Shooting 308 off a bench

[MMH]

When shooting a 308 off a hard bench (concrete) am I better off shooting off of a bipod or sandbags. With sandbags it seams as if you have to shoot 'free recoil' which I would think on a 308 will result in larger groups.

I generally shoot w/ a bipod loading the bipod a little and firmly pull the grip back to my shoulder. Is this correct?

 

[Bill Norris]

When shooting a 308 off a hard bench (concrete) am I better off shooting off of a bipod or sandbags. With sandbags it seams as if you have to shoot 'free recoil' which I would think on a 308 will result in larger groups.

I generally shoot w/ a bipod loading the bipod a little and firmly pull the grip back to my shoulder. Is this correct?

My rifle is a Rem 700 fitted in a B & C M-40 stock. I shoot from a Harris BR bi-pod and rear bag. I do not pre-load the bi-pod legs.

 

[10XSHOOTER]

Get a piece of stall matting. put your bipod on it. It will help with the concrete bounce!

 

[ebb]

Neither shoot it off of a rifle rest. There is a learning curve with free recoil, you will not shoot better the first day.

 

[Dusty Stevens]

Always better off from sand. Free recoil is more accurate most times but sometimes they like to be held

 

[Rob01]

Try not pulling the rifle into your shoulder. Just more muscle issues on the rifle. I don't really load either but you can you a slight lean into the rifle but not a push. offhand on rear bag and press trigger. Should be no issues shooting with a bipod.

 

[MMH]

Always better off from sand. Free recoil is more accurate most times but sometimes they like to be held

Please explain proper free recoil technique. Also, proper technique for pulling back the grip into the shoulder. I'm not sure my technique is sound but want to understand what the proper technique is.

 

[M-61]

I guess I shoot with some kind of 1/2 way hold.
I have the butt in my shoulder fairly firm and a very light grip on the fore end. I really like the butt in the same place every time. That would be up to 308
Much larger than that in caliber I want a firm grip.
Don’t want what I think we called years ago the Weaver K 4 (?) ring on my eye brow.
Total free recoil has never worked well for me at all.

 

[sqrlgtr]

just like a fine woman, let her tell you how she wants to be held...

 

[SEM]

just like a fine woman, let her tell you how she wants to be held...

that'll cost ya

 

[sqrlgtr]

that'll cost ya

reloading supplys do to lol....

 

[K22]

How heavy is the rifle?

Light weight rifles, like the Tikka T3 lite, do better off sandbags by holding the forearm in my experience whereas heavy contour barrels shoot fine using free recoil.

Can't comment on bipod shooting too much since I stop shooting off them several years ago and switched to a shooting cross stick for hunting. The only reason I switched was to keep me off the ground to avoid ticks which are rampant here in eastern PA and spread Lymes disease. I do remember that using a piece of soft carpet on the bench provides a consistent base and more consistent shooting when using a bipod.

A guy I saw at the range a while ago had a piece of wood clamped to a piece of carpet and use that setup to load the bipod. Could be a simple way to accomplish loading it if you believe loading it will help. There are differing opinions of this issue. When I shot off a bipod prone, I leaned slightly into the rifle. Whatever technique use adapt, consistency is the key to consistent results.

 

[DocCarbon]

I bag front and rear and barely have hold of the rifle ,I concentrate on squeezing the trigger consistently every time . The Rifle isn't going anywhere ,until I redirect it for the next shot .

 

[mousegunner]

I used a sling with my shooting jacket and rested my gloved hand on a sandbag to sight it. Once I had sights dialed in I moved into a sitting or prone position to tweak the sights for each hold. If I shot that same rifle just off the bags no sling it would shoot to the right. So are you sighting in a new hunting or target rifle, new ammo, or ? However you shoot with or without a rest or bipod be consistent. In my experience my across the course guns shot differently when slung up compared to my AR I use for tactical matches.