Prone Supported Firing Position
The front of the rifle will rest either on a bipod attached to the stock or on a sandbag/pack placed under the front of the stock.
Use the non-firing hand to support the butt of the rifle. Place your hand next to your chest and rest the TIP of the butt of the rifle on top of your hand. Ball your hand into a fist to raise the butt of the rifle or relax your fist to lower the butt of the rifle. A preferred method is to use a sock filled with sand or a small sand bag placed in your non firing hand and squeeze it to raise the rifle butt and release the bag to lower the rifle butt. Using this sock or bag method lessens body contact with the rifle and can eliminate an added human variable.
Place the butt of the rifle firmly in the pocket of the shoulder. The shooter can place a pad in his clothing in the pocket of his shoulder to reduce pulse beat and breathing movement.
With the firing hand, grip the small or pistol grip of the stock. Using the middle through little fingers, exert a slight rearward pull to keep the butt of the rifle firmly in the pocket of the shoulder. Do not use a death grip on the stock. The harder you squeeze the more you will see your pulse in the scope. Place the thumb over the top of the pistol grip of the stock. Place the index or trigger finger on the trigger and insure it does not touch the stock and does not disturb the lay of the rifle when the trigger is pulled.
Find a comfortable position for your elbows that provide the greatest support for you and your rifle without creating a strain.
Place your cheek in the same place on the stock each time. This is called the stock weld. Changing your position changes sight alignment and will cause misplaced shots.
Aiming the Rifle
Begin the aiming process by aligning the rifle with the target when assuming a firing position. The rifle should point naturally at the desired aiming point. No muscular tension or movement should be necessary to hold the rifle on target. To check the Natural Point of Aim (NPA), you assume a comfortable, stable, firing position. Place your cheek on the stock at the correct stock weld and breathe, and entering the natural respiratory pause, look away from the scope moving only your eye and relax. Let the rifle drift to its natural point of aim, then look back through the scope. If the crosshairs remain on the correct position on the target, the natural point of aim is correct.
If the NPA is not correct, you must change your body position to bring the sights on the target. If muscles are used to bring the rifle to NPA, the muscles will relax when the rifle is fired and the rifle will begin to move to its NPA. Because this movement begins just before the weapon discharges, the rifle is moving as the bullet leaves the muzzle. This causes displaced shots with no apparent cause as recoil disguises the movement. By adjusting the rifle and body as a single unit, rechecking, and readjusting as necessary, you achieve a true natural point of aim. Once this position of established, you will them aim the rifle at the exact point on the target. Aiming involves three areas, eye relief, sight alignment, and sight picture.
Eye Relief
This is the distance from the firing eye to the scope tube. This distance is fairly constant with a scope. You should take care to avoid injury by the scope tube striking the eyebrow during recoil. You will want to be as far away from the scope that allows a clear sight picture.
You should place your head as upright as possible behind the scope with your eye directly behind the scope. This head placement allows the muscles around your eye to relax. Incorrect head placement causes you to have to look out the corner of your eye resulting in muscle strain, causing blurred vision and eye strain. Eye strain can be avoided by not staring through the scope for long periods of time and correct stock weld alleviates eye strain as well by maintaining consistent eye relief.
Sight Alignment
Sight alignment is the relationship between the crosshairs (reticle) and field of view. You must place your head behind the scope so a full field of view appears in the scope tube with no dark shadows or crescents. Center the reticle in a full field of view with the vertical crosshair straight up to ensure the scope is not canted. You can purchase anti-cant devices that attach the scope or base from $30-$100. Anti-cant devices insure the scope, as well as the reticle, are parallel to the pull of gravity on the bullet and directly above the barreled action. This slight mis-alignment can cause the bullet to deviate from its anticipated course.
Sight Picture
Sight picture is centering the reticle with a full field of view on the target as seen by you. Place the reticle crosshairs on what portion of the target you wish to hit. Let me reiterate here, a full sight picture! Shadowing in the scope can be an indication of many things. Improper cheek weld, head position, body position, improper eye relief etc. You want edge to edge clarity. In other words, you want to see the perfect black edge all the way around the sight picture with no fuzziness.
