Yep, I ditto what MNTMAN said, with the scope and steel bar my ultra 20 weighs right at 10lbs, and with the steel bar removed from the stock my ultra 20 with scope weighs in the 8.5lb range. I usually keep the bar in the stock as it's my stand gun and steady hold (resting on wrap around bar on front of ladder stand) and almost no recoil are very important to me.
To use it as a carry gun, which I did opening day last year, removing the steel bar does wonders. It's nose heavy, but still steady to hold off hand. At 8.5lbs it is only .5lb heavier than my scoped .270 weatherby rifle. So while it's not the lightest "carry" gun out there, it's arguably the most accurate.
You can also put a synthetic butt stock on it like Jeff223's ultra 20 and drop another .5lb. Get a "survivor" forend and some sand paper to open it up a little and replace the wood forearm, drop a few more ounces. And you could get really ambitious and cut the barrel from 24" to 20" (I think that will give a AOL of 36", the legal short limit for a shotgun if memory serves, or it it 30" for shortest legal AOL? anyway....) and drop a some more ounces.
But 8.5lbs scoped just isn't that overly heavy I don't think. You're talking a little over a half pound more than a Remington 700 BDL long action deer rifle.
And if you're going to be walking alot during the season please get out and walk long distances before the season opens. Too many of my friends don't walk much father than the distance between the house and the mail box before season opens, it's no wonder they get dead tired. Also, too many hunters that I see think hunting is a contest to see how much ground you can cover in a day. My uncles are like this. When hunting with them we'd cover half a county in a day on foot it seemed like. We'd see deer, but they were alway moving away from us, well aware we were coming through. Hunting is not about walking a marathon's distance, slow down, stop, kneel down or sit down for a bit. And don't sit relaxed either, be ready! You'd be surprised how many times you bump a deer and not know it only to have him circle and come back in to your area after 15 to 30 minutes to lay back down. Have the gun sitting on your knee and ready to shoulder for when he/she comes walking back to their warm bed. Also, you'd be surprised how many big bucks just lay there watching you walk by. After sitting there for a time some deer can't take it and get up and run. Or like one of my relatives, found himself looking at a huge typical 18 point buck 15 yards away from him laying down under some thick brush. My cousin shouldered his shotgun and the buck now hangs on the wall. Had he not stopped to rest a bit he would have walked right by the trophy.
Edit: also, you'll feel a much bigger difference at the end of the day by having a pair of light weight boots (not saying not warm, I mean made from light weight materials) than you ever will carrying a 7lb shotgun verses an 8.5lb shotgun. IMHO you should spend the $$$ on good boots, or save up to do so. Kind of like the quote "the rifle's accuracy is only as good as the scope", you could say "the hunters endurance is only as good as his boots."
Now that being said, with the ultra 12, it's a cannon. Even with the bar removed I doubt it would weigh under 10lbs scoped. The ultra 20 however is smaller and can be lightened to a very managible carry weight. Still heavier than other "carry" shotguns on the market, but from experience the ultra is more accurate (I've shot Win, Rem, and Moss slug guns).
Oh, the Remington 1100 cantilever deer gun weighs 7.5bls but doesn't accept anything over 2 3/4" shells, according to Remington's web site. The 11-87 cantilever deer gun does accept 3" mag loads, but weighs in at 8.5lbs without scope. With the scope the 11-87 would be heavier than the "rodless" ultra 20.
And on a side note, I'm sure they're out there, but I've never hunted with anyone that didn't fill the magazine of there shotgun. I've hunted with probably well over 100 different people over the years, all had the magazine full, and if they could have put in more rounds they would have... :roll: They all look at me like this when they see I'm using a single shot - :shock: Except for one guy I don't hunt with any more but still see every year, who also uses an ultra 20. It's his carry shotgun on deer drives and he has shot more deer than anyone else in his 20 person hunting party (20 people = why I don't hunt with them anymore...).
Hey, Wild willy, is your ultra going to be a stand shotgun or a carry gun?
later,
scruffy
