Would Rather See Lighter Rifles.

If they start making $2000 guns out of Titanium Kevlar Carbon fibre ect, they will become $3000 guns.

AEA Element, a light weight option, not sure how well built (long lasting) it will prove, but at around 3lbs, hard to beat on that front.

I could live with that. Sell a couple guns if need to. Actually since covid, we have saved a lot money. We don't go 0ut any now & we have canceled two high dollar vacations & 4 gunshows that cost a a lot to attend , hotels, dining, & bar tabs. Saving fuel & matienence on our cars. We order our groceries & then pick them up, seems this is costing us less. I have more money to spend on guns now than before I was married over 40 years plus ago. LOL 
 
Wow...

Seems many are using old age to whine about being weak !

Glad I don't fall into that hole. I'm 70+ and have arthritis in my four major joints. Why don't I whine about gun weight...because I "try" to take some sort care of myself. I shoot my heavier guns as much as I shoot my lighter guns.

Simple, go to a gym, buy some dumbbells or those exercise bands (cheap..!), buy an exercise machine. For as much as I've hated the TV commercials over the years, I ended up buying a "Total Gym". a while back. It works (if you use it !). I try to use it for some exercise every day. Normally ends up being every day to three days a week, but...I use it. It's not that expensive, plus you can go with payments.

Old age ISN'T an excuse to whine about getting weak..! And then blaming others for your weakness, E.G., wanting lighter guns, etc.

Mike
 
Wow...

Seems many are using old age to whine about being weak !

Glad I don't fall into that hole. I'm 70+ and have arthritis in my four major joints. Why don't I whine about gun weight...because I "try" to take some sort care of myself. I shoot my heavier guns as much as I shoot my lighter guns.

Simple, go to a gym, buy some dumbbells or those exercise bands (cheap..!), buy an exercise machine. For as much as I've hated the TV commercials over the years, I ended up buying a "Total Gym". a while back. It works (if you use it !). I try to use it for some exercise every day. Normally ends up being every day to three days a week, but...I use it. It's not that expensive, plus you can go with payments.

Old age ISN'T an excuse to whine about getting weak..! And then blaming others for your weakness, E.G., wanting lighter guns, etc.

Mike


+1

Walk 10,000 step a day. Go to a gym/Trainer once a week. Lift weights in the garage when you walk through to empty the trash. Attach a TRX strap to the garage rafters and use it. Step away from the computer..drop and do 20 push-up, 20 squats, or 20 crunches on the ottoman 3 times a day. Getting old doesn't have to mean getting weak.

But yes, I do like a light AG for hikes..my Leshiy fits the bill nicely. 
 
When I mention being 71, I'm not "whining" about old age. My limitation is a total detachment in my rotator cuff. I get a lot of exercise, but the shoulder won't take much, no more tennis. The only fix is a replacement, but I'm going to manage the pain the best I can for now, and a lighter rifle is some relief. I wish all you iron men the best, be thankful, things can change quickly. And maybe not rush to judgments about others.
 
I agree. I have had 32 surgeries under general anesthesia. I have a fused right wrist (I am right handed), a fused right ankle, a fused lumbar spine (5 levels), have a non-cancerous tumor in my spinal cord at T11-T12, am diabetic, have had cancer 3 times. need both knees replaced (each already scoped twice), need double rotator cuff surgery, have broken bones at least 30 times. You guys who think you are tough-you haven't even been tested yet.
 
Wow...

Seems many are using old age to whine about being weak !

Glad I don't fall into that hole. I'm 70+ and have arthritis in my four major joints. Why don't I whine about gun weight...because I "try" to take some sort care of myself. I shoot my heavier guns as much as I shoot my lighter guns.

Simple, go to a gym, buy some dumbbells or those exercise bands (cheap..!), buy an exercise machine. For as much as I've hated the TV commercials over the years, I ended up buying a "Total Gym". a while back. It works (if you use it !). I try to use it for some exercise every day. Normally ends up being every day to three days a week, but...I use it. It's not that expensive, plus you can go with payments.

Old age ISN'T an excuse to whine about getting weak..! And then blaming others for your weakness, E.G., wanting lighter guns, etc.

Mike

I’m glade you are a healthy old guy. I have been blessed with good health so far. I still work in a physical job even during the Covid shut downs I worked daily. But I would like some of my rifles to be lighter. I recognize I am weaker as I age. It’s a fact! Even for you! And I really do wish you the best. 
 
I agree. I have had 32 surgeries under general anesthesia. I have a fused right wrist (I am right handed), a fused right ankle, a fused lumbar spine (5 levels), have a non-cancerous tumor in my spinal cord at T11-T12, am diabetic, have had cancer 3 times. need both knees replaced (each already scoped twice), need double rotator cuff surgery, have broken bones at least 30 times. You guys who think you are tough-you haven't even been tested yet.


That's not tough, that's unlucky 😮. I've had one rotator cuff surgery. I can't imagine doing another. I feel for you.
 
So am I. Old age is only one thing. Disabilities/traumatic injuries are another. The two combined are bad. I've been this way since I was 25 (now 65), when a 17 yo hit me head on. The bones in my wrist and ankle were hit so hard they turned to powder, so there was nothing to fix. In those 40 years I've told many people, 2 seconds from now you could wish you were in as bad shape as I am. Someday, they may understand, but I hope they never do. They're not tough enough.
 
