Wt Increase 10.5 to 13.5

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Octopus

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I would like to add weight to my 10.5 Panda L.V. to use it in the H.V. Class. I have been shooting it at the lighter weight. I have seen that the added weight helps.

Where is the best place to locate the additional weight? (I do not plan to switch barrels.)
 
Mike Ratigan's book....

Has some good, detailed photos of how he accomplishes this by adding a weight with a butt plate to make his guns either 10.5 or 13.5. Good reading as well.

Linc
 
Weights

10-4. After reading Mike's book I got to thinking he was right and I will be better off with a single barrel to keep up with at the matches. In the past I have always just shot at 10.5#.

The question is where to best put the additional weight. Most put it in the butt because this is easy. But is this the best place?
 
From my experience

One always wants the rifle to balance around the Recoil Lug or @ the front of the action. That would require some weight being placed in front of the action and some in the butt. I am no expert but this is what seems the right thing to do to my way of thinking.

One can mill out an elongated hole in the stock ahead of the action; mix lead shot with epoxy and pour it in there. As for the stock, there are a number of weight systems available that are a tube glued in and a weight inserted inside the tube.

I guess I would be all for having two rifles; both with tuners.
 
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I put all the weight in the butt one time last year and it shot like $hit. I pulled it out and it started shooting. I think you better put some of it in a barrel.
Butch
 
Octopus

I have always been under the belief that if you want a HV, start with that premis in the beginning. When I built my HV, I ordered the stock at 36 ounces, with added material all around. The action is a full size Farley with no lightning. The barrel is a true HV profile at 96 ounces. I also added a 8 ounce brass butt plate.
The thing shoots prettyy good. It isn't a cobbled together "wannabe" HV. It was assembled with the correct collection of parts from the beginning.
That being said, It will not shoot with my best Sporter. Maybe I just have never had as good a barrel for it. Maybe the action is not quite as it should be, although I went through it with a fine toothed comb. But when it is all said and done, even though the HV seems easier to shoot, I reach for that Sporter when there is a real big pile of chips out in the middle of the table..........jackie
 
I own a LV without any weight in the but at all, it wighs exactly10.5.
it doesn't shoot the way I want; trows shots a lot of the time, I'm thinking of having a lighter stock installed with a weightsystem in it.
grtz, Maarten, Belgium
 
LV to Hv

Hey guys, I started with a LV Panda that has proven very accurate. I then added a niteforce scope, a HV barrel, and put some sheet lead behind the butt plate to balance. It weighs around 13.25 #'s. This rifle will compete in VFS with the 30BR barrel and is competetive in 600 yds with a 6mm 8 twist. When I am on my game it will win in any of these classes. I have since bought a HV 6PPC barrel and am planning on shooting it this yr at the SS. Some of the wins were 2nd at 200 yds at the SS, loss by .0001" bummer, 2nd in group at 600 yd (against 60 # Heavys) several
1st and second places in VFS. I say go for it, but balance it and make sure it is a shooter first. No point doing all that work on an action that isn't shooting. Curt
 
I shot a Kelbly built rifle with a weight system. The weight in the butt took it from 10.5 to about 12.5 pounds. At the time I was doing this, I was a bag-squeezer and used no forearm stop on my front rest. The way I could get it to shoot with the weight in the butt was by positioning the front rest much closer to the action than I did using the 10.5 pound configuration. It worked pretty well; I always shot better (placement in competition, not group size) with the weight. But if you use a stop, forget it unless you make a real loooong stop.

Then of course there was the day I forgot to take the weight out Sunday after HV at 200 yards, so I shot the first match of LV with the weight in and had to disqualify myself.

Keeping up with barrels is what Sharpie pens are for.
 
increase 10.5 to 13.5

Interesting" you added weight and it shot all over the place?
You have me wondering. My# one rifle has weights for the butt.
They are steel barrel stock with Allen screws that are held in place
inside the stock with bedded nuts, under the butt plate.
It always shoots better and is easier to control with the weights.
just wondering if your weights were loose?
 
Thread the barrel for a tuner and put the other 2.5# in the butt with a removable system. Then you will really get something for the extra weight.:D I doubt that the threads will hurt how it shoots without the tuner. Otherwise you might just do a little thinking outside of the box and try tuning the rifle for balance using a maximum of three additional pounds. Who knows it might shoot the best with an additional two pounds in the right place. 13.5# isn't an imperative; it's a maximum.
 
Where to put the weight?

I have both light and heavy rifles. My 10.5# Panda is an excellent shooter.

After reading Mike's new book I have been thinking that he may be right about shooting a single barrel at most matches. I have to give him credit for being there and doing that.

There seems to be one school that suggest the rifle should be balanced about the front of the receiver. My 10.5# Panda is a Boden rifle and the balance point is well forward of the receiver. I trust that Jim knew what he was doing when he built the rifle. I am well into #4 barrel and have the new #5 on hand ready to break in. All of the barrels are from Jim Boden and all have shot quite well. #1, #2 and #4 would all agg under 0.15 and better if I do my part. However, other things being equal the 10.5# is more difficult to shoot than the H.V.

Mike's technique of shooting one barrel and just adding weight seems to be a good plan as there is a lot less stuff to load and keep up with.

To me the key factor is the less mass of the lighter gun allows the barrel to have a little more movement while the bullet is still in the barrel. Over two days of shooting this results in a little larger group average.

My question still is where to add the additional weight to obtain the best result? I have been trying to model the rifle movement while the bullet is going down the barrel. So far my math has not been up to the task. From my initial model work I see that adding weight low is better than high for control of the torque moment. I suspect that adding weight to the lower forearm to add mass and counter the torque moment may be the better choice.

Adding weight to the butt helps but this does not seem to be the best location.

Experience advise will be greatly appreciated.

Octopus
 
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Hello Boyd,

I appreciate your suggestions regarding the “tuners”. I suspect this is the future.

After 50 years of shooting I have just this year got smart enough to understand how to “tune” my L.V. barrels with the powder charge and D.A. I now can go to the range and read the D.A on my pocket weather station, load three rounds and be in tune in 3 to maybe six shots. AND, with the D.A. reading I seem to be able to stay in tune. I have been working on this each weekend this year. IT WORKS.

As soon as Wilbur blesses the tuners I expect I will be spending more money.

Octopus
 
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