What is Weight Tuning?

Diving into the world of precision rifles, you may have heard shooters discussing
Rifle Balance and Rifle Weights or Weight Tuning.

Good rifle balance can enhance stability, reduce recoil, and improve accuracy. But how do you do this and what good are weight tuning kits? What even is “Weight Tuning”?

It might sound complicated, but its actually very simple and very important!

Balance and weight tuning is simply adjusting the weight distribution giving you more control over stability, recoil and accuracy.

In recent years balance and weight tuning has become a major part of any good precision competition or long long shooting rifle. Let’s have a quick look through what Weight Tuning is and how you can easily start tuning your rifle.

Let’s take a quick look at 5 reasons why improving rifle balance & weight tuning is important in precision rifle performance.

1. Enhanced Accuracy: some shooters believe proper weight tuning and rifle balance leads to improved accuracy. By balancing the rifle, shooters can reduce muzzle rise and recoil, leading to more consistent and precise shots.
   
2. Reduced Recoil: Weight tuning can help manage recoil. A well-balanced rifle absorbs and distributes recoil more effectively, making shooting more comfortable and less taxing on the shooter.
   
3. Better Stability: A balanced rifle provides better stability, especially during long-range shooting. Ideally, a well balanced rifle will balance and support itself without being held on barricades or shooting rests. Shooters find that a well-tuned rifle is easier to control and steadier, which is crucial for accurate aiming.
   
4. Personalization: Weight tuning allows you to customise your rifle feel to suit your preference and shooting style. You perform best when using a set up tailored for you.
   
5. Increased Confidence: Many users report that a properly tuned rifle boosts their confidence. Knowing your equipment is well-balanced can make a huge difference your performance mindset.

What is the best balance for a precision rifle?

This will change for every person – only you can answer what feels right for you. But as a general rule, a well-balanced rifle will balance on a barricade without being held.

Often to achieve this the rifle will need weight added to the foreend.

Here are a few examples of how the rifle should rest when well balanced.

A well balanced rifle will rest on a barricade and support its own weight.

You can start weight tuning your rifle simply by adding or changing components to move its balance point. The most popular items are chassis weights.

MANAEL offers two types of chassis weights to tweak balance. You can also use other accessories to play with weight and balance.

• External Chassis Weights:
  • attach to rifle foreend using M-lok.
  • MANAEL’s external weights are stackable – meaning you can add multiple layers of weights to create the perfect mass to suit your rifle.
  • MANAEL weights come in two lengths / weights and are compatible with most rifles and chassis (including MANAEL) with a M-lok mount.
  • Read more about how to install & stack MANAEL External Chassis Weights

• Internal Chassis Weights:
  • Fit inside your rifle stock or chassis
  • Require a special inlet inside your rifle stock or chassis that matches the weight type/style/shape.
  • MANAEL Performance Internal Weights fit perfectly into the MANAEL Chassis Range
  • MANAEL Chassis feature multiple points to mount these along your foreend, giving you greater control in where the weight and balance points are

• Other options for adjusting rifle weight and balance:
  • Adding a Muzzle Brake, Barrel Tuner or Bloop Tube are easy ways to add foreend weight to your rifle
  • Don’t require any special equipment, just a muzzle thread.
  • Other accessories that mount to your rifle will affect balance and weight points
  • MANAEL Enclosed Cover Bridges can boost foreend weight on compatible chassis

You can achieve optimal balance and stability, reducing recoil, and improving accuracy by mounting weights or accessories to Weight / Balance Tune your rifle.

Adding or adjusting weight and balance of your rifle can have huge impacts on stability, recoil management and accuracy.

Here are some of our favourite weights and accessories for tweaking rifle weight and balance for centrefire and rimfires.