Re: follow up after shot
Start with natural point of aim. The rifle will tend to move toward that neutral position. You need to get squared up behind the rifle, placing as much of your body mass in line with the barrel as possible. Combine proper position behind the gun with a slight forward load on the bipod and proper trigger control and the rifle should recoil straight back and return to the starting position.
A test I use in class is a "5 dot drill", where 5 1" dots are spaced out on an 8.5x11 sheet of paper in the same pattern as the 5 side of a die. Starting on target and ready to fire, a bolt gunner should be able to hit all 5 dots from 100 yards in 20 seconds or less. If your position and trigger control is poor, even a semi auto will be challenged at a 10 second limit.
Proper follow through is an integral part of a well executed shot, a poor position will make proper follow through difficult. Poor position will also make proper trigger control virtually impossible to achieve consistently. Follow up shots will be near impossible to execute in a usable time frame.
There is no good substitute for a qualified coach. I'm constantly amazed at the number of people who show up for class, "Oh, I've been shooting for XX years...", learned all on their own, etc, etc, and are shocked at what they don't know. While we can define the essential aspects of a well executed shot pretty simply, "Align the sights on the target, press the trigger so as to fire the shot without disturbing that alignment", actually doing it is filled with a lot of very small details. A good coach can make all the differance.
