{"id":11691,"date":"2015-06-03T16:39:23","date_gmt":"2015-06-03T16:39:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/?p=11691"},"modified":"2015-10-24T03:07:23","modified_gmt":"2015-10-24T03:07:23","slug":"heavy-rifles","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/heavy-rifles\/","title":{"rendered":"Heavy Rifles"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"LR-59\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We have been looking at rifles the wrong way. Early rifles were heavy and therefore, since they were first, they became the standard. As craftsmen got smarter and methods and materials changed,\u00a0rifles became lighter. About 30 years ago a savvy hunter from West Virginia<\/a> woke up one morning with the realization that rifles were not supposed to be heavy. He then proceeded to change the world.<\/p>\n

Today we toss around the term \u201clight rifle\u201d as though it is a specialized thing when in truth it is the ideal thing.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet\u2019s walk up that mountain, shoot a deer and carry him out.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

\u201cGood idea Bob. We\u2019ll need a rifle. How about this one?\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a long way up the mountain Bill, and that rifle is heavy. You carry it.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Why would a hunter want to carry more weight than is necessary? Well, some will argue that a rifle needs weight in order for you to be able to shoot it well. This is a widely misunderstood notion. Holding something with weight off the ground is in no way comfortable or conducive to holding still. And, if we want to hit something with a rifle we have to hold it still. Weight is a crutch for rifles that are not built correctly.<\/p>\n

\"LR-55\"<\/a>
Some say light rifles will not shoot. Really?<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Balance, not weight is the key to making a rifle that is easy to shoot with precision. Early muzzleloading rifles did not balance properly. They were muzzle heavy. This made them slow to get on target but with the weight forward the sights seemed to hang on target once placed there. This led shooters to believe weight was necessary.<\/p>\n

Lighter weight carbines were butt heavy. They handled very well and a hunter could snap them to his shoulder very swiftly and then miss a target just as fast. This was because there was no weight on the muzzle end to steady \u2013 balance – the shot.<\/p>\n

The ideal rifle would be weightless and balance exactly between the two hands that held it. It would handle like a dream; partly because that\u2019s what it would be and partly because Earth\u2019s gravity has a way of inhibiting movement. (The absence of weight circumvents gravity.) Doubts I\u2019m sure exist so conduct a simple experiment. Pretend you have a rifle in your hands. Now, look out across the yard and find your neighbor’s pet; the one that pees and poops in your yard all the time. Go\u00a0through the motions of shouldering your imaginary rifle and shooting Rover or Kitty.<\/p>\n

\"LR-58\"<\/a>
We make rifles heavy so they will shoot better. Then, we need to rest them on things like trees and bipods in order to hit our target. Is that logical?<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Wow! Did that not feel extraordinary? Your speed was blinding, the balance was fantastic, and you could have held\u00a0that weightless rifle on target for a very, very long time. (Of course you had to hold it until the neighbors were not watching. You can’t shoot their pet – even pretend shoot – while they are looking. That would be uncivilized.) Now, put two pounds in your left hand and four pounds in your right and duplicate the exercise.<\/p>\n

OK. So that sucked. Gravity and our disdain for our two hands to do different things at the same time should make my point very clear. There is no such thing as light rifles, all rifles are too heavy, and most rifles are badly unbalanced. If you want to shoot your best you need the lightest rifle you can find, that exhibits perfect balance. If you do not know where to find such a creation,\u00a0I know a guy<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"LR-56\"<\/a>
This New Ultra Light Arms model 20 weighs 5.5 pounds with scope. Some would call it a light rifle.<\/span><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have been looking at rifles the wrong way. Early rifles were heavy and therefore, since they were first, they became the standard. As craftsmen got smarter and methods and materials changed,\u00a0rifles became lighter. About 30 years ago a savvy hunter from West Virginia woke up one morning with the realization that rifles were not supposed to be heavy. He then proceeded …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[2522],"tags":[2452,2370,136],"class_list":["post-11691","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-hunt","tag-heavy-rifles","tag-light-rifles","tag-new-ultra-light-arms"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p5hujZ-32z","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":10952,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/melvin-forbes-rifle-magician\/","url_meta":{"origin":11691,"position":0},"title":"Melvin Forbes – Rifle Magician","author":"gunwriter","date":"December 31, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"The history of the rifle revolves around just a few men. Jacob and Samuel Hawken gave the muzzleloader respect that has remained untarnished for almost 200 years. John Browning applied a level of engineering rapidity, volume and genius of which has never been matched. And, Paul Mauser concocted a rugged,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"Bolt Action Rifles\"","block_context":{"text":"Bolt Action Rifles","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/tag\/bolt-action-rifles\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Melvin-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Melvin-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Melvin-1.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Melvin-1.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/Melvin-1.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16643,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/analysis-of-the-scout-rifle-part-2\/","url_meta":{"origin":11691,"position":1},"title":"Analysis of the Scout Rifle: Part 2","author":"gunwriter","date":"February 15, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the second in a series of articles concerning the Scout Rifle. It could be considered an addendum to my book, The Scout Rifle Study. The Problem with the term\/name, Scout Rifle Maybe the largest problem Cooper created was with the name he chose to give his concept rife.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Latest"","block_context":{"text":"Latest","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/latest\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Patriot-Scout-3.jpg?fit=1000%2C652&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Patriot-Scout-3.jpg?fit=1000%2C652&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Patriot-Scout-3.jpg?fit=1000%2C652&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/Patriot-Scout-3.jpg?fit=1000%2C652&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":10735,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/ultra-light-hunting-rifle-stories\/","url_meta":{"origin":11691,"position":2},"title":"Ultra Light Hunting Rifle Stories","author":"gunwriter","date":"December 9, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Most of the stories you hear about good hunting rifles\u00a0involve itty-bitty groups or ridiculously\u00a0long and difficult shots. This is because that's really all there is to tell about most hunting rifles. There is an exception and that's the rifles from New Ultra Light Arms.\u00a0In\u00a01985, New Ultra Light Arms started the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "HUNTING"","block_context":{"text":"HUNTING","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/hunt\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"NULA-1","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NULA-11.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NULA-11.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NULA-11.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/12\/NULA-11.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":16423,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/long-rifles-and-round-balls\/","url_meta":{"origin":11691,"position":3},"title":"Long Rifles and Round Balls","author":"gunwriter","date":"December 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"If you\u2019re a student of the rifle or a muzzleloading enthusiast this is a time machine you must ride. 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It has potted a lot of squirrels and I used it on Christmas day to shoot my\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "EDITORIAL"","block_context":{"text":"EDITORIAL","link":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/category\/editorial\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"35 Zebra","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/35-Zebra.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/35-Zebra.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/35-Zebra.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/02\/35-Zebra.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":11097,"url":"https:\/\/empty-cases.com\/blog\/melvin-forbes-and-his-famous-rifle-stock\/","url_meta":{"origin":11691,"position":5},"title":"Melvin Forbes and his Famous Rifle Stock","author":"gunwriter","date":"January 9, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This is the last of a four-part video series on Melvin Forbes and the wondrous rifle he created 30 years ago. 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