Cheek weld question ... UPDATED with pics of finished project

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Tikka223

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So I've never given this any real critical thought when it comes to shooting and accuracy. Most of my rifles are set up with high rings so the large bell on the scopes will clear the barrel. Most of my rifles also do not have adjustable cheek rests. Generally I am happy to have very light pressure on my cheek from the stock when comfortably looking through the scope. I am not free-floating my face above the stock but I am not resting all of my head's weight on the cheek rest either. Is there a "right" way to do this?
 
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As long as you are consistent. Your cheek should go to the exact same spot on the stock to retain the consistency to shoot accurately and precisely. All of my precision rifles have adjustable cheekpieces so I can place myself in the exact spot, shot after shot.
 
I believe that I experience less fatigue shooting prone when I have a setup that allows my cheek to rest on the stock. The rest doesn't have to be adjustable, built in, or fancy. A lace on rest will wok.
 
I like the tacpro. I set them up for best alignment with gentle pressure, keeping the top parrallel to the bore. They dont push my face away from the buttstock like the blackhawk pad I have. That forced me to rotate my head a little and look through the scope a little canted. The tacpro doesnt add width and the repeatable cheek weld is very reassuring. Of course its all personal preference. What works for one person might not be what you find best.
 
supernova said:
I like the tacpro. I set them up for best alignment with gentle pressure, keeping the top parrallel to the bore. They dont push my face away from the buttstock like the blackhawk pad I have. That forced me to rotate my head a little and look through the scope a little canted. The tacpro doesnt add width and the repeatable cheek weld is very reassuring. Of course its all personal preference. What works for one person might not be what you find best.
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i agree here, i found more consitancy in my shooting after installing the tacpro than the method you originally described. Lot less fatigue and easier sight picture through the scope as well.
 
close your eyes and sholder your rifle ready to shoot
when you are sure you got a comfortable shooting position, open your eyes and it is were the scope has to be
this position will be natural and you will not have to force it so it will be more consistent
 
paperslayer said:
lots of shooters use no cheek weld at all. use what is comfortable and allows best follow-through
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Seriously? Are there experienced, accomplished shooters who produce good results without sabilizing their cheek against the stock? Or am I misreading this?
 
Seriously? Are there experienced, accomplished shooters who produce good results without sabilizing their cheek against the stock? Or am I misreading this?
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Yes, most benchrest shooters use little if any cheekweld because a lot of them shoot free recoil...prone shooters are another story.

Depends on your style of shooting.
 
for benchrest shooting it really makes no difference, shoot whatever what you want. When it makes a huge difference is for accuracy in high stress situations. a consistent check weld is one of the most critical things to master when you need to shoulder a rifle quickly and fire off accurate shots in a hurry. it needs to be natural and that stock had best land in the same spot everytime. one of the reasons biathletes pay high dollar for stocks that adjust a thousand different ways. its ubber ciritical in that discipline. on the bench....not so much.
 
liberty said:
Yes, most benchrest shooters use little if any cheekweld because a lot of them shoot free recoil...prone shooters are another story.

Depends on your style of shooting.
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Amazing...45+ years of shooting and I feel quite confident in my knowledge of most topics, but every time I visit the Precision forum I see feel like a complete newbie. Thanks for that info!
 
With position shooting [prone, kneeling, sitting and standing] you don't have a choice as the rifle is firmly into the shoulder.

I think some guys are using free-recoil in F-Class with next to none cheek weld too. Norm Barber once told me he shoots that way.
Keeping my head up above the stock in prone gives me a neck ache, so down it goes for cheek weld.

I'm getting into BR shooting and have found while developing a technique this winter that free recoil and almost no cheek weld gives more consistent groups. You'd be amazed how much your heartbeat translates through the face.
 
Interesting. I suppose if you're going to not have any cheek weld, ex for BR shooters, I would assume parallax needs to completely dialed out? I always figure that even if your parallax was off by a bit but had a consistent cheek weld it would compensate for the parallax error.
 
Tikka223 said:
Interesting. I suppose if you're going to not have any cheek weld, ex for BR shooters, I would assume parallax needs to completely dialed out? I always figure that even if your parallax was off by a bit but had a consistent cheek weld it would compensate for the parallax error.
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true
 
As much as cheek weld might not be a significant factor in a benchrest situation, with a fully supported rifle, I am thinking that it would be more of a factor in field positions, where the shooter is supporting the rifle.
 
I had the chance to shoot a good .22lr with 10-50x60 scope 2-3 months ago thanks to peter of hirsch precision. Its quite amazing how much you can notice that every tiny difference, from how you align your eye each time, to where your finger is on the trigger all plays with where the bullet goes, almost like you're guiding it. It'll be a long time before I manage to be repeatable and I'm actually thinking of getting a good .22lr specially to practice this more cheaply than with center fire, and with no recoil its a lot easier to have good follow through and to see the bullet impact each time. I'm currently modifying the .260rem I've been building to make it a bit more comfortable for me, hoping to shoot a bit tomorrow.
 
In my experiences and from the teachings I've had, shooting in field positions whether it be prone off a bag or standing, cheek weld is a vital part of your position.
 
I agree - I think it also depends on the shooters body makeup but if your touching the gun with any part of your head some will see a significant effect of your heartbeat.
lejarretnoir said:
With position shooting [prone, kneeling, sitting and standing] you don't have a choice as the rifle is firmly into the shoulder.

I think some guys are using free-recoil in F-Class with next to none cheek weld too. Norm Barber once told me he shoots that way.
Keeping my head up above the stock in prone gives me a neck ache, so down it goes for cheek weld.

I'm getting into BR shooting and have found while developing a technique this winter that free recoil and almost no cheek weld gives more consistent groups. You'd be amazed how much your heartbeat translates through the face.
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