Pain in the neck!

[M113A3]

Hi All,
I can’t seem to get comfortable behind my rifle in the prone and need some help. The problem I think might be with my position but I am not actually sure.

The problem presents itself fairly quickly in that I get a pain in my neck on my right side from the base of my skull running down my trapezius when dry firing.

I index behind the rifle with my inside of my right foot to the right side of the stock and place the butt into my shoulder pocket or what I think is my shoulder pocket

BTW full disclosure this is a new rifle... just zeroed it and have 40 rounds down range.

Rifle: Rem 700 Magpul short action hunter stock with the 0.50 cheek riser (the 0.75 is too high) with a Triad Tactical stock pack.

Thanks!

 

[lash]

There are a couple of things that could be a factor. The first to look at is how high you are setting the bipod and therefore how tight you have to scrunch your neck to get a good sight picture. When I first started out, the "advice" always seemed to be, "Get your scope as close to the barrel as is possible and use a 6-9 (low) Harris bipod since you want to be as low as possible to get a stable prone position."

The thing about this that I have learned since then, is that this approach is not for everyone and can literally be a pain in the neck approach. I now have raised my scope up a bit, lowered my adjustable cheek piece and I raise my bipod up a lot more when in the prone, especially when addressing targets that are near the ground when I am at equal elevation with the target ground. What this does is give me a more heads up view of the scope. This is more relaxing and less straining on my neck while also making it easier to get a clear sight picture quickly. An added benefit is that when addressing the rifle from awkward positions or weak side, it is easier to get a decent sight picture too.

Another aspect of this is body size and shape. Larger people find it much harder and more stressful to address the scope cleanly when the bipod is low and their scope is jammed down to within a CH of the barrel. Some will even find it beneficial to their shooting to get the 9-13 bipod height and use a larger bag under the rifle.

 

[isofahunter]

Lash has good points. Keep trying different things until you find a comfortable set up. I use a lot of tape and padding on my rifles until I can lay down and almost fall asleep on the gun.

 

[M113A3]

Thanks guys - I have my scope as low as possible. I did not think to adjust the bipod which is an Atlas BT46-LW17 at the lowest setting. I also have a small (red tac) and med rear (str8 lace) bag to try out as well. As for body size I can see the top of my belt buckle when I look down so no issue there.

How about elbow position since that relates to how high or low the shoulder is which in turn I guess could cause neck strain. BTW Would butt pad placement or LOP come into play here?

I forgot to mention that in the current position that is a problem my sight picture is good i.e. no scope shadow... <sounds like I know what the heck I am talking about lol. This is actually my first scope.

Cheers!

 

[lash]

Well, since you brought it up. When you are prone and getting on your rifle, you lay your cheek onto the cheek rest. Do you have to adjust your head position at all in order to get that perfect sight picture? Another way of saying this is that you should be able to lay down behind your rifle, close your eyes and rest your cheek on the cheek rest as if you are getting ready to view a target, but with your eyes closed. First, is this a comfortable position? Second, when you open your eyes are you looking straight into your scope with a clear sight picture? Do you have to pull your head back or scoot it forward to get a good view?

 

[M113A3]

Hi Lash,

Let me try getting being the rifle close my eyes and get a comfortable and see\adjust from there. If I get home early enough I will do this tonight and get back to you.

Thanks for all the help.

 

[Darkside-Six]

Get up off the ground higher.

 

[Tnc]

I had the same issue when prone with my magpul stock. I extended my Harris bipod legs out to the first notch and it went away.

 

[C_Mack]

Yep, same issue. Same solution. 1-2 notches does wonders. Also, adjusting eye relief helped so I wasn’t stretching/ compressing my neck too much both prone & positional.

 

[M113A3]

Hi All,

First a big THANKS to everyone who has posted you guys are great. Last night I got home late but had enough time to at least get some adjusts made.
Following everyone's advice I have made some improvements raising the bipod 2 clicks along with finding a cheek position (eyes closed) that helped greatly. I still think my LOP is a bit too short so I need to make some more adjustments to find the sweet spot.

Cheers!

 

[BearNaked]

As for body size I can see the top of my belt buckle when I look down so no issue there.

Lucky bastard. I haven't seen my buckle since the first bush was in office. hahaha.

 

[Smoketheclay]

DO you wear glasses? I put some nose risers on my glasses to get them higher so I don’t strain my neck

 

[M113A3]

No glasses... yet

 

[panzerr]

Hi All,
I can’t seem to get comfortable behind my rifle in the prone and need some help. The problem I think might be with my position but I am not actually sure.

The problem presents itself fairly quickly in that I get a pain in my neck on my right side from the base of my skull running down my trapezius when dry firing.

I index behind the rifle with my inside of my right foot to the right side of the stock and place the butt into my shoulder pocket or what I think is my shoulder pocket

BTW full disclosure this is a new rifle... just zeroed it and have 40 rounds down range.

Rifle: Rem 700 Magpul short action hunter stock with the 0.50 cheek riser (the 0.75 is too high) with a Triad Tactical stock pack.

Thanks!

Is this the only time your neck bothers you? Are you prone to headaches or neck and upper back pain?

 

[M113A3]

Hi all - raising the bipod and extending the LOP seems to have done the trick! Thanks for all the replies!

 

[G5guy]

Lucky bastard. I haven't seen my buckle since the first bush was in office. hahaha.

Doesn't this depend on how high you wear your pants? Someone could go around looking like Earkle? (sp) LOL

 

[M113A3]

nobody told me I had to wear pants on the range

 

[Greg Langelius *]

When I do the elbow to trigger finger LOP test, the results suggest a 16.5" LOP. That may seem excessive until we consider my height is variously described as between 6' 3" and 6' 5". I use that 16.5" LOP figure, and sometimes add more.

Going higher also works for me, but again, I need to be even higher.

My Savage 10FP with McMillan A3 stock and the additional needed spacers, along with the 28" L-W barrel, measures out at over 52" OAL. It's about 1/2" longer than my Mosin-Nagant 91/30. I need to use a long shotgun case, and I also need to bring a tape measure when I go car shopping.

Greg

 

[winniedonkey]

Lessoned learned is record your data in regards to position. I have to adjust mine depending on a few variables and some of which I hate to admit to myself. It does help give you a baseline and then adjusting quickly on a different day isn't much of a problem.

 

[M113A3]

Thanks - good advice. I am still adjusting to my new rear bag the str8 lace from TAB - it works well on the bench but for some reason prone it just does not seem adjustable i.e. squishy enough. Maybe more break in... not sure yet. I do have one of the small Red Tac bags that I really like the adjustabilty so i an considering one of their tactical pillows. seaching for some review now.

 

[G17C]

At 64 years old, over-weight and not nearly as flexible as I used to be, I can't get low either. This is how I need to set up for prone to shoot more than a few shots. I can go one notch lower but not for an afternoon of banging steel;