Keeping the Front rest and Rear bag aligned while shooting score

M

Markhor

New member
I want to find out what technique experienced Score shooters are using in keeping the front rest and rear bag aligned while moving between the Sighter and the 5 bulls. I know we move the front rest from bull to bull but do you move your rear bag at all to make sure the rifle is tracking properly? With the amount of travel involved on the target, I am sure the front rest and rear bag get misaligned, thus affecting tracking.

Thanks
Ed
 
Most shoot the 30BR with full shoulder contact or pin. Tracking is eliminated if you pin your rifle against the front rest post. Even if you dont pin a 30BR the rifle isnt moving as much as you might think in the front rest. I find this all to be a non issue. Lee
 
If your targets are a foot apart, horizontally, (I don't have a score target to measure.)this is roughly equivalent to one fifth of a degree at 100 yards, and half that at 200. I don't know about your bag alignment procedure, but mine is nowhere near that precise.
 
If the rear bag moves at all, then I find tracking to be impossible....that is: I am forced to make a major elevation adjustment on the front rest (i.e. via the mariner wheel (Bald Eagle style rest), or via the rack and pinion (Farley)......this is bad,takes time and interrupts concentration.
As Boyd said, the angle of change is small.....small enough that it didn't affect a dozen or so competitors from achieving 250/ 25x scores.
Having said that, a bag squeezer does move the rear bag, and some do quite well using that method...... but the misalignment with the front rest is still there.
Even shooting a 30 BR free, a properly set-up front rest and rear bag should only require minor windage and elevation adjustments.
I will say that the initial alignment is very important......some even rest a dowel in place on the rest and bag to ensure alignment.
 
A setup that allows going around a Score target w/o a change in p.o.i. is the most misunderstood...and least appreciated...part of Score shooting.

Good shootin'. :) -Al
 
So Al,
For group shooters that get an occasional high shot when moving from sighter to record, and then have to hold off for the other four, do you have any suggestions? One more thing, this would be for someone shooting free.
Boyd
 
Al and Boyed, the unexplained high shot with conditions being the same is what led me to this question.
What I have tried recently in my limited experience and which has helped, is to align the bags as best as I can, get the vertical control to as center a position as I can. I then place the cross hairs on the middle Sighter bull, I then move the cross hairs up using the speed screw ( Sinclair) and see if the cross hairs go up in a straight line to the score bull. If they wiggle, I know I am off track and adjust the bags. I do the same on the other side. This seems to be helping.

Ed
 
Your rest must be level which "should" give vertical movement that is "plumb." Some older Sinclair speed screws have been known to "drop" shots due to the course thread "hanging up" until the shot is fired. A "wiggle" sounds like something is amiss. What kind of rest and bag?
 
LH, I should rephrase it as "uneven" or not straight rather then actual wiggle. The cross hair on an unaligned bag setup would go up at an angle instead of in a straight line. My front rest is a Sinclair BR comp and the rear bag is Edgwood Minigator

Ed
 
Boyd Allen said:
So Al, for group shooters that get an occasional high shot when moving from sighter to record, and then have to hold off for the other four, do you have any suggestions? One more thing, this would be for someone shooting free. Boyd
Click to expand...

Boyd, As I'm primarily a Score shooter, I sure wouldn't presume to make recommendations for Group shooting. I do know that when I shoot official Group targets and have the front rest set up like many do, at times I get the 'popped' first record shot after coming up from the sighter. When I went back to my 'Score' setup, it went away. Angle changes between the bottom of the fore arm and the bag and the gun is moved from sighter to record are the heart of the problem, IMO. There's lots involved with this, depending on each combo of stock, rest, rear bag, the style of the butt keel, bag fill, etc, etc.

My 2 cents worth and you'll probably get some change back....;) -Al
 
I found with my old-style Farley and a "super-hard" front bag, that when I got to Bull No. 4 (top right) on the score target, my 30BR would regularly put a shot one bullet wide to the right and a bullet-and-a-half high ... enough to miss the 10 ring sometimes. Took some sand out, softened the bag up a bit, and the problem is much alleviated. Would like to try a cylindrical bag but haven't gotten to it yet.
 
So, Al, how would describe what you do to get your 'Score' setup the way you want it?
Inquiring minds want to know. Thanks, Don
 
ReedG said:
I found with my old-style Farley and a "super-hard" front bag, that when I got to Bull No. 4 (top right) on the score target, my 30BR would regularly put a shot one bullet wide to the right and a bullet-and-a-half high ... enough to miss the 10 ring sometimes. Took some sand out, softened the bag up a bit, and the problem is much alleviated. Would like to try a cylindrical bag but haven't gotten to it yet.
Click to expand...

Bald Eagle once made bags with a rib (had a cord sewn in) in the middle of the front bag.......this was supposed to address the angle changes between the stock and bag.....the contact area was always the same since it was resting on the round rib.
 
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I have a sinclair comp rest with an edgewood front bag that has a cordura reinforced top, and I use a protektor hard bottomed rear bag with cordura ears. I shoot free recoil with my 30br...shoulder recoil pad assisted.
I have noticed that when I adjust up to the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th targets I will come up to the bull, pull my rifle back a bit and the crosshairs will settle in and then I move the crosshairs up to the bull, pull the rifle back again and the crosshairs will settle down again and I have to move up to the bull. This has elimnated those shots from popping out of the top, but slows my shooting down considerably...though that is actually a good thing at times. Then there are times it doesn't seem to matter.
I have found that making sure that the rifle breaks away from the bags well is also very important when trying to keep'em in the ten ring.
High humidity and sticky bags makes for vertical that can be confused with bad tune or bad handling.
Mike
 
I chased the first shot on record target for 3 years. Sometimes it would be the second or third shot which would kill my group. I could move the gun back & forth several times & problem fixed. Got tired of doing that it took to much time. Tried 3 different front bags & 2 different rear bags. Several kinds of sand.This would only happen when flipping the sighter cam. I got rid of the front stop & slide the gun from sighter to record. Problem fixed. Same thing for score shooting. Give it a try. Russell M
 
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