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Old February 21, 2013, 09:24 AM   #26
Striker1
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The way I learned it is to apply downward pressure to the top of the stock.
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Old February 21, 2013, 07:19 PM   #27
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In shooting, doing a particular thing is not nearly as important as being 100% consistent with what you do.
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Old February 21, 2013, 09:58 PM   #28
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Better yet...applying the correct techniques with 100% consistency
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Old February 22, 2013, 04:01 PM   #29
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The way I learned it is to apply downward pressure to the top of the stock.
That's weird
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Old February 22, 2013, 04:13 PM   #30
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That's weird
Really! The military has been teaching it that way...probably for decades at least.
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Old February 22, 2013, 04:56 PM   #31
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Cheek weld is important. If you don't have the same sight picture, your POA is different. Bench rest shooters with low recoil calibers have very little contact with the rifle, they put the cross hairs on target with a 2 oz trigger & let the rifle do the work. With sporting rifles cheek weld is the way to go, cheek pressure, light or heavy must be the same. with out a weld looking through the scope, is like looking at how fast your wife is driving from the passenger seat. It's a comfortable height when shooting, just close your eyes rest your head on the stock,open your eyes and if your eyes are in line with your sights than your stock height is fine. Most of the time it's a chin weld,will stress your neck. Try it and see if it works for you. Be Safe Chris
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Old February 22, 2013, 06:20 PM   #32
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So because the military teaches it it must be correct.... I've been taught for marksmanship to take as much muscle out of the equation as possible. Smashing your check into the stock doesn't fit with this idea.
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Old February 22, 2013, 06:30 PM   #33
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So because the military teaches it it must be correct.... I've been taught for marksmanship to take as much muscle out of the equation as possible. Smashing your check into the stock doesn't fit with this idea.
Quote:
So because the military teaches it it must be correct
Yeah, they have learned a thing or two about it in the last couple hundred years.

And..who said anything about smashing your cheek into the stock?

If you want to learn about it, the info is out there...ya don't even have to join up.
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Old February 22, 2013, 08:41 PM   #34
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Having the cheek on the same part of the stock every shot is important in rifle shooting, and absolutely critical with shotguns.
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Old February 22, 2013, 09:07 PM   #35
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Cheek weld isn't important at all.

Just fire a shot or two with a hard kicking caliber with your face just off of the stock and you'll find out everything you need to know.
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Old February 22, 2013, 09:49 PM   #36
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Just fire a shot or two with a hard kicking caliber with your face just off of the stock and you'll find out everything you need to know.
But you might not remember it
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Old February 22, 2013, 10:01 PM   #37
reynolds357
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Which brings up another point. All these new huge objective scopes are making cheek weld very hard to achieve without modifying stocks. I have noticed that even with some of the 40mm objective scopes, they are so huge at the back end that they have to be mounted obnoxiously high to clear the bolt handle.
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Old February 23, 2013, 04:34 AM   #38
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I have to go with the majority on this one, just not for the same reasons. You can get by without cheek weld if you have a good rest position for the rifle. Try consistently hitting fast moving deer when using a scope and not having a comfortable weld spot.
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Old February 23, 2013, 05:48 AM   #39
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I have to go with the majority on this one, just not for the same reasons. You can get by without cheek weld if you have a good rest position for the rifle. Try consistently hitting fast moving deer when using a scope and not having a comfortable weld spot.
Most folks prefer to take more ethical, non-moving shots on game animals.
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Old February 23, 2013, 12:22 PM   #40
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Most folks can't shoot worth a damn, I have been to the range often enough to see it. Probably a spot weld problem?
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Old February 23, 2013, 01:30 PM   #41
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Originally Posted by Gunplummer
Most folks can't shoot worth a damn, I have been to the range often enough to see it. Probably a spot weld problem?
Probably more of a .300 Winchester Magnum is my first gun problem. Cheek position is just one link in the chain.
Also, a lot of people think that hitting a pie plate at 100 yards is "good shooting".
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Old February 23, 2013, 05:15 PM   #42
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Most folks can't shoot worth a damn, I have been to the range often enough to see it.
Most folks prefer ethical shots...they understand their limitations, some don't.
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Old February 24, 2013, 06:44 PM   #43
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Captains1911, for decades, the Garand was shot most accurate when the shooter's cheek was well hard down on the stock. Best place was right behind the trigger hand's thumb as it wrapped over the pistol grip.

What this did was keep the shooter's head in the same place as the rifle recoiled. Otherwise, the thumb would bounce off the shooter's cheek and he'd end up with a bruise and sore spot.

This was standard procedures if sitting rapid fire as well as prone slow and rapid fire for competition. If one shot a "rattle-battle" match wherein you started in prone on the 600 yard line and would shoot 24 rounds from your M1 in 50 seconds. Good shots would put all of them inside about 12 to15 inches at that range. Keeping your cheek hard on the stock behind your thumb was critical to do this.
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Old February 24, 2013, 07:12 PM   #44
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Proper cheek weld is a means to an end....which is proper sight alignment. For most purposes, a proper cheek weld places the full weight of the head on the stock. The key is consistency
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Old February 24, 2013, 07:16 PM   #45
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Proper cheek weld is a means to an end....which is proper sight alignment. For most purposes, a proper cheek weld places the full weight of the head on the stock. The key is consistency
I would also add that it includes proper eye relief.
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Old February 24, 2013, 07:26 PM   #46
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Absolutely. Assumed as part of alignment of the sights with your eye. Physically, the sights are always aligned. Your head position will determine how your eye lines up with the sights. If you can do this consistently and manipulate the trigger without any movement of the rifle it should it should go the same place (theoretically speaking of course)
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Old February 24, 2013, 07:42 PM   #47
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Below is an example of a good cheek weld on a service rifle

cheek weld.jpg

an example of sight alignment with your eye
sight almentign.png

a service rifle iron sight example of what misalignment will do
misalignment.jpg
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Old February 24, 2013, 08:00 PM   #48
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Below is an example of a good cheek weld on a service rifle

cheek weld.jpg

an example of sight alignment with your eye
sight almentign.png

a service rifle iron sight example of what misalignment will do
misalignment.jpg
Good training aids. I never insisted on NTCH as in example one though.
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Old February 24, 2013, 08:29 PM   #49
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I index the tip of my nose off the charging handle for consistency, but that example is more like the charging handle up the nose!

In terms of cheek weld, I was taught that when consistent pressure is applied it is one more thing to stabilize the rifle ........ just like the non-firing hand, firing hand, rifle but in shoulder and the elbows on the ground.

5 points of contact for a solid position (prone).
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Old February 24, 2013, 10:01 PM   #50
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Taught and used 2 fingers width to touching the ch. I think it offers some flexibility for students of different sizes. When you put on your gear, it can change things quite a bit. That can also apply to heavy coats during hunting season.
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