The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Why not use a heavy rifle for typical deer hunting?

Art Eatman · February 13, 2014, 10:17 AM

My #2 Pet is a little Sako Forester .243. 19" barrel. Seven pounds, "fully dressed". Regularly and reliably, five-shot groups of 5/8 to 3/4 MOA.

I used it in a culling program, way back when, and through the years tagged a couple of dozen bucks.

I will say that after a walking hunt of three to five miles, it wasn't nearly as tiring as my #1 Pet, a 9.5-pound '06.

If all you do is sit in a stand, weight is pretty much irrelevant. Just realize that from a Bambi-need standpoint, there's no advantage to a heavy barrel over a light sporter: The key is the consistency for point of impact of the first shot. If you have that, a "buggy whip" barrel is plenty good.

Nowadays, though, since my legs went and got old, my preference is my 700 Ti in 7mm08. 6.5 pounds, fully dressed.

February 13, 2014, 10:17 AM	#22
Art Eatman Staff in Memoriam Join Date: November 13, 1998 Location: Terlingua, TX; Thomasville, GA Posts: 24,798	My #2 Pet is a little Sako Forester .243. 19" barrel. Seven pounds, "fully dressed". Regularly and reliably, five-shot groups of 5/8 to 3/4 MOA. I used it in a culling program, way back when, and through the years tagged a couple of dozen bucks. I will say that after a walking hunt of three to five miles, it wasn't nearly as tiring as my #1 Pet, a 9.5-pound '06. If all you do is sit in a stand, weight is pretty much irrelevant. Just realize that from a Bambi-need standpoint, there's no advantage to a heavy barrel over a light sporter: The key is the consistency for point of impact of the first shot. If you have that, a "buggy whip" barrel is plenty good. Nowadays, though, since my legs went and got old, my preference is my 700 Ti in 7mm08. 6.5 pounds, fully dressed.