Re: Allowing Recoil
Well the reason I asked about it is because I was looking into a heavy tripod front rest. The one thing they all advertise is that since you never hold the rifle exactly the same way every time, it gets rid of the human error.
The rest holds the forearm of the stock so that it doesn't jump or move from side to side, and you use a rear bag that you allow the rifle to recoil on.
The hold that I was using for those shots pictured, combined with allowing the rifle to recoil, was basically the same thing as the tripods do for you, which is why I got that sort of accuracy.
Like explorer said, allowing it to recoil lets the bullet escape from the barrel before any human error (your hold on the stock).
I have read that firing free recoil is best at 100 to 200 yards (as you can see I was at 100). Also it is best with smaller calibers. I read that centerfires will not react as well due to the amount of strength you have to use just to fire the rifle.
I tried it out at 50 yards tonight. Like I read, it was not as good as 100. It was pretty inconsistant. I did manage to squeeze one 5 round group that measured .31". My average at 50 is .35" - .45".