Position of Forend on Front Bag

[South Pender]

Again, a pretty elementary (and possibly trivial) question from a learner. I'm curious about where you guys position your rifle with respect to the front bag. Near the forend tip, a little further back, just ahead of the magazine, etc.? (I'm envisaging a front rest with bag along with a rear bag here.) I realize that, as with most things related to accuracy, shot-to-shot consistency is probably far more important than exactly where the forend rests on the bag. And perhaps with a free-floated barrel it doesn't matter.

Still, I'm curious. Is there some kind of consensus on this? Any insights?

 

[LCazador]

The position where the fore end rests in the front bag is going to be dictated by the type of fore end pedestal you have. Also your shooting technique, caliber, barrel weight, front bag design, and type of stock will also influence how and where your rifle will shoot best. Rule of thumb will be about 2-3inches from the end of the stock. And yes even a free floated barrel can be affected by the position.

 

[T-shooter]

The farther out it is, the less that movement at the stock will move the end of the barrel.

 

[dmoran]

@South Pender -
For raw accuracy, it all matters... take nothing for granted.
Of the two, the position of the rear bag effects the rifle balance more, but it is good to address the front rests optimal positioning as well.
Donovan

 

[BoydAllen]

The only way to know what works best for a particular rifle and rest setup is to experiment. Do the experiments that you can, you will learn a lot more than you can off of the internet. You told us nothing of your rifle or rest/bag setup. If you are shooting a sporter style hunting rilfe, you should not be trying to just barely touch the rifle, and you may find that if you learn how to hold your rifle properly and consistently that you get better results with your front bag say 3" in front of the front of the action. I have both slim stocked field rifles and full house bench rifles and have done a LOT of experimenting with bag position and shooting styles. I recommend that you do the same.

 

[Jefferson]

the daily bulletin had an article about 4 years ago on that very topic Jeff

 

[South Pender]

the daily bulletin had an article about 4 years ago on that very topic Jeff

Hi Jeff and thanks for the tip. I did find this on the Bulletin from last year:

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/?s=position+of+bags&submit=Search

I'll keep looking for more....

 

[Lapua40X]

http://bulletin.accurateshooter.com/?s=position+of+bags&submit=Search

Thanks for that one. I like to learn something new every day and that's a point of view I hadn't read before.

 

[Jefferson]

the same thing can be said about rear bags with 2 caveats

first there is a need to overhang the stock a little so it does not hang up on the ears or causes the arm or body to interfere with the rear of the bag

and secondly about 1 to 1.5 inch works depending on the angle of the stock and is easy to replicate when setting up

Jefferson

 

[barnabus]

The position where the fore end rests in the front bag is going to be dictated by the type of fore end pedestal you have. Also your shooting technique, caliber, barrel weight, front bag design, and type of stock will also influence how and where your rifle will shoot best. Rule of thumb will be about 2-3inches from the end of the stock. And yes even a free floated barrel can be affected by the position.

And the answer is?

 

[LCazador]

And the answer is?

There is no definitive answer. What works for one rifle and rest is not going to work for others. Experiment. Trial and error will reveal what works best.