Adding weight/ballast to rifle

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Roddy

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I bought a Savage MkII to use as a trainer but it doesn't match my big rifle all that well. It has a Boyds Tacticool stock which would be good if I had a McMillan or Manners but I don't. Worse than that though it's way too light even with the longest, heaviest barrel I could get which happens to be fluted so not a lot of help there.

I have heard of people adding weight to their rifles. How could you do it with a solid stock with no rails or on a barrel without affecting harmonics? Already have a bipod.

Thanks.
 
If it's a solid laminate stock, you could remove the butt pad, drill out a cavity and fill it with lead shot and epoxy. That would give you weight in the back end.... I suppose you could also remove material in the barrel channel and fill it the same way to add front end weight, just make sure that the barrel still floats freely
 
Also, you don't mention what your "big rifle" is sitting in. If it's a chassis, you could always sell the Boyd's and buy an MDT for the savage. Then just match the ergo's of the big rifle grip and butt stock
 
My "big rifle" is an AI AE and there aren't any .22's that are similar I don't think. But I didn't know you could get chassis for the MkII. That's interesting.
 
You "could" get a custom .22LR action with a R700 footprint, then get an AICS.....
Stiller makes one, the 2500XR. Uses Savage mags too...
 
Roddy said:
I bought a Savage MkII to use as a trainer but it doesn't match my big rifle all that well. It has a Boyds Tacticool stock which would be good if I had a McMillan or Manners but I don't. Worse than that though it's way too light even with the longest, heaviest barrel I could get which happens to be fluted so not a lot of help there.

I have heard of people adding weight to their rifles. How could you do it with a solid stock with no rails or on a barrel without affecting harmonics? Already have a bipod.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Remove buttplate, router out a cavity and add some lead shot.
 
Is your rifle well balanced?
You want a 22lr with the same weight as your PRS rifle correct?

Your are not just looking for same weight, but also same balance. drill the but and lead fill will only get it but heavy.
Cut in barrel channel and poor lead will bring back some ballance.. Before you add permanent ballast, use tape to hold it and see how it handle.
 
nevermind the above suggestions
a 22LR will never ever come close to a centerfire rifle
you may add weight here and there but it will not make it feel like the centerfire you want to practice with.
I keep hearing how shooting 22LR improves your centerfire skills.
Truth is it doesn't.
 
legi0n said:
nevermind the above suggestions
a 22LR will never ever come close to a centerfire rifle
you may add weight here and there but it will not make it feel like the centerfire you want to practice with.
I keep hearing how shooting 22LR improves your centerfire skills.
Truth is it doesn't.
Click to expand...

I disagree. .22lr @300m traj is very close to a .308@1000. Rimfire is trigger time. The more you get, the better you become. Not caliber specific. trigger and wind skills are learned by spending time behind a rifle.

I have found that rimfire pistol and rifle has improved my CF pistol and rifle skills. The main difference is recoil is it not?
 
Got Juice? said:
I disagree. .22lr @300m traj is very close to a .308@1000. Rimfire is trigger time. The more you get, the better you become. Not caliber specific. trigger and wind skills are learned by spending time behind a rifle.

I have found that rimfire pistol and rifle has improved my CF pistol and rifle skills. The main difference is recoil is it not?
Click to expand...


ha ha ha
triggers on different rifles behave ... well differently
recoil is ...well ... way different
basically what you're saying is driving a tank is the same as driving a Prius.
it isn't
 
j_06 said:
While I agree the rifles won't be identical, the basic fundamentals remain the same and time spent with a rimfire rifle with similar ergonomics is an excellent way to practice. More like driving a truck vs car IMO.
Click to expand...

nope
basics are just that: general guidelines
hitting the target is about specifics you figure out with your rifle and ammo
I can point you to different results with the same rifle and different ammo.
get it now?
 
legi0n said:
ha ha ha
triggers on different rifles behave ... well differently
recoil is ...well ... way different
basically what you're saying is driving a tank is the same as driving a Prius.
it isn't
Click to expand...

Impossible... a Prius is slower.


Good shooting mechanics depend on trigger time full stop. Breathing, body position, sightlines etc. These are not cartridge dependant. Triggers can be tuned as well.

Recoil is the largest difference between the platforms.
 
Maybe i got this wrong but i would train the same was as i do for IPSC
I ain't got no 1911 trainer .22, but to afford unlimited training, i dry fire
I can imagine this could translate to PRS to some extent
Nothing like live fire i agree, but at least you are spending A LOT of time behind exact same rifle, exact same weight, sight picture, trigger, ergonomics...

If in rural even build barricades in back yard and pratice transitioning in, dry fire click at far target without sight jumping and transition out

Again new to this, and maybe dry fire doesn't apply to this discipline
 
MartyK2500 said:
Maybe i got this wrong but i would train the same was as i do for IPSC
I ain't got no 1911 trainer .22, but to afford unlimited training, i dry fire
I can imagine this could translate to PRS to some extent
Nothing like live fire i agree, but at least you are spending A LOT of time behind exact same rifle, exact same weight, sight picture, trigger, ergonomics...

If in rural even build barricades in back yard and pratice transitioning in, dry fire click at far target without sight jumping and transition out

Again new to this, and maybe dry fire doesn't apply to this discipline
Click to expand...

I do a lot of dry fire. I have a DFAT training aid as well. I build positions around the house and in the yard.

The .22 was mostly for practicing wind calls but I don't use it much. I am hoping to get into a .22 PRS mini match this year where I will use it.
 
Dry fire is great. I do tons of it (well I did before I got injured) around the house (I have an IOTA). I also think that training with a .22 that has similar ergos and a similar trigger to your match rifle would be real helpful. Sure there's no recoil but there's no recoil dry firing either. I'm putting together a switch barrel rifle that will do .223, 6.5cm and .308. The .223 is so that I can practice lots of closer range barricade and improvised positions with cheap reloads. Will it be exactly like training with your match caliber/load? No, but it's more financially feasible than going through a few hundred rounds of match ammo a week. Your wind holds won't be the same but I'm trying to learn to read the wind by assigning it a value in mph, from there it's just a matter of checking your ballistics app or charts and seing what your hold is in mils. That way it applies across all calibers that you should, including rimfire. In a perfect world I'd have a few barrels in whatever caliber that I competed in and I'd put a few hundred rounds a week through them. I just need to win the lotto first...
 
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