Prone shooting fatigue
- Thread starter Grizzlypeg
- Start date
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
Yep, that is usually what happens.
practise, practise, practise, some more. There is no other way to get comfy in the prone position then training your body to make the trip.
Shooting well prone with a bipod is a learnt skill.
Start by getting yourself in a comfy position. The rest will sort out easy enough.
Jerry
Mystic Precision
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Summerland, BC
I put a piece of 2x4 under a slab of plywood. This raises the "ground" a couple of inches. That really, really helps the neck strain.
Except for shooting off a concrete slab, that is as flat as I have seen prone positions on a range.
Some mounds and shooting ramps are quite inclined. Some are so that you need to dig you toes into the ground to keep from sliding off your mat.
Those spots are super comfy to shoot from.
Jerry
I had the neck problem also . With the McMillan stock the cheek rest is fine . I gave the 6 to 9 Harris away and replaced it with a 9 to 13 , set on 10 inches . With the rifle on the floor , on the bipod and barrel level , the bottom of my butt stock is 3.8 inches off the floor . The bean bag works just fine . I was a little concerned about raising the front of my chest , just that little bit high , for no measurable reason , so i was rolling up a jacket to lay just under where my upper chest rests on the shooting mat to hold me slightly up in position . I found no difference in using the rolled up jacket for a bit of chest support compared to not using it . So , for me solving the neck problem , a higher bipod and a few more beans in the bag . Make sure your eye relief is adjusted for prone position with a proper placement cheek weld . In addition , if your LOP is a little long you may be stretching forward and then raising your head and canting your head slightly over to get the proper cheek weld and eye relief and that can strain your neck .
The cheek rest is only an alignment tool, but does support some of the weight of the head and helps reduce fatigue (we are not talking about loss of concentration or other accuracy issues).
To find the "cheek rested" position, go prone and rest your cheek bone on the cheek rest while your eyes are closed. When you open your eyes, if your good eye is not aligned perfectly with the sighting system, adjust your cheek rest and repeat the routine until you can open your eyes and have perfect, consistent sight alignment.
To really understand the advantage of a properly designed and engineered cheek rest try this: load a backpack with 30 kilos of stuff and, while carrying a heavy rifle, go for a short walk in mountainous terrain. Say....20 or 30 kilometers. At the end of your walk, get into the prone position on your rifle and maintain that position without moving for at least an hour. Do this every day for 4 months, alternating each week between a rifle with a cheek rest and a rifle without a cheek rest.
Report your results here.
I've made a lace up cheek rest from some black foam and nylon that raises my eye to a natural alignment with the ocular. Also made some adjustments to the scope ( I had the reticle focus for some reason at one extreme end, no wonder I was seeing double reticle at times). Will see how it goes tomorrow and take maximum allowable time shooting, with maybe a break every 5 shots if that fits in.
your cheek weld should be the full weight of you head on the rest "resting" adjust the cheek pc till you can see through the scope without shadowing on the edges , when shooting for group try not to move your cheek (cheek weld) from the rest during cycling of the action, due to if the parallax is not completely out of the optic you will shift your poi .
I originally had a low bipod on my rifle and changed it to the next size up which did help with my neck pain, I'd also look in to a wedge type rear bag I used the bunny ear type for a while and also find the wedge type better
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Thanks for the advice. Things did go better with the added cheek rest height, adjusted scope, and shooting off grass.
Caustic, where did you purchase the wedge shaped shooting bag? I was looking into a Triad bag, but the shipping from the states was twice what the bag is worth.
Caustic, where did you purchase the wedge shaped shooting bag? I was looking into a Triad bag, but the shipping from the states was twice what the bag is worth.
