How to hold rifle steady?

[Fast14riot]

Lots of good suggestions on gear already. My thoughts are ditch the bipod and use a rolled up blanket, backpack, ammo box with blanket on top, or other soft, deformable front rest to cradle the fore end. Rear bag: dry rice, dry beans, airsoft BB's, all work well in a doubled up sock and are dirt cheap. Just avoid the old socks with holes in the toe, lol!

Next would be reading up on Natural Point of Aim (NPA). This is when you get your rifle set up, you get down on the gun, comfortable and eyes closed (gun empty, of course). Get in position like you are preparing to shoot. Open your eyes and see where you are pointing. If not at your target, exactly where you want to shoot, move the rests, your body and try again. You should open your eyes and be exactly on target.

What this will do is stop you from trying to muscle the gun onto target and actively trying to hold steady, rather you will be relaxed and on target. Once you establish a good NPA, then take 5-10 "dry fire" shots to work through your trigger discipline.

Now you will be comfortable, on target, and aware/able to stay there through trigger pull.

Next is to load and fire. Don't worry about wearing extra layers or needing a better recoil pad, use it if you need it. Its all about having fun! Nobody I know enjoys a bruised shoulder after a day of shooting.

Another common mistake i see new shooters make is chasing previous shots. Focus on your aiming point and know exactly where you were aiming when the shot went off. Do not worry about where the shot goes. Just aim at the same exact point every time. Who cares if your group is 2moa high and 3 moa left, if its a nice tight little group. You can adjust your sights to center up a group much better than trying to shoot into your previous shot by aiming at it every time.

All that being said, my best piece of advice comes from my years of professional racing and teaching: Practice does not make perfect. Practice makes permanent. Perfect practice makes perfect permanent. Developing good habits now will do you much better in the long run than just trying to muscle through it. Find a good mentor to spend an afternoon with and you will be light-years ahead.

Keep it up and keep your targets to track your progress!

 

[LHSmith]

Could you say more about the issues/problems with a lead sled?

I'll offer my experiences:
#1/ Since the bullet is still in the barrel while in the earliest stage of recoil, the manner in which the rifle is fired has an influence on POI (point of impact). Going from a recoil restraining rest (ledsled) to an off hand shot has a huge difference in POI. A sand bagged zeroed rifle to off hand -not very much.
#2/ With what we have learned in recent times about just how fragile scopes really are in terms of holding TRUE POA (point of aim) over time (taking into considerations the effects of how different atmospheric conditions - light and heat have on POA) I would NOT subject a scope or rifle to the extra internal forces incurred on them of which they were not designed for. Hell, I even won't transport my airline cased scoped rifles in the pick-up bed anymore.

 

[jelenko]

Thanks!
On POI - would the group size be more than 10% different between the lead sled and slung? I'm wanting to use the lead sled to test loads that would be used when slung up in prone.

On POA - the scope receives more force when in a lead sled?

 

[6fatrat]

First welcome to the shooting world it is full of the finest people you will ever meet!
Along with the good suggestions you have already received, do lots of dry firing.
Steve Bair

 

[KMart]

This is a drill I used when first starting to shoot USPSA Open Class With a 38 Super louden boomer. Have someone with you at the range. You load the first round and proceed to fire. Every other subsequent round will be loaded by your buddy. The person can load an actual round or could be a snap cap, you will not know. Proceed to fire the next round while paying attention to hold, sight picture, and aim point. If the next round is the snap cap pay attention to why you flinched. Did you jerk the tigger, close your eyes, or did not follow through after the trigger was pulled. This helped me isolate the issues I was having. Your buddy will set the sequences of live verses snap cap rounds.

This is an excellent training tool for anyone that shoots.

Back in the day, in my only formal training class, a more radical approach was taken to stop flinches and jerking the trigger. The offending trigger jerker had to insert his trigger finger in the empty chamber of an M-14 with the bolt locked back. The instructor then released the bolt and mashing the finger between the bolt and chamber. Similar to hitting your finger with a hammer.
The theory was that if your trigger finger hurt bad enough, you would more slowly squeez the trigger. It usually worked in, short order, to correct the problem. My, how times have changed

 

[K22]

Could you say more about the issues/problems with a lead sled?

Isssues:

The lead sled does not promote learning essential marksmanship skills such as proper hold / natural point of aim, follow through, and learning to control recoil - it creates a false and artificial system that does not reflect the way the rifle responds and will be used in the chosen shooting discipline unless all the shooter is going to do is shoot from a lead sled.

While I never used one and never will, I've helped shooters / hunters preparing for big game hunts out West. The one thing we observed is that sight in's off a lead sled can be grossly different than the point of impact of the rifle when shot in a manner and position during a hunt. The condition is magnified with magnum rifles such as the 300 Win Mag. But don't take my word for it - try it yourself.

Maybe the lead sled has value for load development since it minimizes shooter error but I'm not sure about that since it changes the way the rifle reacts to recoil.

