Thumb position for recoil management?

[Moose83]

What's everybody's prefered thumb position for mitigating recoil in a standard weight sporting rifle? I've watched a lot of prs and nrl videos on YouTube where guys have very vertical grips and their thumbs alongside the stock... but these are 20lb+ rifles. I have the vertical grip on my t3x .30-06 and I do like having my thumb along the side of the stock because I have short fingers and I can get a better 90 degree trigger press, but I find that my bolt is thumping my thumb almost every time which can't be good for consistency?

 

[Northpark]

I let my thumb ride on the side of every rifle I own except one. A sporter weight .300 win mag. On that one thumb goes on top.

Recoil management is a skill that needs to be learned like all other shooting skills.

 

[rifletuner]

What's everybody's prefered thumb position for mitigating recoil in a standard weight sporting rifle? I've watched a lot of prs and nrl videos on YouTube where guys have very vertical grips and their thumbs alongside the stock... but these are 20lb+ rifles. I have the vertical grip on my t3x .30-06 and I do like having my thumb along the side of the stock because I have short fingers and I can get a better 90 degree trigger press, but I find that my bolt is thumping my thumb almost every time which can't be good for consistency?

The reason the precision rifle shooters dont wrap their thumb around the stock is not about recoil management. If the thumb is used as part of the gripping process, there is a risk of "sympathetic movement" where other muscles in the hand move in sync with the thumb, and thereby move the point of aim slightly during the shot process.

However what you can get do with a heavy, small caliber rifle may not work with a light, larger caliber rifle. The web of your parm and shoulder placement are the key parts of recoil management. You will need to experiment a bit to see what works for you.

 

[BeastOfTheTrees]

Ever since I stopped wrapping my thumb, groups got tighter. Bought an adjustable stock for LOP and comb/cheek adjustment. Groups tightened further.

 

[Moose83]

I fully understand sympathetic movement and and the reason for having your thumb ride the side of the stock which is the reason why I switched to this technique. My issue ( which I probably wasn't very clear about) is that I have very short fingers so it feels like I barely have a grip on the stock when trying to execute a proper 90 degree press of the trigger. As a result of this I tend to lose my grip under recoil and my thumb thumps the bolt almost every time. If I grip the stock fully my trigger finger tends to "drag wood" and I get a bunch of horizontal stringing.
I guess I was wondering more about things like potentially building up a thumb rest or possibly other techniques I am not aware of.

 

[Wapiti1]

I would suggest you try the grip adapter for the T3X stock.

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www.beretta.com

With this your hand will be forward, and you should be able to get a better position with your hand. It gives you a little ridge that may be a good connection for your thumb.

One thing to consider, is not your thumb position, but how your hand rides during recoil. If you don't pull back a bit with the trigger hand, your hand won't ride back with the recoil. It sounds like you are not pulling back and keeping pressure into your shoulder. I might be wrong, but the only way the thumb hits the bolt is if your hand leaves the stock during recoil. Pulling back helps keep it connected.

Unfortunately, stocks are built for the average. You'll need to fit it to your hand the farther from average you are.

Jeremy

 

[Lawnboi]

Do you have the vertical grip on the stock?

My 2 cents. The thumb on the side of the stock is largely seen on the competition scene where the rifles don’t recoil, and pistol grips on chassis are very common.

In my opinion, for practical shooting, especially when more noise and more recoil occur, it’s easier to flinch, part of that flinch can be you grabbing the rifle with your hand wrapped around a grip.

The fix your attempting is to eliminate the thumb all together. This takes it out of the picture and you don’t get that response from your body.

The problem with this is not in recoil management, but rifle manipulation and control. If you place your thunder on the back of the grip, you retain more control over the rifle, and are able to make that grip if you need to manipulate the rifle.

Now with your thumb on the back of the grip, when you shoot you need to train yourself not to grab it. This is easier imo than with your hand fully wrapped around a pistol grip. Your not controlling recoil with your thumb at all, it shouldn’t be in the picture, just lightly on the stock. With a vertical grip you also gain the ability to pull that rifle into your body with your fingers. This is impossible for me without a vertical grip.

I don’t think thumb along the side is a reasonable way to be shooting a hunting rifle.

 

[LaHunter]

I fully understand sympathetic movement and and the reason for having your thumb ride the side of the stock which is the reason why I switched to this technique. My issue ( which I probably wasn't very clear about) is that I have very short fingers so it feels like I barely have a grip on the stock when trying to execute a proper 90 degree press of the trigger. As a result of this I tend to lose my grip under recoil and my thumb thumps the bolt almost every time. If I grip the stock fully my trigger finger tends to "drag wood" and I get a bunch of horizontal stringing.
I guess I was wondering more about things like potentially building up a thumb rest or possibly other techniques I am not aware of.

Pull the stock into your shoulder with your firing hand and maintain that pressure during the recoil. Also, you may be 'slapping' the trigger. Really focus on keeping the trigger pressed to the rear during the recoil. You should be able to maintain your grip on the rifle without wrapping your thumb over the top. Focus on 'riding the recoil' .

 

[Wrench]

If you want to manage recoil, have a friend load your rifle for you. You won't know until it breaks if its good or bad.....but on the empty, it'll tell you a lot.

Recoil must be consistent if you wish to maintain POA and that can be difficult when using various positions and fixtures. Keep that in mind when you plot your strategies.

 

[Moose83]

Thanks for the advice gentlemen. I definitely have some things to work on and try out the next time I get out. Thanks again.

 

[Harvey_NW]

If you don't pull back a bit with the trigger hand, your hand won't ride back with the recoil. It sounds like you are not pulling back and keeping pressure into your shoulder. I might be wrong, but the only way the thumb hits the bolt is if your hand leaves the stock during recoil. Pulling back helps keep it connected.

THIS ^^. I fell into a rut trying to work on fundamentals and started noticing my groups were actually getting worse. Came across a video where he pinpointed my issue and said people listen to these benchrest techniques while trying to shoot 8lb rifles, hold onto the damn thing and keep it in your shoulder just don't have a white knuckle grip. Fixed everything.