Alright I need some help. I am currently suffering from paralysis by analysis and I can't see the end of it. How important is rifle weight to you? This isn't a hunting rifle so I'm not carrying it far. This is my first rifle and will be a 50/50 split of PRS style matches and learning how to shoot small groups. I narrowed myself between three chassis. The Bravo, Whiskey-3, and ACC. For more than half the price of the ACC I can get a Bravo and all the exterior and interior weights to almost 18lbs. For twice the cost I can get a ACC to almost 22lbs (I know you can go heavier with the ACC). So how much of a difference is that 4lbs? My rifle is a Bighorn Origin in 6mm Creedmoor if that helps.
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How Important is Rifle Weight?
- Thread starter Ubaderb
- Start date
My 6.5CM is 15 pounds and recoil is nada. Not a bolt gun, just heavy 
My .338LM is in an MDT AAC chassis with interior weights, butt stock weight, and steel bag rider. It clocks in at 26-ish pounds (I think with all the external weights I could get it close to 40) and recoil is on par with the 6.5CM (sans muzzle brake. Still a soft shooter). 18 pounds on a 6CM? You should be just fine...
My .338LM is in an MDT AAC chassis with interior weights, butt stock weight, and steel bag rider. It clocks in at 26-ish pounds (I think with all the external weights I could get it close to 40) and recoil is on par with the 6.5CM (sans muzzle brake. Still a soft shooter). 18 pounds on a 6CM? You should be just fine...
When I was building PRS/Comp Rifles most would end up in the 15-17# range all up. 20+ is a fat bitch and you'll quickly get tired of it if you have to carry it very far. Weight just mitigates recoil and is easier to hold a hard steady POA but, only to a certain point. For positional stages/practice, 15-17# wouldn't give up anything to a 22# phat a$$. It really boils down to what you like. I still do some rifle work on the DL for a few shooters and from time to time they likem fat. No right or wrong answers
I would say for comp shooting and precision minded shooting, extra weight is certainly beneficial. But I would strongly encourage you to not get wrapped up in the mindset of “the heavier the better”. First and foremost, strong fundamentals is what will get you there, the extra weight will just be an added bonus. An 18 pound rifle would certainly be a good starting point, and if later on down the road you want more, then add it.
I don't give a fuck what the rifle weighs. I learn to drive it.
A 15 y.o. girl with a lightweight 6creed just won a 2 day national PRS match beating a bunch of dudes with 20+ lb BR's etc. So I'd say it's not that important.
Yeah this is pretty much what I needed to hear. No use in counting ounces online when I should be getting the gun out there and learning it.
Get the acc, my match stuff has gone from krg X-ray and bravo to mdt acc and xrs. Integral arca instead of a 70 buck add on plus the 100+ spigot makes up a bunch of that price difference. And with their very grip you can adjust the length to trigger. Find the acc on sale instead of full price and it’s about even. Get the weights if you want them later but I don’t run any and it’s fine.
Pure weight just for the sake of it isn’t as beneficial as being naturally comfy behind it.
I have found the 16-17# range is just about perfect between enough weight to be stable, and portability.
I like big buts and I cannot lie , my mdt with the factory weights is 25ish lbs with a 6.5 creedmoor feels like a plush toy recoil wise I am hopping that the total 35lbs total of weight I have for it will do the same thing with the 7mm saum but either way You have to be happy with your gear not me .Good luck with what ever you decide to do heavy light its all good .
Weight isn't nearly as important as balance... My rifles are far more steady off a bag when the balance point of the rifle sets in the middle of the bag in my instance WC Gamechanger. Once the rifle is balanced correctly weight more so helps you stay on target under recoil. If you are naturally a shakey/unsteady person then weight will definitely help when free recoiling the rifle. If you are a nonshakey/steady person you can stay on target easier with a lighter rifle by simply getting a solid check and shoulder weld.
If you want extra weight, buy a Vortex Razor Gen II.
At night by the camp-fire, you can do some curls, shoulder press, and triceps extensions.
At night by the camp-fire, you can do some curls, shoulder press, and triceps extensions.
Yep. Already got that.If you want extra weight, buy a Vortex Razor Gen II.
At night by the camp-fire, you can do some curls, shoulder press, and triceps extensions.
Here’s what 4ish pounds can do-my 260 shooting 130’s at 2975 weighs 13ish pounds has similar if not a touch more recoil than my 7 Saum launching 190’s at 2880 that weighs about 18ish pounds.
Both are really nice to shoot.
Both are really nice to shoot.
It's physics. For a gamer gun where all I have to carry it is from stage to stage over maybe 3/4 mile over the whole day and that's it, bump the weight up. My PRS/NRL rifle is a 22lb 6mm ARC. No recoil. If you have to carry the rifle just to make a shot (hunting) a 15lb rifle isn't horrible. If you have to carry the rifle while you carry a pack full of meat, under 10lb is preferable.
This. Also, consider terrain! If that 3/4 mile is at a 10% grade, maybe a lighter rifle is a better choice than a beefy-ass gamer gun. If you’re going for a goat or sheep, you will want to push the complete rifle to as low a weight as physically possible - like, 6-7lb range scoped.
IMO weight is really good to a point, seems most top PRS guys are running 18-22lb rifles, and a heavy gun with a light trigger makes things a lot easier for sure. The weight adds cheap simple no-nonsense performance you can feel, and besides investing in a good light trigger, adding weight does more for you than most any other upgrade. But my rifle isn’t any more accurate as it’s gotten heavier, it’s just easier to utilize the accuracy that’s already there.
I kind of feel like when ever this topic pops up there are always the guys with lighter rifles (who haven't tried adding any weight) who chime in saying "weight doesn't matter", but I haven't really heard of anyone who's added some weight saying "naw, I'm going to take off the weights, it was better before".
