bench rests

[Rick in Oregon]

Lookin' very, very good there, Shaky.

I found out some years ago that the bench support for the rifle was critical to top performance at the target. Glad you're on the way to a better bench experience. Here's hoping that 204 you've got shows similar upgraded performance.

Tiny groups put a smile on our collective faces!

[Shaky Hands]

Lookin' very, very good there, Shaky.

I found out some years ago that the bench support for the rifle was critical to top performance at the target. Glad you're on the way to a better bench experience. Here's hoping that 204 you've got shows similar upgraded performance.

Tiny groups put a smile on our collective faces!

Thank you now the real test can I duplicate it.

[Bill K]

Keep the faith, you can or come darn close to it. Just relax and enjoy.

[Shaky Hands]

Keep the faith, you can or come darn close to it. Just relax and enjoy.

Thanks for the vote of confidence.

[Jim White]

Shakey, in the competitive shooting world there are terms such as NPA [Natural Point of Aim], front sight-sight alignment-trigger control. Hopefully these tips will help you and anyone else here who reads them;

1. NPA; whether you're shooting from a bench or offhand/standing at 200 yards, prone at 1000 yards, you need to establish your NPA. To do this you need to establish a good position, yes, even from a bench and it needs to be repeatable from shot-to-shot. This is going to involve eye relief, the grip on the rifle, cheek weld, breathing control and trigger control. It entails these and others I have probably forgotten about.

2. Sight alignment; even with scopes sight alignment is critical It may look good but be aware of it. I have found, on high power scopes, the higher the magnification is dialed in, the more critical it becomes.

- Be aware of parallax, especially as the distance grows and how to detect it. Scope quality pays off in these areas.

- When you’re shooting, don’t stare through the scope at the target to long. If you do, learn to stop the sequence, look away, get refocused and try again.

- Keep both eyes open because closing one eye puts extra strain on the other.

- Focus on the reticle, not the target. This will take some learning but its all a part of the package.

3. Breathing; don’t hold your breath too long. When I’m getting in position, I slowly exhale while I’m getting lined up. When I start to squeeze the trigger, I hold my breath but I don’t hold too long because you’ll soon start the jitters and it just goes downhill from there.

4. Trigger control; when you’re squeezing the trigger you need to aware of inducing movement into the rifle. Primarily this is done by squeezing the hole hand rather than just the trigger finger. This will take some practice and effort to master but it is a must.

5. Cheek/Stock-weld/head position; head position on the stock is another critical aspect that needs to be found and be repeatable, shot-to-shot. It definitely has impacts on the aforementioned items.

6. Hot chambers; leaving rounds in a hot chamber for those shots you can’t get off; remove the round, grab another one for the next attempt. I realize several powders today are noted to be resistive to heat changes but rest assure, if the round gets warm the POI [point of impact] is impacted downrange; more so for some than others.

I realize this is long winded but as you can tell, it’s a lot of little things that make a difference. And speaking of little things, a strand of human hair is about .008-inches. Just a FYI, .008 inches of muzzle movement equates to 1 MOA down range. 1 MOA is 1 inch @ 100 yards, 2 inches at 200 yards and so on. All of these things will give you reliable feedback of your rifle and your loads.

Hope this helps out,

[Shaky Hands]

Shakey, in the competitive shooting world there are terms such as NPA [Natural Point of Aim], front sight-sight alignment-trigger control. Hopefully these tips will help you and anyone else here who reads them;

1. NPA; whether you're shooting from a bench or offhand/standing at 200 yards, prone at 1000 yards, you need to establish your NPA. To do this you need to establish a good position, yes, even from a bench and it needs to be repeatable from shot-to-shot. This is going to involve eye relief, the grip on the rifle, cheek weld, breathing control and trigger control. It entails these and others I have probably forgotten about.

2. Sight alignment; even with scopes sight alignment is critical It may look good but be aware of it. I have found, on high power scopes, the higher the magnification is dialed in, the more critical it becomes.

- Be aware of parallax, especially as the distance grows and how to detect it. Scope quality pays off in these areas.

- When you’re shooting, don’t stare through the scope at the target to long. If you do, learn to stop the sequence, look away, get refocused and try again.

- Keep both eyes open because closing one eye puts extra strain on the other.

- Focus on the reticle, not the target. This will take some learning but its all a part of the package.

3. Breathing; don’t hold your breath too long. When I’m getting in position, I slowly exhale while I’m getting lined up. When I start to squeeze the trigger, I hold my breath but I don’t hold too long because you’ll soon start the jitters and it just goes downhill from there.

4. Trigger control; when you’re squeezing the trigger you need to aware of inducing movement into the rifle. Primarily this is done by squeezing the hole hand rather than just the trigger finger. This will take some practice and effort to master but it is a must.

5. Cheek/Stock-weld/head position; head position on the stock is another critical aspect that needs to be found and be repeatable, shot-to-shot. It definitely has impacts on the aforementioned items.

6. Hot chambers; leaving rounds in a hot chamber for those shots you can’t get off; remove the round, grab another one for the next attempt. I realize several powders today are noted to be resistive to heat changes but rest assure, if the round gets warm the POI [point of impact] is impacted downrange; more so for some than others.

I realize this is long winded but as you can tell, it’s a lot of little things that make a difference. And speaking of little things, a strand of human hair is about .008-inches. Just a FYI, .008 inches of muzzle movement equates to 1 MOA down range. 1 MOA is 1 inch @ 100 yards, 2 inches at 200 yards and so on. All of these things will give you reliable feedback of your rifle and your loads.

