Why are Varmint Rifles so Heavy?

J

Jim Phillips

New member
Now, I know they are not ALL heavy but so many are I thought I would ask why. I have seen 204 and other smaller caliber rifles that weigh more than a 375 Holland and Holland by the same maker! I can easily find Varmint guns in small calibers that weigh 8 or 9 or 10 pounds Without a scope! How is it that I can shoot a 7 1/2 pound rifle accurately enough to pay thousands of dollars for a hunt to try to get the trophy of my lifetime but for a ground squirrel, prairie dog or Coyote I need a 9-10 pound gun (before I add a scope)?
 
Several reasons. A couple of those reasons are that a heavier gun is inherently more accurate than a lighter gun. As you do not hike for varmints, there is no reason to cut weight. Another reason is that the volume of shots will heat up a skinny barrel quicker than a thicker barrel affecting accuracy. The thicker barrel is also stiffer which, from my limited understanding, maintains it's harmonics better before the heat affects accuracy.
 
Probably a factor in favor of heavier barrels would be longer shot string consistency. Most are shot from a rest or bipod and carried shorter distance as opposed to a pure stalk/seek hunt. More weight means more inertia to move off target thereby raising hot probability.

I've had great luck with ultra-light CZ's with a bipod or rest on PD's but my shooting pace is extremely slow with maybe five shots quickly and then nothing for some time. That being said for the reach out to the next zip code I like that extra barrel weight.

Greg
 
Long shots + easy to wiggle rifles = lots of misses. The heavier the rifle, the more stable it is, the easier it is to really reach out there. And in general (unless you're me) you're not hiking the rifle around, you're pretty sedentary. Vs a bruiser of an elk gun that you pack several miles a day up steep hills. 1 shot that may be not super nice on your shoulder vs a whole lot of shots you never feel.
 
Originally Posted By: NdIndyLong shots + easy to wiggle rifles = lots of misses. The heavier the rifle, the more stable it is, the easier it is to really reach out there. And in general (unless you're me) you're not hiking the rifle around, you're pretty sedentary. Vs a bruiser of an elk gun that you pack several miles a day up steep hills. 1 shot that may be not super nice on your shoulder vs a whole lot of shots you never feel.

Pretty much this. ^^^ Different uses.
You don't want to pack a 15+ pound rifle up a mountain for two days on a hunt. Trust me, it sucks. All for one or two shots, then you have to haul a XXX pound animal out of the mountains too.
A little varmint rifle doesn't usually get packed around a mountain. At least for me, it's usually not very far from the truck, kobata, etc. A lot flatter land, and a lot more than one or two shots if you're having a good day.
 
Originally Posted By: Jim PhillipsNow, I know they are not ALL heavy but so many are I thought I would ask why. I have seen 204 and other smaller caliber rifles that weigh more than a 375 Holland and Holland by the same maker! I can easily find Varmint guns in small calibers that weigh 8 or 9 or 10 pounds Without a scope! How is it that I can shoot a 7 1/2 pound rifle accurately enough to pay thousands of dollars for a hunt to try to get the trophy of my lifetime but for a ground squirrel, prairie dog or Coyote I need a 9-10 pound gun (before I add a scope)?

Same reason bench rest guns are heavy
 
I shoot groundhogs here on the east coast and I do hike when hunting and have gone to cooper classics over my varminters. Here in the east we don't get to shoot long strings so don't need a heavy barrel for that reason. With that said most of my shots are less than 500-600 yards and the lite guns work well for me.
 
I hunt woodchucks with a 15lb 243 for stability from prone or setting positions.Its very hard to nose the barrel of a heavy rifle with a hair trigger from a stable platform vs a standard 6.5# rifle. An 1/8" of movement at 400yds on a chuck might as well be a mile.
 
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Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeOriginally Posted By: Jim PhillipsNow, I know they are not ALL heavy but so many are I thought I would ask why. I have seen 204 and other smaller caliber rifles that weigh more than a 375 Holland and Holland by the same maker! I can easily find Varmint guns in small calibers that weigh 8 or 9 or 10 pounds Without a scope! How is it that I can shoot a 7 1/2 pound rifle accurately enough to pay thousands of dollars for a hunt to try to get the trophy of my lifetime but for a ground squirrel, prairie dog or Coyote I need a 9-10 pound gun (before I add a scope)?

