I think it depends on who you ask…
I mean, depending on what one is doing, does it really even matter?
The traditional doctrine of getting/having a good cheek weld as an extra point of contact behind a rifle almost doesn’t really apply anymore. For modern precision rifle shooting, I’d argue that in most cases, having too strong of a cheek weld is actually bad, as the gun is going to move under recoil no matter what, and a heavy cheek weld is just going to influence how the gun moves and cause one’s reticle to move in wonky ways besides where it normally/predictably would (with the gun just coming straight back and the reticle moving straight up and then coming straight back down to rest).
And I don’t think the old doctrine of using a cheek weld as an index point to get back behind the scope the same way each time holds much water anymore either… as anyone with a gun that’s set up to fit them can easily get back behind the glass the same way every time with enough practice to build the necessary muscle-memory.
If one is a military sniper on a gun for long hours behind the glass on over watch or something, then yeah, a solid cheek weld or giving one’s self somewhere for one’s head to rest and take some of the work off one’s neck makes sense. Or, if this was 20-30 years ago and one was shooting a rifle that couldn’t be adjusted to fit, than sure. But ever since guys figured out that shooting a long rifle while standing wasn’t very stable, things have changed.
I’m firmly of the opinion that keeping one’s head up straight behind the gun out weighs any perceived benefit from smashing one’s jaw/face into the buttstock.
