What is the proper head position?

I wanted to know how to properly place my cheek on the stock for sight alignment. I'm a right handed shooter, so am I supposed to place my cheek on the stock and tilt my head? Or am I supposed to place the cheek bone on the stock and have my head parallel to the stock? (Very uncomfortable)

I was looking at the BR photo and saw different positions guys were using. I know my hold and placement is off because my bubble level is always far left and I have to adjust my hold to bring the bubble to center, also the crosshairs are cocked left due to poor posture as well. I'm trying to learn a new hold so I'm not always so Canted when shooting off hand. 
 
Determine your most comfortable shooting position and then adjust the rifle to it. If you shoot with the rifle canted, no problem, just counter than position by your scope mounting, so the crosshairs are square as you hold the rifle. Sounds like you are a position shooter, so BR technique is not relevant. They have a benchrest holding the rifle, you have to do it yourself, in a consistently repeatable manner. The more comfortable you are, the longer you can go before fatigue sets in. 
 
My world doesn't revolve around snipers but for whatever reason I know a lot of retired Marine Core and Army shooters 

All have one thing in common they tell me how they will get this brand new rifle and three days later it will look like a duct tape queen with pads and all kinds of other "mods" to make the rifle fit the shooter. 

There are times when they would be on position for hours so gun needs to be adjusted to the shooter not the shooter adjusted to the gun

As said, precision comes from consistent hold that is as natural as possible, there are of course some caviets to the "natural" that is to say techniques that improve your groups.

It is much easier if you have a buddy help you set your gun up, you can get into position and he or she can adjust your scope, check ur posture ECT. 

Film your shoots

make dry runs set ur gun on the table then clear your mind pick gun up go into position without thinking about it to hard

Note any issues such as scope alignment, cheek weld issues hand position 

Review your vids and notes and adjust accordingly... Use the vids to check for issues in your posture and address them 

Repeat until it's a natural thing that is the same every single time with out you having to adjust to the gun 

**Almost forgot a very important aspect, set up to your season if you are shooting outdoors in cold weather or shooting with a shooting jacket make sure to set up the gun with it on. Not doing so can result in you being off upwards of an 1/2 off in your hold 




 
 I have a long neck,so I like to have a adjustable butt pad to raise the rifle up for a better "fit".

I want the rifle to fit Me,I want to be comfortable as possible...nice to have an adjustable cheek piece,but for the most part that ain't happening..

You have to cant your neck some to be able to look through the scope...try your best to keep rifle level and stay comfortable doing it..

Cant your head not the rifle...it does not need to be perfect.....it takes time to learn and to adjust...

the height of your scope rings can also help you...bubble levels are to "help" keep the rifle level,not your head,a reason there are very few level headed people!


 
I have a long neck,so I like to have a adjustable butt pad to raise the rifle up for a better "fit".

I want the rifle to fit Me,I want to be comfortable as possible...nice to have an adjustable cheek piece,but for the most part that ain't happening..

You have to cant your neck some to be able to look through the scope...try your best to keep rifle level and stay comfortable doing it..

Cant your head not the rifle...it does not need to be perfect.....it takes time to learn and to adjust...

the height of your scope rings can also help you...bubble levels are to "help" keep the rifle level,not your head,a reason there are very few level headed people!


My Wife Tells me I am not level everytime she sees how much money I have spent in airguns 😁
 
you do not position your head to the scope, you position your scope to your head

https://www.americanhunter.org/articles/2016/4/28/how-to-perfectly-mount-a-riflescope/

and never twist a scope in the ring to match your rifle cant to make the scope level

rifle needs to be level and so does the scope

buy some different rings and make sure you have the proper eye relief

if the comb of the stock is too low buy a pad to raise it and then once you have the right combination practice, practice, practice
 
Determine your most comfortable shooting position and then adjust the rifle to it. If you shoot with the rifle canted, no problem, just counter than position by your scope mounting, so the crosshairs are square as you hold the rifle. Sounds like you are a position shooter, so BR technique is not relevant. They have a benchrest holding the rifle, you have to do it yourself, in a consistently repeatable manner. The more comfortable you are, the longer you can go before fatigue sets in.

"I never thought of repositioning the scope to accommodate my style of shooting." That is damn near genius! Thank you
 
One of the best things about shooting is that the only thing that matters is what works for you! When sighting in for a single distance, canting the rifle is a valid option. For hunting or field target, it is not as useful since both elevation and windage will have to be adjusted for each distance. Canting has been a commonly used technique among position shooters. The idea is to keep the head as erect as possible for better balance and weight distribution. I think it is a little less popular now, but still being used. Raising the sights or scope may also help keep the head erect and is something you will want to consider. This article from 2017, not that long ago, shows the shooter using considerable cant in the offhand position.



https://www.ssusa.org/articles/2017/11/15/3-position-by-the-numbers-part-1-standing/
 
Most of my shooting (plinking, pesting, hunting) is done off hand so I don't cant the gun or tilt my head. I will rasp and pad a stock until the gun fits properly. 

