How do you hold your rifle at the range?

MD

MD

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How do you like to rest your hunting rifle when sighting in at the range?

I like to rest the fore-end on sandbags, the butt on sandbags and fit to my shoulder and rest my elbow on the bench and hold the fore-end just behind the sandbags.

I have read advice however, that suggests holding the hand under the front sandbags to more accurately simulate the hold you'll have when hunting.

But that is so variable.

When I take a shot at game, it could be from a prone, sitting or kneeling position, offhand, leaning on a tree, seated or kneeling rested on a hat on a stump on my elbows on a stump, or even across my backpack or bicycle frame, so at the range I want to find out as best I can what the rifle shoots like in the firmest position possible.

So again: hand under the sandbag or not for you?
 
MD, I try and follow the steps you outlined up and to the part about placing hand under fore stock when sighting in a new to me rifle/scope combo.
After that and by this I mean when the gun is sighted in I then practice free hand and some other types of rests or other shooting positions.
Works for me...
Rob
 
Seated. Foreend on sandbag. Free backend on shoulder. Sometimes with bipod.
Left hand supporting stock. No rear bag. Too cheap to buy one!
I agree you want the the most accurate potential so whatever gets you the most stability and repeatability is the correct position for you.
 
are we talking sighting in here? or practicing for shooting at an animal?
I spend very little time shooting my hunting rifles on the bench. once I know the rifle is dead on at the zero I have chosen..... the rest of my shooting is off bench and in various drills that simulate in the field hunting. this usually requires a spotter calling random targets , terrain dictates shooting position and posture.
when I'm on the bench, my off hand is supporting the buttstock. I dunno if that's the way the "pros" do it, but it has worked for me for decades.
actual bench shooters with their target rifles will probably have a different approach .....
 
i go hunting small game for practice racoon are great targets and its good for the environment
the bigger rifles and bigger game i just to sight in and leave them alone no sense in messing with it better off saving the ammo for hunting
I figger time at the rang is time I can be hunting or fishing
 
"are we talking sighting in here? or practicing for shooting at an animal?"
Both really, sighting in at first of course, then practicing once it is sighted in.

I don't have much opportunity to do much off-range practicing outside of hunting season though.
 
Evan when i do go to a range there is never any one there I love living on Haida Gwaii HAHA
I only go for sighting in or checking the sight
 
MD said:
"are we talking sighting in here? or practicing for shooting at an animal?"
Both really, sighting in at first of course, then practicing once it is sighted in.

I don't have much opportunity to do much off-range practicing outside of hunting season though.
Click to expand...

just practice , standing offhand shots from 50 to 200 yards. set up numbered targets at random distances in between, one every fifty yards if your range permits and if you can be there on a slow day when you and a spotter can occupy 2 or 3 shooting lanes, dispersing random numbered targets becomes easier.... again, if your range permits.
from your offhand, with your bench sighted rifle, have your spotter call out a target and as a good challenge for hunting, make your shot on each target within 10 seconds. as you become more proficient, reduce the shot timing to 6 seconds.

procedure:
laying the rifle on the bench (on crown land it's slung on shoulder), bolt closed, loaded mag, chamber empty
spotter calls target #
ready, aim, fire the rifle
timer stops at shot
make the rifle safe and prepare for next target call.

after a few to a whole bunch of range sessions, eventually muscle memory will start kicking in and you will become confident and proficient with that rifle at offhand standing shots to 200 yards.
 
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I make sure of the rifle's zero, with a bag at the rear, and a sandbagged rest up front, always making sure my sling swivel stud does not catch the front bag.

Once I am sure of the rifle's POI, then I practice in field positions. Standing [worst position, IMHO] sitting, kneeling and prone.

Also use shooting sticks, and resting on a tree while standing. I take note of how far away I can maintain my shots within a predetermined area.

Obviously, that distance is shorter for standing than for sitting or prone.

