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rahtreelimbs
January 14, 2007, 07:39 PM
OK I have this Ruger 77 Compact in .308. Shooting off a bench with sandbags is not all that easy. Compared to my Ruger No.1 the rifle is hard to hold steady. I have no trouble with any of the other rifles I shoot. I use sandbags...............any suggestions on how to stabilize my shooting situation!!!


I don't want to go through all the trouble of handloading if all is moot 'cause I can't shoot the gun steady!

robc
January 14, 2007, 08:00 PM
I'm not an expert, just plink for fun, but I know what helped me a lot was to cut back on coffee, smokes, snuff, etc. before I shoot. I was shooting 300 yds. one time with a buddy, and I was complaining about the same thing. My gun seemed to be moving all over. Ken pointed out that I was drinking coffee all the way to the range. I can't really eliminate those things, but the more I minimize them before I shoot, the steadier I am.

Also, I have these cool bags, don't know the brand name, they have compartments (two sides with a seam down the middle) and can be draped over the gun for super stability.

rahtreelimbs
January 14, 2007, 08:24 PM
I ran into that same problem long time ago when I was working night turn.

The other thing I failed to mention was that this was the first time out with this rifle and I was excited..........what can I say I felt like a kid in a candy store...........at least for a little while!!!:D

Art Eatman
January 14, 2007, 11:28 PM
When you set the rifle into the bags, the crosshairs should be pretty much right on target with no pushing/pulling/tugging from you.

Make sure the front sandbag(s) are in the same location under the forearm for each shot.

Make sure the sight picture is truly uniform for each shot. It's easy to cant the rifle just a bit, or drift off just a bit.

I try to barely touch the buttpad with my shoulder. Sometimes. :) I'll curl my left arm around to help get the sight picture, pressing on the bottom of the pistol grip. Whatever seems to work best at the time.

The only real force on the rifle, then, is my trigger finger.

What the heck, it works with my 700 Ti, which is 6.5 pounds with scope, sling and ammo. A tad less without the sling, and loading one round at a time. :)

Art

joshua
January 15, 2007, 08:41 AM
+1 on what Art Eatman said. Only difference I do is I put the buttpad on my shoulder all the time. I lean forward with my chest touching the bench and I try to pull the butt into my shoulder (lightly) with the same pressure every time I pull the trigger.

Art Eatman
January 15, 2007, 09:22 AM
Thinking some more about it, I'll pull the butt into my shoulder for cartridges with any notable recoil. Sometimes I'll interpose a small sandbag between my shoulder and the buttpad--particularly with a metal buttplate. From .243 on down, though, there's no particular recoil to care about.

I guess you could say that proper sandbagging will do all the real work. You want to minimize any effect of your body's little wiggle-movements or heartbeats. Your shoulder exists merely to keep the rifle from sliding back. :)

Art