Gun Handling Problem, horizontal

A

alinwa

oft dis'd member
So I just put together a spare rifle for weekend match.... 17lb 600yd LG in 6X47L

The stock was a little long so I stuck 'er in the saw and whacked an inch off the butt. Slobbered on a thin AL butt-plate to keep 'er guts from falling out.

And now I feel I'm getting some tail wagging from me letting the gun hit me while the bullet's still in the barrel.



I useta' shoot with Del Bishop and he glued little foam rubber "snubbers" or triangular "bumpers" onto his butts so's he could find the gun but yet when it recoiled the soft rubber didn't steer it. He also had them on his trigger guard for when he wanted to "pinch" the trigger.

I'm trying it by velcro'ing little flaps of foam on my butt.....


Does anyone else do this?


I'm looking for ideas/products/bumpers that are an upgrade from my current hacked-on buttflaps..... some sort of soft rubber "doorstop"
 
Agree with Al

cut more off the stock, add a soft recoil pad and keep your shoulder off the butt stock when shooting. greg
 
I don't know if you have any weight to spare, but if you do, you might consider adding it to the butt. You could have a balance issue. Years back, a friend was trying to shoot a custom varmint rifle with very light contact. He added weight to the butt of his McMillan stock and it helped a lot. From what I have read, the distance that your rifle recoils before the bullet clears the muzzle is probably less than a half inch. Del told me that the reason for the foam on the butt was originally because of a combination of a slick rifle and bags combined with a range where the targets were significantly uphill. It allowed him to make light contact to keep the rifle from sliding back when he did not want it to. Since his was glued in place, he just left it on for matches at other ranges. I noticed it, and asked him about it at a match in Visalia, (where the targets are just slightly downhill from the benches). On the slickness thing, he told me that he and Steve used a spray teflon product called Sailcote on their cordura bags. I got a can and can tell you that when used in combination with stock tape it makes bags very slick. You can put a lot of clamping force on a front bag that has been sprayed with it before you notice any braking effect. After doing some experiments I concluded that super slick was not a requirement as long as the friction was consistent and the rifle started its motion smoothly. I know a couple or top shooters who returned to leather and baby powder with great success.
 
Well'p, I just finished my string... I shot two different guns in Light and a third in Heavy and the tailwaggy one with the foam flopper shot best.
 
alinwa said:
Well'p, I just finished my string... I shot two different guns in Light and a third in Heavy and the tailwaggy one with the foam flopper shot best.
Click to expand...

I missed ya in Portland today, How did you finish? BTW why you usin rubber butt plate vs solid
J
 
Last edited:
SPJ said:
I missed ya in Portland today, How did you finish? BTW why you usin rubber butt plate vs solid
J
Click to expand...

I got badly beaten. I fired my first group, first relay with the experimental rubber snubber and it shot my best group.

I have metal buttplates on everything, I just put some velcro on them so's I can add stuff.
 
alinwa said:
I got badly beaten. I fired my first group, first relay with the experimental rubber snubber and it shot my best group.

I have metal buttplates on everything, I just put some velcro on them so's I can add stuff.
Click to expand...

Humm
I’ve been dealing with a strange case of vertical the last two times out with a new scope has proven to be a head scratcher, it shows up after power increases and elevation adjustment
 
Last edited:
alinwa said:
I got badly beaten. I fired my first group, first relay with the experimental rubber snubber and it shot my best group.

I have metal buttplates on everything, I just put some velcro on them so's I can add stuff.
Click to expand...

In my experience, nothing good ever came from soft butt pads on a real BR gun. Most butt stocks are way too long and don't let the shooter get behind the gun as they should. Follow-thru suffers as a result, especially when the gun slides too easily in the bags.

FWIW.... -Al
 
Yes - THIS!

Al Nyhus said:
In my experience, nothing good ever came from soft butt pads on a real BR gun. Most butt stocks are way too long and don't let the shooter get behind the gun as they should. Follow-thru suffers as a result, especially when the gun slides too easily in the bags.

FWIW.... -Al
Click to expand...

Yes! On this, I agree with Al 100%:eek: RG
 
R.G. Robinett said:
Yes! On this, I agree with Al 100%:eek: RG
Click to expand...

