“it’s just one more ounce” is what leads to carrying many pounds of unnecessary or overweight gear.
2. youR body iS youR heavieSt piece of geaR It’s time to give yourself a gut check. There is an old saying that goes “a pound on your feet is like ten on your back” I’m not so sure how the math works on that one but I do know that ten pounds on your gut is like, well, ten pounds on your gut. Trade in the extra body fat for leg muscle and you’ll thank yourself.
3. if you can Save weight while maintaining/impRoving peRfoRmance do it! Chances are your body isn’t the only place where you can shave weight AND improve performance. Three materials that have absolutely revolutionized lightweight gear are carbon, titanium, and aluminum. Rifles, tents, knives, hiking poles, tripods, stoves and a host of other gear have the potential to reap the rewards of these lightweight materials so keep your eye out for opportunities to update older heavier items with lighter alternatives.
4. ReSpect the big 4. There are four items that are essential to our success in any hunt – they are optics, footwear, rifle and pack. If you’ve shaved weight in these areas at the expense of bomb-proof reliability then you may wish to reconsider your choices.
Successful back country hunts have certain attributes in common. One, you get in carrying a heavy load on your own two feet. Two, you spot an elusive animal in its own domain, quite often in the first or last few minutes of light. Three, you make a successful shot, likely at extended range from a less than ideal shooting position. Four, you pack out more weight than you came in with on the same two feet that got you there in the first place. We spend our entire off-season dreaming about this perfect sequence of events and the performance of the Big 4 do more than the rest combined to turn your dream into a reality. While shaving weight is our goal these are not the areas to look for excessive savings in weight OR cost. Because of their importance balancing weight vs. performance here is critical, so let’s review each area in detail.
Rifle System: After testing everything from five pound ultra-light rifles to twelve pound mon- strosities I found the perfect middle ground when Gunwerks introduced their MountainX rifle system. Using the latest in carbon fiber stock technology, a titanium action, and deep ten channel barrel fluting, the system weighs in under nine pounds.
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