Quote: After searching literally 1000's of posts I am still looking for an answer. What is a good weight for a 458 Win Mag? I see several Ruger #1's online at the factory weight of around 9.5 pounds. I REALLY want one of these!! Is this too light or should I consider adding weight (i.e. mercury recoil reducer in the buttstock) to bring the weight up? If so what weight should I be aiming for?
I guess it depends on how sensative to recoil you are and also if the rifle will sometimes wear a scope. The type of country you intend to use it in would come into play as well. Overly heavy guns are a major pain to carry long distances in extreme heat.
If you are used to hard kickers then nine and a half pounds is fine for an open sighted .458 Win Mag IMO. A scope and sturdy mounts will add a pound or thereabouts, which will put it close to ten and a half pounds scoped. I wouldn't want any .458 that weighed over 10 1/2 pounds for serious hunting.
If you start out any heavier than 9 1/2 pounds with irons, it will end up pretty heavy with a scope fitted. Also if you ended up buying a bolt gun instead of a single shot, the cartridges in the magazine will top the weight up even more.
If you intend to never mount a scope on it, then ten pounds would be ok I guess and make it nice to shoot.