My 30BR is built on a Robertson Stock, which I found to be a tad short. So I added a 1” thick hard foam pad. And since I shoot it heads up free recoil, the pad does help toward the end of the day.

In short, I try to keep as much of “me” out of the equation as possible.

I do not run and gun with the 30. My LV 6PPC, which is on a Scoville and does have a nice long butt stock, I do run it when the opportunity arises, and it is just right.

Just my opinion, but I think “Gun Handling”is way over rated. Is amazing how many of these problems disappear when yo have a great lot of bullets, a great barrel, and a good tune.
 
jackie schmidt said:
Just my opinion, but I think “Gun Handling”is way over rated. Is amazing how many of these problems disappear when yo have a great lot of bullets, a great barrel, and a good tune.
Click to expand...

Oh, yeah. It's amazing how forgiving a good combination is. ;) -Al

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein
 
SPJ said:
Humm
I’ve been dealing with a strange case of vertical the last two times out with a new scope has proven to be a head scratcher, it shows up after power increases and elevation adjustment
Click to expand...

How many shots does this "strange case" last before it settles?
 
Al Nyhus said:
Oh, yeah. It's amazing how forgiving a good combination is. ;) -Al

"Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler." - Albert Einstein
Click to expand...

Wow, good stuff :)

YES, this is how my PPC stuff is.... I've often said "I could tie a kitten to the trigger and shoot spitballs at it until it fired and make one hole"

But a 17lb gun with a 30" barrel and 108gr bullets smoking at 3100+ has it's own set of problems for me. In this case I felt the gun was hitting my clothes.


Sooo..... I brought 3 guns to a 2-gun shoot :)

I asked the RO if I could shoot one group in LG with the gun I'd just stuck the sponge bumper on, the one that's wiggling, then switch to my regular LG and fire the next 2 groups changing NOTHING but the gun.

He said "OK"

That first group was nice and round and worthy.

Then I switched guns and the main 17lb gun shot poorly. Not steering, just badly out of tune.

And I really buggered my Heavy by forgetting to re-seat the bullets the night before....... DUMB Dumb dumb....made a mess, even pulled a bullet mid-string and DNF'd with only 7rds fired. H4350 everywhere

but

Had a ball

Will be ready next time

LOL

Always something :)
 
SPJ said:
Humm
I’ve been dealing with a strange case of vertical the last two times out with a new scope has proven to be a head scratcher, it shows up after power increases and elevation adjustment
Click to expand...

Well..... come on down to Tri-County next match and on your way back north we'll throw 'er on the Scope Checker......
 
jackie schmidt said:
Just my opinion, but I think “Gun Handling”is way over rated. Is amazing how many of these problems disappear when yo have a great lot of bullets, a great barrel, and a good tune.
Click to expand...


That comment reminds me of the very first registered match i ever shot in, almost twenty years ago.I finished 3rd out 30+ shooters in the first yardage. Some of the best shooters in the Region were present. I shared a bench with a left hander. He set his flags up on the left side of the bench. not really being aware of good Benchrest etiquette, I set mine up on the right side of the bench. (Information Overload,too many wind flags) I had very limited skills at gun handling or reading wind flags.

Yes,Good things happen, when you have a Rifle that shoots. Been there done that. Finding the right combination for a Rifle is easier said than done.


Glenn
 
alinwa said:
Well..... come on down to Tri-County next match and on your way back north we'll throw 'er on the Scope Checker......
Click to expand...

Appreciate the offer, I’m trying to isolate the issue , my next test is a three shot group box test. The gun shoots small I’ve checked the load this recent episode has me scratching
 
Last edited:
SPJ said:
I’ve been dealing with a strange case of vertical the last two times out with a new scope has proven to be a head scratcher, it shows up after power increases and elevation adjustment
Click to expand...

Try loading the erector and see if that helps. For example, if you need to go up 6 clicks, go up 10 and back down 4.

Don't change power when doing this, if only obviously.....;) -Al
 
Al Nyhus said:
Try loading the erector and see if that helps. For example, if you need to go up 6 clicks, go up 10 and back down 4.

Don't change power when doing this, if only obviously.....;) -Al
Click to expand...

Thank you
That’s a great suggestion, I’ll try that and report back .

Jim
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top