Not really old here at 57. But have had both cuffs repaired twice each. All were self inflicted from racing. I work for the local telephone company and am on ladders or climbing poles daily. I am not weak, sick or on any meds. I like long, heavy blued barreled, walnut stocked rifles. But I AG hunt with bull pups. For their light weight benefits. 
 
100% agree with this thread, it’s not easy to make things light and still maintain functionality without using exotic and expensive materials. One of the heaviest part of the rifle is the scope, haven’t found a good scope that’s light without spending thousands. Then the barrel system. FX has a good start but they or someone need to start using carbon wrapped barrels and then lighten the main block and then tank. Fortunately descent quality carbon is getting pretty cheap. 


I tried the AEA element, excellent idea but poor execution, has great potential if they fix a few things.
 
Horses for courses! I have rifles weighing under 5 pounds and love em, and I have others all the way to17 pounds that I built to those weights. Sad to see how how some folks are so fixed of mind they can only appreciate a certain size or weight rifle.

For walking around hunting, I too like a smaller gun, and ideally so short the muzzle clears with the gun held by the grip with barrel pointed down. but I like a stalker type too, which can be heavier, longer etc. I also shoot BR and FT, and no one gun can do it all perfectly, nor does it need to (for me at least). 

I’m strong, but not super-strong, I’m old, will be 77 in a month, and have diabetes and all the other stuff that accompanies it, but i do what it takes to keep shooting.
 
I have always liked lighter guns. Four of the entry level pcp’s are 5 lb guns. Benjamin Fortitude & Maximus, Hatsan Flash and the Avenger. But isn’t much between the $300 gun and the $1000 gun that are lightweight Pistol based carbines sort of fill the lightweight niche. I agree that I am surprised more manufacturers don’t offer aluminum tubes to save weight even if they offered it as an optional lightweight model.






 
Just to clear things a little.

My comments come from what I see in daily life. I see older folks whining about how heavy this or that is, then I see them sitting by the pool with bear in hand...doing nothing. I know some of these people.

I've also learned it from my mom. She was in a motorcycle crash when she was young (18). They did their best to put her leg back together, but it was all for not, when many, many years later, she had to have removed anyway. She would walk near the full width of a grocery store, because she parked her car away from crappy people that have no respect for other peoples cars. She did this until the day she died. She refused to get a handicapped lic. plate, she said "others need it more than I do". I could go on and on about what she went through with that, but I won't bore you with the details. In any case, she pushed herself to be able to do things when her lower leg was bleeding because the doctors "F'ed" up, but...she still needed to get things done when none of her sons were around to do them.

So yea, while I do feel for the folks that do have serious problems (young or older), most of them...AREN'T out walking fields or mountains shooting air guns..! And the VERY...few that may be, I apologize for lumping everyone into one category. But my basic comments stick for the MANY of getting older folks.

My heaviest rifle is my BSA Defiant, maybe my Daystate Renegade. My lightest is a toss-up between a few (Wildcat III, Maverick, Uragan Compact). I shoot them all, plus others, even the oddball Defiant. Would I go into the field with it, no, but I would with the Daystate. But that's for other reasons than weight.

And to Ibc - you must me a marathon man, a Navy Seal, and indestructible, all in one.

Don't know if that helps as far as my attitude, or maybe makes it worse, but this is to clear things up a bit about my attitude about many older folks, with their aches and pains. Of course...I could die tomorrow too..!

Mike
 
I've been considering a new rifle in .30, because that is the minimum for hunting turkey in Georgia, but the selection there is limited. I looked at the Red Wolf line, but those are just so big. I looked at that new Argus like the one they are giving away, but in .30. 8.8 lbs AND you would have to hold a knobby pic rail where you should have a fore stock. So much seems to be geared towards bench shooters or shooting from tri-pods that the traditional hunter that moves around seems to be forgotten. I hunt squirrels and hogs in the river bottoms and swamps where I live. An average hunt is about a 5-6 mile hike. Lighter does make a difference, though I find the heavier ones easier to hold still for the time it takes to make a shot.
 
Re: shoulder problems.

Try a collagen supplement!



I tore 3 out of the 4 ligaments in my left shoulder a few years ago.

My left arm would barely move plus a ton of pain.

Went to an Ortho doc, went to therapy... almost a year later and ZERO improvement.

Finally I said I gotta try something, anything!



One day in the health food store I grabbed a bottle of joint pills that had type II collagen.

6 weeks later I was playing golf again (gently). Another month after that I was hitting it as hard as I ever have in my life and no pain 💪

A couple times in the last year I ran out of pills and didn't take any for a couple weeks and the pain started to return!

Quickly located some more collagen pills and back to perfect within a week 👍



Told a few friends and relatives about the pills and their shoulders also improved dramatically.

One of the people I told about it was Socaloldman here on AGN. He got great results as well.



Give it a try, you have nothing to lose 😎

There are a lot of joint pills out there and most of them have glucosamine and chondroitin.

Make sure you get one that has type II collagen.