weight vs. balance

[C.R. Adams]

would you sacrifice the balance of your rifle for additional weight ?

Balance of the rifle can be unique to each person. So just because what one person defines as well balanced doesn't necessarily mean another person will find it well balanced., But I think we all know what well balanced is when we pick it up.

Personally, i prefer the balance point just in front of the mag well right at the recoil lug and am willing to shed weight to achieve it. However, I am not willing to sacrifice barrel contour and will add/reduce weight to the butt end as needed.

 

[stello1001]

You will not sacrifice barrel contour but what contour do you normally run?

m24
mtu?


I personally don't like too heavy of a barrel so if I end up getting a very sweet deal on a rifle say with a 26" MTU, it wouldn't be ideal for me. It will probably end up front heavy and id have to add weight in the back to balance it but I'm also not one for having very heavy rifles. In such a case, I'd deal with it being front heavy and suck it up that it doesn't balance very well. That's how it happened for one of my rifles.

My win70 has a 26" barrel heavy varmint contour that appears to have a straight taper and is extremely front heavy. I dislike that it's not well balanced but I also do not want it any heavier so I will not add weight in the back.

My howa 1500 has a 24" barrel and I have no idea what contour it is that it came with but I believe they call it a heavy barrel. That one has it's balance point right in front of the magwell. With that one, I really enjoy how balanced it feels but again, I am not one to like really heavy heavy rifles. For that, I will leave it just as it is. I'm sure for competition, many would probably add more weight.

 

[C.R. Adams]

You will not sacrifice barrel contour but what contour do you normally run?

m24
mtu?

I should have also included barrel length in there as well. 26" is my preferred length.. right now i have a 26" Sendero profile. I have another rifle being built with a MTU+ profile. I add weight as needed to balance out the barrel

 

[Dthomas3523]

As far as weight is concerned, balance point should be at the top of everyone’s list.

If the rifle doesn’t balance where you prefer, you’ll be unconsciously fighting at all times.

Even as recently as a year ago, we used barrel contour to balance a rifle.

With the introduction of weight kits to most chassis, you can fine tune the balance point without barrel contour.

Personally, I used to use a heavy palma as it balance most of my rigs near the magwell. Now, I use mtu or straight taper barrels and use weights to balance it

If I had the choice between a 23lb unbalance rifle and a 20lb balance rifle, I’d go 20lb all day.

 

[kthomas]

Balance over weight for sure.

My rifles in JAE chassis seem to balance well with 24-28" heavy contour barrels. My 24" is an MTU and my 28" is a heavy varmint contour. They balance near the mag well.

I prefer the balance to be around the mag well or slightly biased to the front/muzzle end. Having a rearward bias balance is more of a challenge, IMO.

 

[Gustav7]

Balance over weight for sure.

My rifles in JAE chassis seem to balance well with 24-28" heavy contour barrels. My 24" is an MTU and my 28" is a heavy varmint contour. They balance near the mag well.

I prefer the balance to be around the mag well or slightly biased to the front/muzzle end. Having a rearward bias balance is more of a challenge, IMO.

I don't have a ton of experience in the heavy precision rifles but I have a lot of experience in the carbine/3-gun world...and I used to and still do run all of my carbines very rear heavy...in the buttstock. Makes transitions faster and makes the rifle "feel" lighter... especially when humping them over mountains.

When I first got into precision style rifles I thought I wanted the same thing and I was very wrong. Definitely want more front end heavy, I'd agree with in front of the mag well area.

 

[Steel head]

I really like a balance point just forward of the mag well and would give up weight to get it.

 

[just browsing]

Balance > Weight in a vacuum, but realistically there is no right or wrong answer. It’s all personal preference.

I like my balance point a little further forward than most because I find it easier to control my wobble zone. I don’t shoot rear-heavy rifles nearly as well. But that doesn’t mean that everyone feels the same.

Target a weight and balance point that works best for you, and definitely worry less about what other people say.

 

[smoothy8500]

18lbs with about a pound of lead in the buttstock balances just ahead of the mag well...Oh, wrong forum? Sorry.

 

[Steel head]

18lbs with about a pound of lead in the buttstock balances just ahead of the mag well...Oh, wrong forum? Sorry.
View attachment 7283846

That gasser pig is heavier than my 7 saum!

 

[smoothy8500]

I've done a couple Police/Fire Games "sniper" events using my F-T/R rifle that's only 17lbs, but way out of balance with a MTU profile barrel. The positional shoots were almost impossible to control with that set-up. I could probably handle that "big cutie" better than my F-T/R rig.