I put a 22 inch Douglas No.1 barrel in my tang safety Ruger 77 .30/06. My gunsmith said he'd go with a heavier barrel but I wouldn't listen. I have great difficulty holding the gun steady and I feel much more confident shooting my heavy barrel .416!!

The 06 has had some checkering and metalwork done to it and I don't want to change guns.

Must I go to a heavier barrel or would it make any sense to try adding some lead to the fore end? The weight difference between my 22" No.1 and a 24" No. 2 would be around 7 oz.

Thank you

You could add a little weight up front, but before I did that I might try hollowing out the butt stock behind the recoil pad 1st and see if that didn't help. I bet your rifle isn't too light, it's unbalanced.

Terry

quote:

Originally posted by Oldcoyote:
Must I go to a heavier barrel or would it make any sense to try adding some lead to the fore end? The weight difference between my 22" No.1 and a 24" No. 2 would be around 7 oz.

Thank you

cut a slot under the barrelchannel of the stock forend and install some lead shot to see if this improves things and if it does merely epoxy it in permanently.

However.....I agree with Terry.....it might just be a matter of balance and you'll regret adding weight when balance was the issue.

All my barrels .30 caliber and under are Douglas and Shilen #1 contour and I love them.....shoot fine and help keep things light!

since you sent me a PM on this I'll comment further.....

I shoot trap and skeet with 26" barrels as I like the light and easy to swing barrels. Many of my friends want 32" barrels as they swing them easier.....

There is no right or wrong here.....what ever makes your day!!!!...works for you!!!

The idea of adding temporary weight works well as it's easy to remove it.....but in the end it's your gun and your money.....make it your way and "ta heck" with what anyone else thinks.

Actually, the butt stock is hollowed out and so's the fore end I've had this rifle since 1973 giving me many opportunities to mess it up!

It is sounding like I might as well try the lead but any comments from others will be appreciated.

Thank you

The way a rifle balances is extremely important to me. To give an idea of the way it would balance without damaging the stock, I have taped wheel weights with masking tape to the forend. Vary the position and the weight. Would give you a pretty good idea with no damage. Crude but it works

quote:

Originally posted by bbell:
The way a rifle balances is extremely important to me. To give an idea of the way it would balance without damaging the stock, I have taped wheel weights with masking tape to the forend. Vary the position and the weight. Would give you a pretty good idea with no damage. Crude but it works

Completely agree(I was going to post the same thing )

Be sure to use "Duct Tape" so people will understand that you know what you are doing.

Best of luck to you.

Those lead strip decoy weights are handy to have around also.

Why do I think you're not the first person in this situation?

Iv'd used 1/2 full rolls of solder slid up and down the barrel. I should have paid more attention what tape I used ,however. Imagine what people might have thought of me??? roger

I realize it is subjective, but is there any rule of thumb as to where the balance point of a rifle should be located?

quote:

Originally posted by bartsche:
... I should have paid more attention what tape I used ,however. Imagine what people might have thought of me??? roger

What do you mean "might" Pilgrim?
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Hey Oldcoyote, If you get it too far back, it will handle like a Banjo. If you get it too far forward, it won't carry well and is not as smooth shouldering. A bit Nose Heavy allows the rifle to "Hang Well" when shooting Off-Hand though. So you really just have to see where "you" like it to balance.

When you do this, it would be a good idea to take a lot of flicks and measure the position of the Lead to the nearest 0.001" or even 0.0001" if possible. That would help slightly to get it positioned inside the stock, but the BIG Reason is if you need to Brag about the minutia of having the "Custom Balance" point - how much Lead is perfect, which size Lead is perfect, which Bedding Compound(aka glue) is perfect, the amount of time it took the Termites to chew out the spot(which is perfect), etc.

Once you get an idea of where you want the weight positioned, have the Termites pre-chew a spot inside the stock for the Lead and do one more Balance Verification with the Tape. Don't be in a hurry, you can always have the Termites chew out a bigger trough if needed.

Best of luck to you.

My suggestion is to put a heavier barrel on your gun and be done with it..That is what you want it seems.

I, Like you, like a lot of weight up front and a heavy short barrel or a long 26" medium barrel does exactly that.

When a gun is barrel heavy then it settles down fast on the target and if your out of breath from running or topping a hill, then it really pays off..If your shooting off hand it tends to settle things down and I can hit running game better, no doubt about that. The long barrel gives you more distance between the rear and front sight, and I think most would shoot better in the field with the long barrels.

The old timers that lived by the rifle, both in Africa and the USA all used very long heavy barrels until the day of the cowboy and his SRC came along and we all know cowboys can't shoot for s--t! , but the muzzle loading shooters, buffalo hunters, and African folks, knew a thing or two about hunting and shooting and they stuck with the long tubes.

That's not to say a light weight rifle with wisp of a barrel doesn't have its place, it's great for shooting deer out the pickup window or from a stand where you have a steady rest, your never out of breath, and don't mind bushwacking'em! or your lazy, soft or bitten by the featherweight bug.

Actually, all kidding aside, a nice fwt. rifle in 06 or .270 is handy and easy to carry, and you can adjust to it in time, I always have one around, but don't use it much...