 

[Alex Wheeler]

I shoot often from a bipod and rear sandbag. I feel like I am 99 percent steady but it takes practice. Trigger control is a very good skill to learn. You learn it from unsteady positions like standing.

 

[BryanL]

I wanted to say thanks again for all of the help and give a little bit of an update on this post. I ended up getting the limbsaver recoil pad that slips over the back of the stock, and it has been extremely more pleasant to shoot than the first time I was out there. There's almost no soreness at all in my arm and there's only a little bit because I ended up being able to shoot a whole lot more over 3 hours! I was able to get my scope zero'ed and even touch holes on lots of my 3 and 5 shot groupings which really surprised me. I experimented a bit while I went and was kind of awkward doing it but I tried shooting off of a bag, using a jacket under the bipod, and rolling up the jacket to use as a platform to hold the rifle, and the bag was the most accurate but sort of unstable platform that I could get consistent shots with, so I am definitely going to continue practicing with it the most. I also sold the first bipod I had purchased and got the 6-9 BR model of the Harris bipod and that has definitely helped a lot but unfortunately I chickened out on the cheek rest that I was shown due to not having much experience with drills or knowing anybody with experience or where to take the stock to have it done and having been afraid of drilling a hole crooked through the stock and ruining it, so instead I read an article and got a piece of foam and adhesive bandage and wrapped it around and it made an extremely comfortable fitting weld to rest my face on, only problem was that after 40 rounds it had completely shifted forward onto the grip of the rifle. I was going to try to duct tape it on tight and see if that can help keep it in place since the tape is slick and won't grab onto my face as the recoil comes back into my shoulder pocket but so far I have been having a much more positive experience using it and am already starting to get a lot more comfortable and confident handling the recoil and starting my squeeze at the end of my breath instead of holding it and then starting. I also created 2 different thickness rear bags and now understand how important they really are when trying to get the most accuracy that you can without strapping it down. I have absolutely no more shakiness and movement when aiming at the target and the rifle no longer jumps to the left or right and I can still view the target after I fire to see where my shot placed. When I go back next Sunday I will remember this time to bring back my targets so that I can post a picture!

 

[1shot]

I think I can speak for all of us on here. We all started at the beginning, just like you, and it truly a pleasure to help a new shooter out.
Favor center,

Lloyd

 

[WVRJ]

I think one thing that will help and has already been mentioned is dry fire.I do it yet today because it helps me to position the rifle better and it's a huge help to keep me from anticipating the recoil.I can see a big difference in my shooting when I dry fire.

 

[Old Tanker]

.308 is going to take some getting used to, for a new shooter. I have a .308 with a 20” barrel and it jumps a lot. Some shooters like to wrap their support hand under the stock behind the grip. This allows them to squeeze and adjust the rear bag. I do this for 6.5CM and .223. Because of the muzzle jump with the .308, I hold the forend with my support hand. Try using a front rest or front bag until you get zeroed. Practice your breathing and dry fire until you can press the trigger without seeing the reticle move. Get either an in bore or muzzle mounted, magnetic laser to boresight with. Boresight somewhere between 25 and 30 yards, with reticle on the red dot. This will allow the bullet to pass back through zero at 100. You can dryfire a center fire but if that makes you concerned about damage, get some snap caps. Good luck.

 

[Richard Coody]

My main hunting rifle is a .308. Built with a #3 contour 22" bartlein barrel and a McMillan edge stock. 7.5# without scope. Since it is a hunter I don't shoot off a rest. I use a lightweight front bag and sling up like I was shooting offhand. With 44 gr varget and 168 gr berger hybrid hunters I can consistently shoot half moa at 100 yards.

Now I don't consider this a range toy at all. These days as hunting season approaches I take it with me to test that cold bore shot. 1 shot each trip.

If you want to become a better shooter buy you a nice 6br for a range toy. That .308 will give you some bad habits.

 

[LVLAaron]

Sniper 101 is a great set of videos for a new shooter to watch.

 

[Hohn]

That's great to hear. I have cat litter would that work? If not can any sand from a hardware store work fine or does it need to be something specific? When I would hold my breath it would slow down a little bit but I was getting uncomfortable by the time I would take the shot sometimes, I will try this next time going once my shoulder gets a little better. No holding breath just as soon as it leaves or I get a full breath in take the shot? Continue to breathe in and out just wait until I inhale fully or exhale to take it?

Sand leaks and makes a mess. Use air soft ammo, BBs, or marbles or such.

 

[Bill Norris]

Shooting from a bipod and rear bag can be tricky. Stability is much harder to come by than from a good solid rest but it can be done. Some like to pre-load the bipod by pushing the legs against something on the front of the bench. I have shot about as much from a Harris BR bipod as I have a front rest and never liked the pre-load deal. It takes lots of concentration, good breathing techniques and holding the rifle the same way each time a shot is fired with a good constant follow-thru as well. Practice won't ever make perfect but it will help improve the groups over time and with patience.