Is there an ideal weight for spring guns?

[Barryg]

Err they weren't.
The 97 will go mid teens with ease and is supplied to other markets in that format. Very similar to the 95 in that respect.
The MK1 and 2 TX, may have been more suited to the UK market, but easily made 14+.

It depends what you call easy I suppose I wouldn't fancy cranking up an early PS to 14 for sure and I think that those early 77/TXs were much more comfortable at 11 than 14 ft/lbs, I can't see the power hungry going for them.

[PCPShooter]

Hunting - mid weight - by which I mean HW95 as an idea
Target shooting - heavy by which I mean Hw77 as an idea

Adding Weight / Target stocks etc _
Personally if to 'win' with a recoiling rifle you add so much weight it hardly recoils, just shoot a pcp maybe - ?
Probably not going to win any favours by saying this ...

If you are a FT shooter and enjoy firing diablo at stuff a long way away from seated - that's just great - have the heaviest gun / customised etc

I think it's about horses for courses here

For me if I wander round an hft course (I'm not interested in scoring / competing, I just do it for the fun of shooting, and enjoy shooting against myself, and thankfully have a local club where that is fine and dandy, obviously I don't attend on comp days), I prefer a medium weight rifle, as my fun would run out faster as although well built, I can't hold a heavy rifle up for as long as a medium one - I'm sure some folk can - but I honestly haven't met many.

[Geezer]

Depends on your needs.

Mechanically, it is not hard to make a 11-14 ft-lbs springer weighing 6-7.5 lbs, unscoped. Webley Vulcan (and variants), BSF 55, FWB Sport, Diana 34, HW85/95/99, Longbow, etc etc. it is also not hard to make much higher power levels at a bit more weight (80, 460, 48/52, Tommie, etc).

Rats in barn is different from bunnies in field, is different from woodies in tree (a bit), is different from HFT, FT, BR…

[PCPShooter]

Depends on your needs.

Mechanically, it is not hard to make a 11-14 ft-lbs springer weighing 6-7.5 lbs, unscoped. Webley Vulcan (and variants), BSF 55, FWB Sport, Diana 34, HW85/95/99, Longbow, etc etc. it is also not hard to make much higher power levels at a bit more weight (80, 460, 48/52, Tommie, etc).

Rats in barn is different from bunnies in field, is different from woodies in tree (a bit), is different from HFT, FT, BR…

Yep exactly, and build / strength of user ......