Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunting Rifles Shooting a lightweight rifle

Does anyone remember the thread concerning shooting lightweight rifles from a bench?
Need to reread that thread I understand the rifle needs to be held more firmly at the fore-end .. I need all the help I can get, again
Link will be appreciated!

g

In consideration of accuracy or recoil?

I find all of my light rifles prefer to be supported by the front bag under the recoil lug. This setup seems to greatly improve the accuracy.

For recoil management, I build a revetment of sand bags so that I'm shooting as straight up as possible. Most of my rifles do not shoot to their capability if the fore end is held tightly. They seem to prefer free recoil. I think it's probably because a tight grip tends to pull the fore end down into the bag, but not consistently. See above paragraph.

I try not to spend much time shooting from serious bench positions with my light rifles, as they will never be used in a similar position in the field. Instead, I prefer to just support the fore end with my hand resting on the bag or from a sitting, kneeling, or prone position. That's much closer to how they will be fired in the field. Yet to find a bench and bags in the elk woods!

Enjoy those light rifles.

Twas just a bad day at the range today.. I was after more accuracy, recoil was no problem.
For some reason, I could not get comfortable at the bench. Now it has been a couple or more months since I was shooting but I'm not that rusty.
I recall from the thread from last year that the lightweights seemed to do better while gripping the forearm and holding tight to the front rest.
I messed around and did get under MOA but there were several earlier groups that went much larger. (more of a free recoil hold)
I ain't giving up though even if I have to start rolling my own and practicing more.
Thanks,
g

note: Had no problem keeping the second rifle, Tikka T3,
6.5 Swede in or under an inch with factory stuff and little effort.

I too run the front rest under the lug/chamber area and let the rifle do it's thing under recoil.

What's your trigger set at?

Calvin, It is the factory setting, haven't had it tuned.
I had the end of my trigger finger cut off at the first joint. Doc reattached it with hopes that it would get circulation and survive. It's all crooked looking and the bone is turned at a 60 degree angle to the right, nail is gone, has no feeling
The trigger work doesn't help when I can't feel the trigger... but I get by
Today was my Federal day. Tried three different types of Fed Ammo, Fusion 140, Premium TSX 140, and Vital Shok 140 SP.
Will move to Rem and Win later.

It would be hard to get spectacular results with a factory set trigger and a lwt, IMO...

dang I think it'd be hard to get result with a mangled digit with no feelers in it!

that you do so colors me IMPRESSED



gotta agree with Calvin though, am thinking a trigger job is the likely fix to cure what ails you

been a long time since I've squeezed off a decent factory trigger, am thinking a Blaser I looked at long ago was decent IIRC. everything else I own has been tuned. I need all the help I can get.

It's all about the trigger. As rifle weight decreases,so should pull weight,simply because less mass is more affected by that impetus.

I like a 1-pounder on the light stuff................

occasionally I can coax a reasonable group out of my rifles.

The lightest I own is a Kimber Roberts. The trigger is light but still needs adjustment. I put a folded washcloth on my front bag, grasp the rifle behind the front rest, produce a "firm" hold, rest my cheek on the stock.

if I do not pay attention to my trigger pull, that little Roberts reminds me by wasting a 60 cent bullet.

Looks like a trigger job is in my future. Me thinks PWCracker knows of what he speaks. Timney is in my future.

I'll also do the folded cloth on the front rest as that is one remedy I recall from the original thread. Thanks Jimmy

I would agree with PWC on the trigger pull not only light but crisp with no creep. I also shoot mine with no pressure from me up front, just laying on the rest/bags and a firm pull into the shoulder. I'm not doubting PWC on the 16oz trigger as the lighter the better but 1 lb is pretty light on a hunting rifle.

From help from others here on the fire this is what I've found works with a .338Fed Montana for bench work.

Good trigger. Light grip on forend, with stock fairly tight in shoulder. Head lightly resting on stock. Soft pad on front rest. Dry fire until your technique allows the cross hairs to remain steady when the pin strikes.

Shoot from field positions and you just may discover your groups are equivalent to your heavier rifles. If so, dump the bench and hunt the thing.

Addition: As PWC implied, if your torquing the trigger, your not going to like the results.

A one pound trigger is not safe on a hunting rifle. I like about 2.5 lbs. When its cold out its not easy to feel the trigger and some of us wear gloves. Also not all triggers are safe at one pound during rapid fire or if the rifle is dropped.

What you should try is a lot of shooting with the rifle hand held. Watch your sights as the firing pin falls. Try to get each shot pushed in there towards the center.

I learned this over a half century of competitive target shooting where each shot is seen and counted. I have fired tens of thousands of shots in competition and many at animals.

A one pound trigger is dangerous in the field.

I run anything from 1- 1 3/4lbs. on all my hunting rifles and they are far from dangerous. Those with limited feelings in their fingers suffer from something I can't relate to.

A broad statement of a 1 lb trigger not being safe in the field is an ignorant statement at best.

My varmint rifles I've ran at 8oz with never a AD. Pull on that trigger for a while and 1 lb feels like 5.

If you're gonna shoot light rifles, it's more than just the gun that must be light.

GeoW,

I concur with the advice you have been given prior to this. A well adjusted trigger and a firm shoulder hold helped me out.

But there is one thing I struggled to learn on my lightweight that I haven't heard mentioned and that is the relationship of a small stock (combined with light weight) and the tendency I had to eat up groups with parallax.

I am a bigger than average man. I have the wingspan of a gorilla. In normal shooting positions the parallax of the scope is doesn't seem to come into play at all, the rifle fits very well in that respect. My cheek weld is fine. But off the bench, laying into the rifle, I struggle to keep my eye centered. And it shows up when my concentration lags. Field positions? Fine. Bench position? Not so fine.

I sent the scope back to the factory and they managed to halve the parallax. It is still a couple inches centered to outside. As I stated, replicating the eye position seems to only show up on the bench. But it is something that a smaller stocked rifle has given me fits with on the bench.

Will

If you order a Rifle Basix from the their website, they'll set the trigger to whatever # you want..

If I was stupid enough to go stomping through the woods with a hot rifle, I'd want a 10lb trigger. Hunting cold lets you go light on the trigger....

Have you tried using the middle finger as the trigger finger?

Also remember JB writing that a folded rag/towel between the bag and forearm helped with the grouping.