How tight do you hold in your shoulder?

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whitetail17

Member
Oct 16, 2017
233
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pa, United States
While shooting a .30 at about 80lb ke my rifle will group very well with both a loose hold and a very tight hold into my shoulder. The groups are the same size, but the poi is not.

The loose hold will group about 4 inches to the right at 70 yards. I can clearly see that during the shot , my crosshairs never go to that spot the pellets group to.

What causes this? Or is it just me?
 
Your hold will definitely affect POI. Whether position, combat, or bench rest, accuracy is all about consistency. I once heard a shooting coach say, "I'm going to give you some options for hold. I don't care how you do it, just do it the same way every time." Fatigue becomes an issue at some point, so train with a position and hold that doesn't tire you out prematurely. Kind of like the pitching coach that says, a 95 mph fastball is great, but if, after 30 or 40 pitches they're all over the place, might be time to work on a different approach.
 
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While shooting a .30 at about 80lb ke my rifle will group very well with both a loose hold and a very tight hold into my shoulder. The groups are the same size, but the poi is not.

The loose hold will group about 4 inches to the right at 70 yards. I can clearly see that during the shot , my crosshairs never go to that spot the pellets group to.

What causes this? Or is it just me?
Click to expand...

I noticed this happening to me with my Bulldog at 50 yds. For a while I thought my scope’s zero was off (only one actually was). Turns out that I could correct the problem by moving the butt in and firmly holding it closer (to the left) into the tissue of my pectoral muscle as opposed to outward with most of the pressure on my shoulder muscle. While working to correct the problem I would hold it in this position firmly against my body while shooting from a table with a bipod and no rear bag. Maybe you can try that to see if it helps any. It could also be that you move your head to chamber each shot and you aren’t returning your head to the same cheek weld position. Do you get the same results when shooting from 50 or 40 yards?
 
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While shooting a .30 at about 80lb ke my rifle will group very well with both a loose hold and a very tight hold into my shoulder. The groups are the same size, but the poi is not.

The loose hold will group about 4 inches to the right at 70 yards. I can clearly see that during the shot , my crosshairs never go to that spot the pellets group to.

What causes this? Or is it just me?
Click to expand...


Simple answer? Harmonics.

Long version? Grip pressure applied, hold position, repeatability, barrel dampening, stock dampening, pressure on the barrel, torque applied, minor sight picture difference, then you get to body mechanics.

Do the same thing the same way every time and you will have the best results. Even the type gun makes for a difference.

Happy Obsessing
 
Upvote 0
While shooting a .30 at about 80lb ke my rifle will group very well with both a loose hold and a very tight hold into my shoulder. The groups are the same size, but the poi is not.

The loose hold will group about 4 inches to the right at 70 yards. I can clearly see that during the shot , my crosshairs never go to that spot the pellets group to.

What causes this? Or is it just me?
Click to expand...


Simple answer? Harmonics.

Long version? Grip pressure applied, hold position, repeatability, barrel dampening, stock dampening, pressure on the barrel, torque applied, minor sight picture difference, then you get to body mechanics.

Do the same thing the same way every time and you will have the best results. Even the type gun makes for a difference.

Happy Obsessing
Click to expand...

+1000

The single most important rule in any shooting discipline.
 
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