My 44 magnum came with wood stocks and the hole in it's bull barrel is smaller than the one in the 20 gauges barrel and I wouldn't say the USH's barrel is twice as thick, thicker yes. I don't actually have a scale that will weight things accurately enough, at least I don't trust a bathroom scale. I'd say around 8.5 pounds also as my scope is lighter than your 3x9 Tasco, this isn't horribly heavy.