7 lbs bare.

I also have a pair of .375 Rugers, an African and an Alaskan. Not sure what they weigh off hand. The first trip is definitely going to be all plains game, so the .375's will stay home.