By "fitting properly" I mean that, when standing normally (relaxed) if I concentrate (focus) on something that I want to shoot I should be able to close my eyes, mount the rifle and when I open my eyes the cross hairs should be on or very close to my target.

If you are a casual shooter then you can make do, if you are serious then you will want a good fitting stock. There is a huge difference in speed and accuracy between a stock that fits well and one that doesn't.

If you are average size the "one size fits all" stocks will be fit reasonably and there is usually enough wood that they can be fitted. If the standard stock isn't comfortable and there is not enough wood for fitting or if the stock is synthetic then you might want to consider making a stock or buying a custom one.

Making a custom stock (or modifying an existing one) is not difficult (fun actually) and most of the work can be done with typical workshop tools. I wrote up a 6 part report for the PA airgun blog last year that covers everything from selecting wood to finishing the stock. Here is a link to Part 6 that has links to the other 5 parts if you want to check it out. https://www.pyramydair.com/blog/?s=diy+gun+stock&btnGo=

Hope this helps.

Hank


 
Determine your most comfortable shooting position and then adjust the rifle to it. If you shoot with the rifle canted, no problem, just counter than position by your scope mounting, so the crosshairs are square as you hold the rifle. Sounds like you are a position shooter, so BR technique is not relevant. They have a benchrest holding the rifle, you have to do it yourself, in a consistently repeatable manner. The more comfortable you are, the longer you can go before fatigue sets in.

"I never thought of repositioning the scope to accommodate my style of shooting." That is damn near genius! Thank you


Thanks, but not genius, just a half century of playing with this stuff, and some good Kentucky bourbon to set things right. But seriously, no matter how you hold the rifle, the bullet is going to behave exactly the same from the time it leaves the muzzle. The manner in which you hold the rifle or set up your scope influences only how you observe the flight of the bullet, not where it goes, which is a constant. Some will say you should not cant the rifle. Well, the fact is, no one holds it perfectly square to the ground, and that's fine. Good shooters know their frame of reference when the shot is released, and they can repeat it every time (or nearly), and that's what matters. A good service rifle shooter can tell you how his/her sight picture looks when the shot is released. You might take their rifle, see the same sight picture, but the shot goes in the 8 ring at 7 o'clock. You are seeing the same thing, but you're holding the rifle different. All this involves your original question about head position, which is one of the variables you have to figure out. When it comes to position shooting, I'm the worst, lucky to hit the target frame. But, I appreciate how the good shooters do it, and they have my utmost admiration. 
 
And here is another tutorial on position shooting, this time from the ISSF. The shooter pictured here is using only a small amount of cant. I thought it funny that the article cautions that "plump shooters" may have to use more cant. Something some of us may need keep in mind. The most important point made is that position details vary from shooter to shooter. Finding your best position involves some trial and error. Air rifle position shooting is not talked about much on the forum, but is growing in popularity as a youth activity, which is a good thing. My high school and college both had small bore teams, but lawyers and the current political climate would make that a hard sell these days.



https://www.issf-sports.org/theissf/academy/e_learning/rifle.ashx
 
I wanted to know how to properly place my cheek on the stock for sight alignment.

The short answer is "exactly the same way every time". The placement of your eye behind the sight is critically important to maintaining the same point of impact every time. During my service years my stock weld involved touching the tip of my nose to the charging handle on my M16. A good optic will minimize this problem BUT no optic can eliminate it. So you have to do the same thing with an optic. Stock weld is crucially important to shooting small groups, even on a bench.
 
I shoot from different positions, from prone to standing with a shooting stick or from a Deadshot stand. There is no recoil with these so it’s different from an actual powder burner. Since I am in differing positions, I make sure the most important aspect remains the same, eye relation to the reticle. I use the scope shadow to verify my eye is directly behind the reticle no matter where I’m shooting from. If you move your eye forward or back in any magnification, you’ll see a shadow form on the outside of the scope picture. It moves with your eye. When you have an equal shadow around the perimeter of your scope picture, your eye is directly behind the reticle and properly lined up for a repeatable shot. And that is what you want. 
 
I wanted to know how to properly place my cheek on the stock for sight alignment.

The short answer is "exactly the same way every time". The placement of your eye behind the sight is critically important to maintaining the same point of impact every time. During my service years my stock weld involved touching the tip of my nose to the charging handle on my M16. A good optic will minimize this problem BUT no optic can eliminate it. So you have to do the same thing with an optic. Stock weld is crucially important to shooting small groups, even on a bench.

0ld spook is correct...US Army taught me the same.