Bought a rifle to try FTR and I'm really having trouble with my setup , I think it's my setup . Rifle is 308 shooting 185 Juggs at 2730 fps . Doan Trevor stock , Sinclair f class bipod , Edgewood rear bag . My problem is the bipod bounces left way off target . I didn't notice shots going left at 100 but at 600 I really see a problem . I make sure I'm behind the rifle . I've tried natural grass , carpet over wood , rubber mat and about everything else I read about . I use a light hold with my trigger hand and just touch my shoulder to the butt . Maybe I'm not holding enough . Any advice will be appreciated .
Need Help From FTR Shooters
- Thread starter CChastain
- Start date
effendude
Gold $$ Contributor
A couple thoughts. First is the stock straight all the way from the bottom of the butt pad to the muzzle? Doan makes beautiful stocks, but often for prone shooters, there is some offset built in. Second, I found that I must lay directly behind the rifle for it to track well and stay on target through recoil. Offsetting your body to the left of the rifle will cause it to shift off target. Often during a string, I find myself making tiny adjustments to body position to keep the rifle on target.
Scott
Scott
Medic505
Gold $$ Contributor
To add to the good advice Scott gave, Doan's prone stocks tend to have short for ends. Rifle balance my come into play here. I tend to hug my rifle tight, no free recoil for me and make sure you are directly behind your rifle. I don't think what you are shooting off of is the problem. Grip it and rip it.
Damfino
Gold $$ Contributor
In addition to the above excellent insights you might consider a bipod change. A long time ago I started out with a Harris bipod, then a Sinclair F-Class, then a Duplin Rorer, and finally a SEB JoyPod. There are tradeoffs to all of them, but for me the JoyPod tracks the best. When it doesn't it's telling me my setup is off. If I can't get back on target just using my shoulder I know that my setup (body position, bag alignment, etc., is off). YMMV.
effendude
Gold $$ Contributor
The Sincair F-Class bipod is a good one, wide and stable. One more question, How much drop at the heel of the stock. Conventional stocks with the usual drop are harder to control. Like Medic, I pull the rifle firmly into my shoulder and let the stock come straight back into me during recoil.
Scott
Scott
Jdne5b
Gold $$ Contributor
A lot of people just deal with the hopping. If it hops the same every shot you should be fine unless you’re pulling a shot.
I had a gen1 Duplin and a Joypod and never could get rid of the hop with consistency. Now I run the butt way out on my shoulder, no cheek pressure and lay at a little angle using a Phoenix or Gen2 Duplin. Most days I can see the trace or dirt splash behind my target. It’s not very conventional but it works for me.
I had a gen1 Duplin and a Joypod and never could get rid of the hop with consistency. Now I run the butt way out on my shoulder, no cheek pressure and lay at a little angle using a Phoenix or Gen2 Duplin. Most days I can see the trace or dirt splash behind my target. It’s not very conventional but it works for me.
To build on what Jdne5d shared, bipod hope after the shot putting you over on the next target is common.
How were you groups at 100, if you consistently shoot sub 1/2 moa why do you think you prone position is now a source of the problem. Are you experiencing more vertical, horizontal or both.
Are you shooting at the same range for both the 100 and 600, if not check your rear bag set up. Make sure it is not lying on uneven ground creating a wobble or instability. The same for your front carpet or board does it have any instability
If you switched from flat ground at 100 to a mound at 600, you should check to see if the rifle sets up the same way and has the same contact points on your shoulder.
If your vertical is good and you are seeing more horizontal, WELCOME to F class
Trevor
How were you groups at 100, if you consistently shoot sub 1/2 moa why do you think you prone position is now a source of the problem. Are you experiencing more vertical, horizontal or both.
Are you shooting at the same range for both the 100 and 600, if not check your rear bag set up. Make sure it is not lying on uneven ground creating a wobble or instability. The same for your front carpet or board does it have any instability
If you switched from flat ground at 100 to a mound at 600, you should check to see if the rifle sets up the same way and has the same contact points on your shoulder.
If your vertical is good and you are seeing more horizontal, WELCOME to F class
Trevor
Are you sure it's not alignment/position?
Scoot belt buckle to the right some more, get a friend to video your position and hop.
Loose in the shoulder could cause the butt to dip, bounce at the bipod.
If you have some weight limit left, or extra in the stock, move it to the bipod.
More weight to the right for torque control.
I have my weight up real close to limit with a 3 pound home made bipod.
Here's my PSB
See Ned's post below. Guess I have the body alignment (move right or left) wrong.
Muzzle, butt pad, belt buckle, video is what I thought.