I have a Bravo with 3 Snyder Precision buttstock weights, KRG internal t-slot weight, and the MDT m-lok weights, with a 36oz scope and and fairly light “semi-heavy 26” barrel it weighs 18lbs... so it will get heavier when I add an MTU or M24 profile barrel... pretty good considering what I’ve invested. I don't think I would want to add any more weight beyond what I'll get moving to a heavier barrel. I have a friend with an ACC using the same action I have but with a heavier barrel, and using 1 buttstock weight and 2 internal forend weights his rifle is still shy of 16lbs, so he may still have more than a few bucks to spend if he wants to add more weight...
That said, as mentioned above, with the Bravo I’m still needing to add a spigot and arca rail sooner rather than later which is going to be around +$200 to mount up my bipod how I want... and I’m at the end of the road as far as adding weight unless I want to start getting creative with epoxy and lead (which I don’t). I like the Bravo a lot, and like that you can just tack on what you want as you go, but if I could have a do over, I could see maybe going with the MDT ACC instead in order to just have to add less shit to it (no need to add an arca rail or spigot) but still have options to add more weight if wanted down the road.
The price difference isn’t really that big of a deal if you weren't going to be adding weights to the ACC, but there's no doubt the ACC will end up costing more than a Bravo. If it's a question of cost-benefit analysis, IMHO the Bravo beats the ACC, because, the annoying part is that the stupid steel weights aren't exactly cheap either way you go, so you have to factor that into the cost of the chassis if you want a heavier rifle.
I kind of feel like when ever this topic pops up there are always the guys with lighter rifles (who haven't tried adding any weight) who chime in saying "weight doesn't matter", but I haven't really heard of anyone who's added some weight saying "naw, I'm going to take off the weights, it was better before".
I have a Bravo with 3 Snyder Precision buttstock weights, KRG internal t-slot weight, and the MDT m-lok weights, with a 36oz scope and and fairly light “semi-heavy 26” barrel it weighs 18lbs... so it will get heavier when I add an MTU or M24 profile barrel... pretty good considering what I’ve invested. I don't think I would want to add any more weight beyond what I'll get moving to a heavier barrel. I have a friend with an ACC using the same action I have but with a heavier barrel, and using 1 buttstock weight and 2 internal forend weights his rifle is still shy of 16lbs, so he may still have more than a few bucks to spend if he wants to add more weight...
That said, as mentioned above, with the Bravo I’m still needing to add a spigot and arca rail sooner rather than later which is going to be around +$200 to mount up my bipod how I want... and I’m at the end of the road as far as adding weight unless I want to start getting creative with epoxy and lead (which I don’t). I like the Bravo a lot, and like that you can just tack on what you want as you go, but if I could have a do over, I could see maybe going with the MDT ACC instead in order to just have to add less shit to it (no need to add an arca rail or spigot) but still have options to add more weight if wanted down the road.
The price difference isn’t really that big of a deal if you weren't going to be adding weights to the ACC, but there's no doubt the ACC will end up costing more than a Bravo. If it's a question of cost-benefit analysis, IMHO the Bravo beats the ACC, because, the annoying part is that the stupid steel weights aren't exactly cheap either way you go, so you have to factor that into the cost of the chassis if you want a heavier rifle.
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Oh, this one again...
As light as possible for the intended purpose.
If you can't drive a 10 lbs 308, a heavier gun or a lighter recoiling cartridge will not make you a better shooter.
As already stated: Work the fundamentals. Get comfortable with the recoil. Practice positions.
When you hit what you aim at, add extras.
As light as possible for the intended purpose.
If you can't drive a 10 lbs 308, a heavier gun or a lighter recoiling cartridge will not make you a better shooter.
As already stated: Work the fundamentals. Get comfortable with the recoil. Practice positions.
When you hit what you aim at, add extras.
I like em heavy
I started PRS with a 12# 308
Then went to a 14# 6 creed and realized it was much more enjoyable to shoot
Then an 18# 6 Dasher
And now a 22# 25 Dasher
Each rendition became more enjoyable to shoot, Therefore I shot more rounds when I went out and got better in the process
I do this for fun, more accurate, less recoil= more fun.
That being said I feel like I am at the point of diminishing returns and will not go Heavier.
If a lot of hiking is not on the menu Then go Heavy.
The ACC is awesome and I would recommend it highly and you can play with the weights to find your sweet spot.
I started PRS with a 12# 308
Then went to a 14# 6 creed and realized it was much more enjoyable to shoot
Then an 18# 6 Dasher
And now a 22# 25 Dasher
Each rendition became more enjoyable to shoot, Therefore I shot more rounds when I went out and got better in the process
I do this for fun, more accurate, less recoil= more fun.
That being said I feel like I am at the point of diminishing returns and will not go Heavier.
If a lot of hiking is not on the menu Then go Heavy.
The ACC is awesome and I would recommend it highly and you can play with the weights to find your sweet spot.
Do what the pros do. You probably aren't good enough to re-invent the wheel yet. If you want a PRS gun, run what they run.
If you can't hike a couple miles with 40 or 50lbs of gear, 20-30lb rifle, 20lbs of bags, water, and ammo. It's not like you're hiking on the clock or anything at most matches. Go to the gym. Get in shape. It will save you money in the long run and make you have a better quality of life later into life.
^This is an outlier event in many many ways. Do not let something like this allow you to make stupid decisions.
If you can't hike a couple miles with 40 or 50lbs of gear, 20-30lb rifle, 20lbs of bags, water, and ammo. It's not like you're hiking on the clock or anything at most matches. Go to the gym. Get in shape. It will save you money in the long run and make you have a better quality of life later into life.
^This is an outlier event in many many ways. Do not let something like this allow you to make stupid decisions.
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