A question of recoil, where the rifle ends up?
- Thread starter UTB
- Start date
Any answer will be a guess. If you end up pointing left either the stock is moving right or the bipod is hopping left. You’ve got to figure out why that is happening. One possibility is that recoil is reflecting off of you and back into the rifle. Another is you are steering the rifle to get on target and then ending up on your NPA after the recoil is over. Lots of other possibilities.
after you fire, what part of the rifle is being required to be manipulated to bring the rifle back to a comfortable hold on target? As mentioned above...............for example, if you have to pull the butt back in/up/down, then you know the butt is slipping out during recoil.. ............ and so on. Also, evaluate your cheek pressure.
As others have said, could be a variety of things. You might consider:
Trigger press is not straight back, you are torquing the rifle when firing. This will be more problematic with a heavier recoiling caliber such as a .308. This is way more common than you might imagine.
Grip could be forcing the rifle left at ignition. You might try a softer grip on the rifle, thumb immediately behind the trigger and basically "pinch" the thumb and trigger finger toward one another when shooting so the grip isn't twisting the rig. Think about the problem pistol shooters have shooting down and left -- as they grip the pistol the pressure of the finger tips and failing to keep the wrist locked will drive the pistol down and left at ignition. Not exactly the same here but conceptually similar, your grip could be an issue.
You are not really square behind the rifle. If your strong side shoulder is pushing forward relative to the support side shoulder, might be causing the rifle to bounce left.
You might be flinching on recoil and not aware of it. Same point as above, but you are essentially driving your strong side shoulder into the rifle at ignition. Worse with a heavier caliber, which will tend to induce the flinch.
If you can get a video of yourself shooting a few rounds, you may be able to see some obvious problems like flinch or a shift in your upper body as you execute the shot. If you can't see flinch or body pressure probably have to look at position behind the rig, grip and trigger press.
Trigger press is not straight back, you are torquing the rifle when firing. This will be more problematic with a heavier recoiling caliber such as a .308. This is way more common than you might imagine.
Grip could be forcing the rifle left at ignition. You might try a softer grip on the rifle, thumb immediately behind the trigger and basically "pinch" the thumb and trigger finger toward one another when shooting so the grip isn't twisting the rig. Think about the problem pistol shooters have shooting down and left -- as they grip the pistol the pressure of the finger tips and failing to keep the wrist locked will drive the pistol down and left at ignition. Not exactly the same here but conceptually similar, your grip could be an issue.
You are not really square behind the rifle. If your strong side shoulder is pushing forward relative to the support side shoulder, might be causing the rifle to bounce left.
You might be flinching on recoil and not aware of it. Same point as above, but you are essentially driving your strong side shoulder into the rifle at ignition. Worse with a heavier caliber, which will tend to induce the flinch.
If you can get a video of yourself shooting a few rounds, you may be able to see some obvious problems like flinch or a shift in your upper body as you execute the shot. If you can't see flinch or body pressure probably have to look at position behind the rig, grip and trigger press.
One of the most difficult things for me to do is learn to relax behind the rifle and let go of all tension. I'm not sure how young you may have been when you picked up your first rifle/shotgun, but I was young, young. like 6 yrs old with a single shot .410. all my life it's been "pull the gun in tight so it doesn't bite you". There likely wasn't a relaxed muscle between my eyelids and belly button. I was going to be a brick wall and any rifle wasn't going to budge me. I was going to overpower the rifle regardless.
well it's not so much about overpowering a rifle as it is about located the body directly, squarely, and consistently behind the rifle and letting go to some degree. as simple as learning to relax the traps and release the shoulders is a huge hurdle to overcome. the rifle is going to do what it's going to do. the shooter can only control how he/she places their body and where the rifle is placed in relation. I almost had to learn to "roll with" the rifle.
Very few rifles will bite the shooter. maybe 375 H&H and above. but the common cartridges aren't going to scope unless at an awkward angle or some archaic, metal but pad.
That’s a pretty typical thing. The rifle is moving to the weak part of your position. Your shoulder slumps under recoil, butt starts to move rights from down your shoulder, etc. Are you straight behind the gun? If not you should be.
I did a series of videos on recoil that goes into this - here is the link to the first:
Its your force or recoil forces pushing the rear of the stock to the right and your muzzle to the left. Sometimes it is cheek pressure. Sometimes it is because you are not straight and square behind the rifle. Sometimes it is weird shoulder tension. Sometimes it is pulling the trigger sideways, sometimes the hand gripping the stock pulling sideways, or, the shooting bag collapses that way.
It can be you pushing it or you allowing the recoil forces to escape laterally instead of straight back. You either need to stop the forces to the right if it is you pushing, or you need to square up and not let recoil forces escape that direction, or you need to apply counter forces to them.
It is very very common. Try less cheek pressure, relaxed shoulder, and keep swinging your body to the right and see if that helps.
It can be you pushing it or you allowing the recoil forces to escape laterally instead of straight back. You either need to stop the forces to the right if it is you pushing, or you need to square up and not let recoil forces escape that direction, or you need to apply counter forces to them.
It is very very common. Try less cheek pressure, relaxed shoulder, and keep swinging your body to the right and see if that helps.
