Feels like I am pulling the trigger uphill

[Wjesswheel]

New savage ftr in .308 that shoots great and I really like except it feels like I am pulling the trigger uphill. I shoot with bipod and bags in the rear it shooting better then I expected and the target trigger is great . It just feels like the heel of my palm is higher then my pull finger and I feel like my pull finger when I engage the trigger has more pressure on the bottom side of my finger the when I shoot my shotgun or other rifles. This is my first high power.. Ther is more angle between my thumb and finger then iam used to.. Just does not feel comfy. Is it normal or should I be thinking about a different stock or just reshaping the savage factory stock? Any ideas on maybe a different style of new stock. A thumb hole maybe which I do not particularly care for a low boy. Pistol grip. Any ideas will be appreciated.

 

[watercam]

I, for one, am having trouble visualizing what is going on based upon your description. Perhaps take a photo of your trigger hand on the rifle and post that.

 

[DOGCAPPER]

You might try customizing your grip with Marine-tex. Apply a coating of MT in the areas you want changed. After it loses the tacky feel and begins to set up, moisten the shooting hand and squeeze gently to form the grip position. You can continue to shape the MT for another 1 minutes. Looks ugly but pretty does not always get the job done. LT

 

[mao0720]

It sounds to me like you are wrapping your hand too tightly around the grip of the stock. Do you actually place your thumb over the top of the wrist of the stock? Try relaxing your grip a bit and allow your thumb to either rest right behind the tang or, just to the right side of it (if you are right handed) this should allow your hand to come down a bit and let you get a straighter pull on the trigger.

 

[Jay Christopherson]

It sounds to me like you are wrapping your hand too tightly around the grip of the stock. Do you actually place your thumb over the top of the wrist of the stock? Try relaxing your grip a bit and allow your thumb to either rest right behind the tang or, just to the right side of it (if you are left handed) this should allow your hand to come down a bit and let you get a straighter pull on the trigger.

+1 this ^

 

[M-61]

I noticed you said it is ....."first high power....". It is possible you have a much harder grip on the stock than is necessary.
You might try relaxing your grip on the pistol grip to where the trigger pull feels more like other rifles you have fired. Especially your thumb.
I really haven't heard of this complaint before and I am going to guess it is caused by you "hanging on".

 

[BoydAllen]

You are shooting a rifle that is supported at both ends, and the trigger pull should not be so heavy that you need to grip the stock much at all to pull it consistently, particularly if you have the rifle against your shoulder. Position your hand so that you contact the trigger with the center of the first segment of your index finger and you are able to easily pull straight back, and let your hand position be determined by that. Too many times shooters start with hand comfort, or what they are "used to" with the result that the important parts, where the trigger is on their finger, and the direction of pull are incorrect. Work from front to back rather than the other way around. Of course anything that you change will feel strange for a while. This is sort of like going to a golf pro (not that I am a pro) to correct your swing, after you have become very used to a bad one. The correct swing will feel strange, until you practice it for some time.

 

[22BRGUY]

Something else some top shooters do that you might want to try is to place the end of or tip of your thumb of your trigger hand on the back of the trigger guard and squeeze the trigger between your thumb and the tip of your trigger finger. As said by Boyd, center the tip of the first digit of the trigger finger in the center of the trigger, and the center of the first thumb digit on the rear of the trigger guard.....hope this makes sense and Best Wishes.

 

[Johnboy]

22brguy I call that there you just told about pinching the nipple you only want to treat it so carefully but to make it work the way it should then BOOOOOOOOOM its all over

 

[22BRGUY]

Here's a vid of a guy in Finland at the 4:20 mark that shows the technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciykYmCKQck

 

[M-61]

Here's a vid of a guy in Finland at the 4:20 mark that shows the technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ciykYmCKQck

Quite the paint work on the shooters rifle to his RIGHT!

 

[BoydAllen]

If you look carefully, the guy in the video is not pinching. Also, I would not suggest the technique for rifles that have much recoil. Careful attention to finger placement and direction of pull should suffice. One thing that bench shooters tend to overlook, that position shooters use all the time, is dry fire practice. I suggest that you might invest some time doing that to help get rid of old habits and acquire muscle memories of some new ones.

 

[22BRGUY]

If you look carefully, the guy in the video is not pinching. Also, I would not suggest the technique for rifles that have much recoil. Careful attention to finger placement and direction of pull should suffice. One thing that bench shooters tend to overlook, that position shooters use all the time, is dry fire practice. I suggest that you might invest some time doing that to help get rid of old habits and acquire muscle memories of some new ones.

A question Boyd.....When you say not to use this technique on rifles with much recoil, is that because one should use the trigger hand to pull the stock back into the shoulder, and if so couldn't that be done with other hand or is there a different reason that I'm not seeing? Thanks Boyd...always enjoy your input.

 

[BoydAllen]

With the tip of the thumb on the trigger guard, just behind where the index finger makes contact, if you do not have the rifle sholdered solidly it will jam your thumb as it recoils, and if you turn your wrist so that the pad of your thumb makes contact, there is a pretty good chance that you will move the rifle as it recoils. That is why you mostly see this done on lightly recoiling rifles. There are some other issues, but that is the main one. If you want to see how carefully a Hall of Fame short range benchrest shooter handles his trigger, which admittedly is quite a bit lighter than most rifles, take a look at this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd-irq17RLg
He is letting the rifle recoil, and is not touching it except with his cheek, which requires great follow through. He is a bag squeezer. (He squeezes the rear bag with his left hand to aim his rifle.) Here is a shot of the old master Tony Boyer. He now shoots a joy stick type front rest, but was a bag squeezer for years before that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuyQaVi4mrc

 

[Wjesswheel]

With the tip of the thumb on the trigger guard, just behind where the index finger makes contact, if you do not have the rifle sholdered solidly it will jam your thumb as it recoils, and if you turn your wrist so that the pad of your thumb makes contact, there is a pretty good chance that you will move the rifle as it recoils. That is why you mostly see this done on lightly recoiling rifles. There are some other issues, but that is the main one. If you want to see how carefully a Hall of Fame short range benchrest shooter handles his trigger, which admittedly is quite a bit lighter than most rifles, take a look at this. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kd-irq17RLg
He is letting the rifle recoil, and is not touching it except with his cheek, which requires great follow through. He is a bag squeezer. (He squeezes the rear bag with his left hand to aim his rifle.) Here is a shot of the old master Tony Boyer. He now shoots a joy stick type front rest, but was a bag squeezer for years before that. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TuyQaVi4mrc

Took my 22 mag out this weekend and shot beside my .308. Believe i was putting my thumb way to far over the top of what I believe is called the wrist of the stock. Not really putting a death grip on it, but it was defiantly putting my hand in the position to be pulling the trigger uphill. I worked on improving it and shooting with my thumb more on the side of the stock. It felt much better. Iam only 80 rounds into this game, and I am really liking it. I shot out to 750 yds this weekend, started at 200 and just worked my way out. I shot at 12 inch steel at 750 and shot an 8 inch group with federal gold metal. Not that is record breaking but it truly amazed me. I guess shooting deer with 12 gauges shotguns at 80 yds here in indiana,I never really thought 1000 yds was possible. Think i am hooked. I appreciate the help from everyone here. I really like the site believe I am going to be a a contributor.