The front of the rifle will rest either on a bipod attached to the stock or on a sandbag/pack placed under the front of the stock.
Use the non-firing hand to support the butt of the rifle. Place your hand next to your chest and rest the TIP of the butt of the rifle on top of your hand. Ball your hand into a fist to raise the butt of the rifle or relax your fist to lower the butt of the rifle. A preferred method is to use a sock filled with sand or a small sand bag placed in your non firing hand and squeeze it to raise the rifle butt and release the bag to lower the rifle butt. Using this sock or bag method lessens body contact with the rifle and can eliminate an added human variable.
Place the butt of the rifle firmly in the pocket of the shoulder. The shooter can place a pad in his clothing in the pocket of his shoulder to reduce pulse beat and breathing movement.
With the firing hand, grip the small or pistol grip of the stock. Using the middle through little fingers, exert a slight rearward pull to keep the butt of the rifle firmly in the pocket of the shoulder. Do not use a death grip on the stock. The harder you squeeze the more you will see your pulse in the scope. Place the thumb over the top of the pistol grip of the stock. Place the index or trigger finger on the trigger and insure it does not touch the stock and does not disturb the lay of the rifle when the trigger is pulled.
Find a comfortable position for your elbows that provide the greatest support for you and your rifle without creating a strain.
Place your cheek in the same place on the stock each time. This is called the stock weld. Changing your position changes sight alignment and will cause misplaced shots.
Aiming the Rifle
Begin the aiming process by aligning the rifle with the target when assuming a firing position. The rifle should point naturally at the desired aiming point. No muscular tension or movement should be necessary to hold the rifle on target. To check the Natural Point of Aim (NPA), you assume a comfortable, stable, firing position. Place your cheek on the stock at the correct stock weld and breathe, and entering the natural respiratory pause, look away from the scope moving only your eye and relax. Let the rifle drift to its natural point of aim, then look back through the scope. If the crosshairs remain on the correct position on the target, the natural point of aim is correct.
If the NPA is not correct, you must change your body position to bring the sights on the target. If muscles are used to bring the rifle to NPA, the muscles will relax when the rifle is fired and the rifle will begin to move to its NPA. Because this movement begins just before the weapon discharges, the rifle is moving as the bullet leaves the muzzle. This causes displaced shots with no apparent cause as recoil disguises the movement. By adjusting the rifle and body as a single unit, rechecking, and readjusting as necessary, you achieve a true natural point of aim. Once this position of established, you will them aim the rifle at the exact point on the target. Aiming involves three areas, eye relief, sight alignment, and sight picture.
Eye Relief
This is the distance from the firing eye to the scope tube. This distance is fairly constant with a scope. You should take care to avoid injury by the scope tube striking the eyebrow during recoil. You will want to be as far away from the scope that allows a clear sight picture.
You should place your head as upright as possible behind the scope with your eye directly behind the scope. This head placement allows the muscles around your eye to relax. Incorrect head placement causes you to have to look out the corner of your eye resulting in muscle strain, causing blurred vision and eye strain. Eye strain can be avoided by not staring through the scope for long periods of time and correct stock weld alleviates eye strain as well by maintaining consistent eye relief.
Sight Alignment
Sight alignment is the relationship between the crosshairs (reticle) and field of view. You must place your head behind the scope so a full field of view appears in the scope tube with no dark shadows or crescents. Center the reticle in a full field of view with the vertical crosshair straight up to ensure the scope is not canted. You can purchase anti-cant devices that attach the scope or base from $30-$100. Anti-cant devices insure the scope, as well as the reticle, are parallel to the pull of gravity on the bullet and directly above the barreled action. This slight mis-alignment can cause the bullet to deviate from its anticipated course.
Sight Picture
Sight picture is centering the reticle with a full field of view on the target as seen by you. Place the reticle crosshairs on what portion of the target you wish to hit. Let me reiterate here, a full sight picture! Shadowing in the scope can be an indication of many things. Improper cheek weld, head position, body position, improper eye relief etc. You want edge to edge clarity. In other words, you want to see the perfect black edge all the way around the sight picture with no fuzziness.