OzFclass

Hi All,
No, I'm not talking about the ability to rattle the house windows each time you lean to the left...
Rather something I noticed with my set up is the position of the scope forces me to have the butt pressed against my shoulder with a little pressure, which seems to work.
I hear people talk about forgetting to hold the rifle correctly ie not enough pressure etc.
Do others set the scope position specifically to produce the preferred hold?
Maybe there's something else you do when setting up a new rifle to give the best results?

Tim, I find it's important for me to lay down and find the right body position and set the scope from there. Basically making sure it's far enough back that I don't have to crane my neck during a shoot. This was learnt from slapping it on one day in a rush, getting down to find it was not in the right spot. Finding myself in an uncomfortable position resulted in a poor result.

Hi Tim

A few things I have learnt along the way. Like Josh I try to get a good body position and after the 1st sighter depending on where the rifle ends up I will adjust body position from there.

My F Standard rifle needs some adjustment with the scope to come back a slot or two on the rail. I found this out when I set up a few more rifles and laid behind them when setting up the scope. You get a different feel for the rifle compared to lifting them up into the shoulder.

I placed pressure forward into the rest when I shoot. I find it easy then free recoil as I can control it easier. The same amount of pressure each time is the trick and while shooting a string you can easily get caught up in focusing on a condition and end up with fliers too.

Not sure if that helps but yes, some pressure forward works for me.

Cheers

Andrew

Yes you should be able to set up your gear to enable a natural point of aim.

point the gun at the target then close your eyes and get comfortable behind the gun with the shoulder pressure your prefer. Open your eyes. If you aren't aligned correctly with he scope etc etc then make adjustments to your equipment until everything aligns with your natural shooting position.

i've been experimenting a little with butt plate pressure, as i've been trying to iron out my stray vert shots.
i've found my best results are to keep a consistent "medium" amount of pressure.
the kind of pressure that you can exert all day comfortably if needed.

the other thing i've monitored is if the butt plate feels a little higher or lower on my shoulder.
in particular on my collar bone.
if the butt plate is a little high or low, i've noticed i can't keep as good a 'water-line' as desired.
it's taken me a fair while to find my sweet spot though, and now things are feeling consistent, and a bit more natural.
but yes it's also been a learning curve for me regarding just how much (and where) to 'hold' the rifle.
this might sound weird but i reckon i'm holding my pistol grip with the same amount of pressure that my shoulder is putting into the butt plate.
'just' enough to be comfortable, with enough control over the rifle, yet not inducing any unwanted pressured areas that might cause it to shy away from under recoil etc.
but every one else might be a little different.