Again, as many have mentioned on other threads, it is really the first shot from a cold barrel that is the most important. That is the one that I take the most note of.

Regards, Dave.
 
One of the simplest assets to stable shooting is learning to properly use your rifle's sling, this also means choosing the correct sling to use in such a way.

Slings can be used in the prone, kneeling, sitting or standing position and when set up and used properly will prove your single greatest asset to accurate shooting other than practicing as much as you can.

Think of it this way, if you drove your car only once or twice a year, would you consider yourself a competent driver?

Scott
 
I've been shooting centre fire rifles since 1967 but I'm always interested in finding ways to improve, that's why I posted the question.

I have practiced offhand and as a kid of course did a lot with a pellet gun and .22 and have killed game numerous times offhand if absolutely necessary, but it is my last choice if I have any options at all.

I'm still amazed when I recall shooting at the face of a small buck I shot on northern Vancouver island one time when all I could see was its head in the huckleberry bushes. I aimed right for it at about 70 yards and drilled it right in the middle of the nose with iron sights on my 243.

I've tried with that same rifle with a scope at 50 yards and get a spread, not a group.
 
MD said:
I've been shooting centre fire rifles since 1967 but I'm always interested in finding ways to improve, that's why I posted the question.

I have practiced offhand and as a kid of course did a lot with a pellet gun and .22 and have killed game numerous times offhand if absolutely necessary, but it is my last choice if I have any options at all.

I'm still amazed when I recall shooting at the face of a small buck I shot on northern Vancouver island one time when all I could see was its head in the huckleberry bushes. I aimed right for it at about 70 yards and drilled it right in the middle of the nose with iron sights on my 243.

I've tried with that same rifle with a scope at 50 yards and get a spread, not a group.
Click to expand...

Parallax issue with your scope? If your scope is parallax free at 100 yards or more and your eye in varying locations with regard to the scope, shooting at 50 yards will yield differing points of impact vs point of aim. Prove this by rigging up the rifle on sandbags so it doesn't move and point it at target at 50 yards. Then move your head left and right or up and down while looking through the scope. The cross hairs will move on the target even though the rifle is stationary if parallax is an issue at that distance.
 
I often hunt by sitting and overlooking a gully, trail or crossing. Sometimes the game arrives from my right, instead the left or in front. It is then too late to re-position, because that would spook the animal.

What I do is slowly switch the rifle to my left shoulder, so I can shoot to the right.

In practice, I always take a few left handed shots just to be familiar with how the rifle feels and functions from the wrong shoulder.

I shoot off the bench holding the forend, with hand resting on sandbag.
 
Anytime I bump it in the field I always put 1 or 2 thru it to be sure for the next hunt, majority of my projies go downrange, but that makes us confident come Game time!

WL
 
Simulating a hunting hold is unnecessary. The idea of shooting off a rest is to eliminate the shooter's shakes and wobbles as much as possible. Rest the forearm on the sand bag and sort of wrap yourself around the rear. Easier to do than describe. Putting your mitt anywhere near the bag just increases variability.
 
I know a guy that would go to the dump and shoot rats he was so fast and he was able to shoot nickel out of the air all all the time and made a lot of drinking money doing it now that beats going to range
 
I use a HyScore Game rest. It is mounted on a plywood base that clamps to the shooting bench. All I do is set it up, strap in the rifle, set it on target, mount the remote trigger, and then fire.
This COMPLETELY eliminates human interference and shows me exactly how good the rifle/cartridge combo is. Then I remove it and use it in various hunting rests and positions.
Any rifle I am using for hunting MUST shoot sub-MOA at the expected distances from the bench. That way, if I am not perfect, I will only open it up a bit and 2MOA is still good at 400 yds.
 
carverk said:
I know a guy that would go to the dump and shoot rats he was so fast and he was able to shoot nickel out of the air all all the time and made a lot of drinking money doing it now that beats going to range
Click to expand...

Byron Ferguson shoots asprin out of the air with a longbow...
 
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