I just put her on a scale, 6lb 2 oz. Its not surprising it kicks a bit, especially if they were using the 244 grain military load at 2100 fps. That speed is probably with a rifle length barrel. It would be interesting to know what the commercial sporting cartridges were loaded to and what bullets were used. It is a very smooth action. The one thing that I don't like is the safety. It is stiff and very loud if it is allowed to snap off. I could probably hear it from at least 20 yards away. The side view above doesn't show the cheek piece on the left side of the stock.