Same reason bench rest guns are heavy

Yep. And coyotes are not varmints. My coyote rifles are 7-8 lbs. Varmint rifles are up to 15 lbs. Long shots, long strings of shooting, bench rest type shooting versus sticks. There are a lot of reasons.
 
Originally Posted By: pahntr760Originally Posted By: Tim NeitzkeOriginally Posted By: Jim PhillipsNow, I know they are not ALL heavy but so many are I thought I would ask why. I have seen 204 and other smaller caliber rifles that weigh more than a 375 Holland and Holland by the same maker! I can easily find Varmint guns in small calibers that weigh 8 or 9 or 10 pounds Without a scope! How is it that I can shoot a 7 1/2 pound rifle accurately enough to pay thousands of dollars for a hunt to try to get the trophy of my lifetime but for a ground squirrel, prairie dog or Coyote I need a 9-10 pound gun (before I add a scope)?

Same reason bench rest guns are heavy

Yep. And coyotes are not varmints. My coyote rifles are 7-8 lbs. Varmint rifles are up to 15 lbs. Long shots, long strings of shooting, bench rest type shooting versus sticks. There are a lot of reasons.

I have varmint/ predator rifles weight 7-12 lbs. they all have their one niche they fit into nicely. Most of my coyote guns are 9-10 lbs. but you can get away with 7 lb guns for predators just fine.
 
Not all Varmint Rifles are so heavy and cumbersome to carry....I have a Browning A-bolt Micro Hunter in a .22 Hornet, it's a light 6lb 6 oz Rifle that's nice and easy to carry and a great Accurate Rifle that won't wear You down and will work great on the Varmints and still be good for Foxes,Bobcats and possibly a Coyote if I ever get one in my sights this Winter?
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Still can't post a pic via my IPhone link?
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A few other Light Weight Varmint Rifles that come to mind would be the Savage .17 WSM B-mag and the newer Savage A-17 Rifle (Automatic .17 HMR)!
 
People tend to mount a scope the size of the hubble telescope to see small critters at long distances. The weight of those heavy varmint barrels is balanced with the giant scope.
 
Originally Posted By: GTOHunterNot all Varmint Rifles are so heavy and cumbersome to carry....I have a Browning A-bolt Micro Hunter in a .22 Hornet, it's a light 6lb 6 oz Rifle that's nice and easy to carry and a great Accurate Rifle that won't wear You down and will work great on the Varmints and still be good for Foxes,Bobcats and possibly a Coyote if I ever get one in my sights this Winter?
wink.gif


Still can't post a pic via my IPhone link?
frown.gif


A few other Light Weight Varmint Rifles that come to mind would be the Savage .17 WSM B-mag and the newer Savage A-17 Rifle (Automatic .17 HMR)!

Photobucket app, upload, click the little i in a circle, copy and past the img code.
 
Throw in the fact that, starting with the same diameter barrel, that trophy hunt gun is likely .270-.338 caliber (big hole) and the varmint gun is .204-.243 caliber (little hole). That's a lot of extra metal in the varmint gun.
 
My first prairie dog shoot was with my ruger boat paddle in 223.. Didn't take a Minuit to see even [beeep] the ruger would shoot less the a 1/4 in it just didn't aim and hold well in the field...been shooting heavy guns ever since...the light rifles are great for coyote calling where targets are bigger..
 
they do not seem that heavy to me. the country here in az is quite rugged in some areas though. the heavy ones seem to do better. take some your light ones to the ground hog hickory egg shoot . that will help you under stand .
 
They don't HAVE to be heavy! However the heavier barrel has more surface area for cooling purposes and less vibration so they are stiffer and generally more accurate. I have a couple of rifles with a thin pencil barrel that will shoot 3-4 shots in a really tight group(.260 Ruger compact is one of them )then it gets so hot it wanders. I would say for a walking coyote gun go light. If you are going to sit in 1 place and pound prairie dogs go for the heavy varmint guns!
 


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