Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Rifle vibration felt like a “tuning fork” ....

Shooting at the range a few days ago, when I noticed a clear vibration at each shot. It almost felt like my rifle was a tuning fork, every time I shot it. It sits in an aftermarket stock that has an aluminum bedding block.
Have you ever had this happen????

I got home and checked the bolts that bind the action to the stock. There was only a slight turn available when I went to tighten them up. Who knows? Maybe it was just lose enough to cause it???
What say you.

I have noticed sometimes a rifle is unpleasant to shoot and later I realize it's the vibration or impulse upon firing that causes it. I even have noticed this with a 223...no recoil but unpleasant vibrations and annoying impulse.

I've experienced that when I had an M14 - the last shot of the magazine that resulted in the bolt being held back always resulted in a weird vibration.

Every gun vibrates when you fire it but most of the time you wouldn't feel it. Barrel tuners attempt to reduce the vibration at the muzzle to zero (make it a "node"). Sometimes muzzle breaks and silencers/moderators will improve accuracy for the same reason - the extra mass and position of it will reduce the muzzle vibrations. Sometimes they don't change the accuracy but the point of impact, once again because of the effect they have on the vibration at the muzzle. Some rifles can also be affected (accuracy, point of impact) by removing the front sight.

If you can feel the vibration through the stock I would say that is a good thing and that the action screws are tight. Loose screws would tend to dampen the vibration coming back through the stock.

Like mauserand9mm sez, they all vibrate a bit. However, it can be mitigated via a good glass bed job.. Even though your stock has the aluminum block, you might be surprised what a difference the addition of glass bed under the first 2" of barrel shank can make..

I have had some loads produce a decided ringing sound. It was more evident when someone else shot beside you. So there must have been vibration going on. Have noticed this more with hollow plastic stocks, but some of that is mechanical where your ear is over the action spring like on an AR.

If after tightening the screws it still happens you might try scim bedding the action so it is not metal on metal bedding. Sometimes just changing the load slightly eliminates the vibration like it is a specific velocity level or node that is creating it. How was accuracy?

Used to be discussed about Benchrest barrels ringing back in the 70’s. They became known as “ringers”. And, those ringers won matches.

I’ve had a couple over the years. A very distinct ring upon firing. When mine did so, it was typically putting 2-3 on paper you could cover with a dime.

I've heard it. I was shooting a Surgeon action in a McM A-5 with an MTU barrel in .308. 43.1 gr of RL-15 behind a Sierra 175 MK would ring like a tuning fork. I could hear it through cheek and muffs. It was a great load with low ES.