Scoot belt buckle to the right some more, get a friend to video your position and hop.
Loose in the shoulder could cause the butt to dip, bounce at the bipod.
If you have some weight limit left, or extra in the stock, move it to the bipod.
More weight to the right for torque control.
I have my weight up real close to limit with a 3 pound home made bipod.
Here's my PSB
See Ned's post below. Guess I have the body alignment (move right or left) wrong.
Muzzle, butt pad, belt buckle, video is what I thought.
Last edited:
Ned Ludd
Silver $$ Contributor
Experiment with your body angle behind the rifle. Not everyone's shoulder pocket is shaped exactly the same. You may need to lined up slightly to the left or right of center for the rifle to recoil straight back. I find that if the rifle is hopping in a certain direction off-center (i.e. L/R), angling my feet and lower body ever so slightly in that direction (i.e. off center, in the same direction as the hop) will usually take care of it. This won't necessarily negate the hop itself, but may allow the rifle to track straight back instead of off to one side.
XTR
F-TR obssessed shooting junkie
If you do it the same way every time and shoot your own target it doesn’t matter as long as they are going in the middle.
under almost any circumstances the rifle recoil is straight back until some force acts on it in this case it’s your shoulder. Don’t believe me. Line the rifle up on the target, kneel behind it with your knee 6“ behind the buttstock and reach in and trip the trigger. It will come straight back till it hits your knee. (Don’t suggest this in a match)
under almost any circumstances the rifle recoil is straight back until some force acts on it in this case it’s your shoulder. Don’t believe me. Line the rifle up on the target, kneel behind it with your knee 6“ behind the buttstock and reach in and trip the trigger. It will come straight back till it hits your knee. (Don’t suggest this in a match)
Any rifle with RH twist will torque right. You can minimize this with some of the suggestions noted regarding body position etc. It’s natural in FTR for there to be some jump off target. Build this into your routine and stay consistent. I’ve been able to minimize this by stabilizing the rear of the gun using different hand positions, trigger hand pressure and cheek pressure. Also by keeping the rear bag stable helps. I use grip tape on my mat where the bag sits. It doesn’t move. This is why some prefer the 223 over the 308. Less movement.
Florida Wally
Gold $$ Contributor
The same thing happened to me when I started shooting F-T/R, so bad that my rifle would jump to the left 3 or 4 targets. At the range one day, I realized the rifle was recoiling back and the butt plate was hitting my rotator cuff which was angled to the left. The “angled left“ is hard to explain, but I’ll try. If you are right handed, put your left hand over your heart in a pledge of allegiance position, then move it to your shoulder where you put the butt of the rifle. Notice how the plane of your hand is square to your stance. Now lift your right arm like you are going to get ready to put your finger on the trigger. Notice how your left hand plane is angled to the left. This is why my rifle jumped to the left. As XTR noted above, my rifle recoiled straight back until it hit my rotator cuff that was angled to the left and caused the rifle to move left. I was able to stop the rifle jumping to the left by angling my body to the left (feet to the left) so that my rotator cuff when my finger is on the trigger is square to the target, just as Ned Ludd explains above. There are times now where my rifle actually jumps to the right and I simply move my body angle slightly back to the right.
I was reluctant to angle my body since I was told by some other shooters that i should line up in a straight line to the target. One day, I saw some of the top F-T/R shooters with their body at an angle, so I started angling my body and haven’t looked back.
I also increased the weight of my setup by adding some lead weights to my bipod which helped reduce recoil which also helped stop the jump. The lower recoil will help if you try XTR’s knee thing
I'm fairly new at this. I experimented with three things: the rear bag, the material under the bipod and the angle of my body to the rifle. My current combination has a shooting mat with a hole, so that the rear bag sits on the concrete pad. Under the bipod I have three layers of the fake turf material we use as an outdoor rug for the camper. I set up my rifle on the ground and approach it from the opposite rear corner to start at a consistent angle. I have found that my position changes as I shoot. I can make one suggestion with absolute confidence and that is to get your rifle back on your target before you load a round in it. I remember having three cross fires. I had two in one day. Don't let it happen to you.
Upgrades & Donations
This Forum's expenses are primarily paid by member contributions. You can upgrade your Forum membership in seconds. Gold and Silver members get unlimited FREE classifieds for one year. Gold members can upload custom avatars.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.
Click Upgrade Membership Button ABOVE to get Gold or Silver Status.
You can also donate any amount, large or small, with the button below. Include your Forum Name in the PayPal Notes field.
To DONATE by CHECK, or make a recurring donation, CLICK HERE to learn how.