Hi Homer and all...thanks for your emails and for your posted replys. I weighed some of the other components that I have on hand. The action weighs in at 3.5 lbs. And I weighed a Ruger 77 '06 stock just to get a rough idea of a stock weight..anyway 2 lbs exactly. So bbl wt at 3.5, Action wt at 3.5 and stock at 2.0 lbs brings component wts to more or less 9.0 lbs (sans scope). chosen Stock blank is dense turkish so it will likely be a bit heavier than blk walnut when finished. Still wish I had another 6-8 oz or so of wt. I would not classify myself as recoil shy but I do shoot several 9,3 x 74R double rifles and at 9.0 lbs each (with out pads) I am "done" shooting these after about a dozen rounds. On another note, I recived my used Swarvoski Habich 1.5 fixed power scope today from Europe. (purchased at auction) Best Christmas present I could have gotton myself this year!. However it is 1.0 inch tube and not 30mm like I need. As homer would say....DOH! No worries though. Got plenty of drillings and such I can mate it to. I'm going to contact Krieger this week and see what they tell me about a possible replacement bbl. Not holding out much hope but you never know. thanks and best, Sauercollector/Jeff