Hope this helps out,

Jim
Thank you it will and I will use this. Every little bit helps as you say.

[skipper]

I like my rifle to bee free to slide in the bag. Seems to make it track better that way. You might try using some felt cloth to see how your rifle reacts. If it's like mine you may want to glue it to the rear bag like this.

Rear Bag detail.jpg (3.48 MiB) Viewed 456 times

[Shaky Hands]

I like my rifle to bee free to slide in the bag. Seems to make it track better that way. You might try using some felt cloth to see how your rifle reacts. If it's like mine you may want to glue it to the rear bag like this.


Rear Bag detail.jpg

Skipper
thanks for the suggestion I will keep that in mind if my rifle doesn't slide as much as I want.

[Rick in Oregon]

Shaky, if you feel your rifle is not either recoiling freely in the bags, or if you prefer less friction, consider what I've seen at BR matches and have read on accuracy dedicated forums.....

Experienced BR match shooters frequently use talcum powder on their bags to give better 'free recoil' characteristics. I saw this countless times reading Precision Shooting Magazine over many years. I don't use this system, I'm just providing information, as being just a live varmint bench shooter, I just use my bags the way they are intended...smooth leather against the stock. I'm not a competitive shooter, just having fun with prairie dogs, ground squirrels, rock chucks and the occasional badger. The only time I shoot paper is for working up loads, checking zero, or confirming POI during field outings in the outback here.

I'm not saying any method suggested by our esteemed moderator, Skipper is faulty, quite the contrary, I'm just showing there's more than one way to skin that proverbial cat. But if you intend to compete in BR, his suggestion may be worthy of consideration.

[Shaky Hands]

Shaky, if you feel your rifle is not either recoiling freely in the bags, or if you prefer less friction, consider what I've seen at BR matches and have read on accuracy dedicated forums.....

Experienced BR match shooters frequently use talcum powder on their bags to give better 'free recoil' characteristics. I saw this countless times reading Precision Shooting Magazine over many years. I don't use this system, I'm just providing information, as being just a live varmint bench shooter, I just use my bags the way they are intended...smooth leather against the stock. I'm not a competitive shooter, just having fun with prairie dogs, ground squirrels, rock chucks and the occasional badger. The only time I shoot paper is for working up loads, checking zero, or confirming POI during field outings in the outback here.

I'm not saying any method suggested by our esteemed moderator, Skipper is faulty, quite the contrary, I'm just showing there's more than one way to skin that proverbial cat. But if you intend to compete in BR, his suggestion may be worthy of consideration.

Rick
thanks for the tip I dont plan on going to BR shooting (at this point). I am just trying to set myself up to shoot better hence why I asked about bags and rests.. I generally shoot paper with my Dad when the weather is nice since he is getting up in the years and want to enjoy his company as much as possible. I would love to shoot prairie dogs out west and maybe one day will take a trip back to South Dakota where I saw lots of them when I lived there. Dad also was a avid wood chuck hunter and as a kid and he would take my sister and I out with him and we always were excited when Dad nailed one.

Shaky

[Rick in Oregon]

Rick
thanks for the tip I dont plan on going to BR shooting (at this point). Dad also was a avid wood chuck hunter and as a kid and he would take my sister and I out with him and we always were excited when Dad nailed one.

Shaky, completely understand. We've probably overwhelmed you with ideas of gear choices. You'll get your perfect setup over time as we all did.

When we lived on our place, the Circle H Ranch in central BC, my dad and all my uncles were guides, wranglers and outfitters. As such, I learned the art of the rifle, woodcraft and game care from him. My fondest memories today are hunting with him, especially in the elk timber. He's gone now, and elk camp has never been the same. His shooting skills are still a topic of conversation in camp to this day. I once saw him nail a 5x5 mulie buck at just over 300 paces on a full run quartering away down a canyon slope with one shot with his pet Winchester M70 .270 Win. He acted like it was no big deal.

Dads don't last forever, and time with them are and should be treasured. I can imagine the memories you have of your dad being out with him for woodchucks. Good stuff.

[Shaky Hands]

Rick
thanks for the tip I dont plan on going to BR shooting (at this point). Dad also was a avid wood chuck hunter and as a kid and he would take my sister and I out with him and we always were excited when Dad nailed one.

Shaky, completely understand. We've probably overwhelmed you with ideas of gear choices. You'll get your perfect setup over time as we all did.

When we lived on our place, the Circle H Ranch in central BC, my dad and all my uncles were guides, wranglers and outfitters. As such, I learned the art of the rifle, woodcraft and game care from him. My fondest memories today are hunting with him, especially in the elk timber. He's gone now, and elk camp has never been the same. His shooting skills are still a topic of conversation in camp to this day. I once saw him nail a 5x5 mulie buck at just over 300 paces on a full run quartering away down a canyon slope with one shot with his pet Winchester M70 .270 Win. He acted like it was no big deal.

Dads don't last forever, and time with them are and should be treasured. I can imagine the memories you have of your dad being out with him for woodchucks. Good stuff.

Rick
not overwhelmed just thankful you all share knowledge. I have looked at the fancy front rests for years and always said I should get one but never pulled the trigger. I never was able to put 5 touching as well. Now that I seen I can do it its time to start upgrading to nicer/better equipment. As they say "Up my game". Yes there are a few stories we always share around the table and you can see Dad just sit there and smile good time.

Shaky