The lightweight hunter

Having owned and shot rifles for more years than I care to remember one thing has become clear to me: rifles have become heavier. I understand that as the years pass we certainly don’t become any stronger, but without a doubt, several of my own rifles are heavy, and were it not for the fact that most of my shooting nowadays is done from my 4x4 or, like the majority of shooters, from sticks of one design or another, it would be virtually impossible to use these rifles freehand.

Much of course is down to the increase in vermin (varmint) shooting where rifles have been designed specifically for that purpose. To increase accuracy, weight has been added in the form of heavy (varmint) barrels and by the time the scope and moderator have been added the weight has risen considerably. There is also the claim that, by having heavy barrels, the heat dissipation is improved.

I have absolutely no argument with this, but at the same