Tips for shooting light weight rifles

[IdahoElk]

What are you guys doing to shoot consistent groups from your light weight rifles?

 

[wyosam]

Chambering them in something easy to shoot.


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[Deplorable77]

Man I really struggled with this also using magnums and short magnums. The limbsaver airtech pads are absolutely incredible. 300wm feels like .308, no exaggeration

 

[OXN939]

Chambering them in something easy to shoot.


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This

 

[Decker9]

Shoot lots, practice makes better. I personally noticed a big change in my consistency when I dropped the light weight tikka 300wm for the same in a 6.5 swede.

 

[JeffRaines]

Practice first and foremost - in realistic field positions not off a bench!

Some people mentioned buying a rifle in a shoulder friendly chambering - and while I generally agree with that sentiment, even a creedmoor in a 6lb rifle kicks quite a bit compared to its heavier counterpart. “Yadda yadda not gonna feel the recoil when shooting at game” is true, but I actually like to practice with my rifles(and have fun doing it) so yeah, won’t feel it on game, but steel and paper you’ll definitely be feeling it. With that said, I’d recommend a muzzle device whether that’s a suppressor or brake. I already wear hearing protection for every shot so it’s not a big deal for me, and I’ve yet to miss a shot on an animal due to putting hearing protection on.

 

[Eagle]

For the 6lb 10oz (all up) tikka I built I found that keeping my trigger hand thumb off the stock helped tremendously in consistency. Prior to taking that advice from formidilious, I had been placing my off hand on top of my barrel in front of my scope and that helped as well, but not nearly as easy to replicate in the field as just simply keeping my thumb off the stock. If you're aligned correctly, there's no reason you can't shoot the rifle well so long as no external influences are being put into the rifle.

 

[Leatherneck]

Great question. I've shot in the prone position with light rifles with absolutely no forearm pressure. Recently I've read on here that even some companies have recommended that you put a bit of pressure downwards on scope, or grip the forearm when sighting in a lightweight rifle. Perhaps more knowledgeable people here can chime in on this. Apparently lightweight rifles can have accuracy impacted by the muzzle jump or recoil if you don't apply some grip or pressure to forearm.

 

[Stid2677]

Most has been mentioned already, and I'm hesitant to even mention this for safety. But, for me, running a light trigger, made a huge improvement in my accuracy with a lightweight mountain rifle. I also only chamber when ready to fire, and exercise extraordinary care knowing that the rifle could accidentally fire easier with a 2lb trigger as opposed to a 5lb trigger. This and lots of shooting.

 

[NevadaZielmeister]

The biggest thing to consider is a muzzle brake. Our 5.5 pound 243 Winchester kicked something fierce, something my wife did not appreciate or enjoy. Getting a brake reduced the recoil in half, which made sense since the expelling gases coming out of the front of rifle accounts for half of the felt recoil.

Also, agree, do not shoot from a bench unless to zero, and for certain, do not zero your rifle from a lead sled or other device that will change the point of impact.

 

[MeatBuck]

Light trigger... just had mine lightening up again as I was t happy with the pull. Also learning the trigger and knowing how much pressure it takes to make it pop. Being surprised by it going off is ok unless you haven’t completely settled the crosshairs.
I found that with the heavy trigger I saw movement of the crosshairs as I started to squeeze and it psyched me out waiting for the bang. I’d start trying to overcompensate for the movements I was seeing by tensing up and it made things worse.

 

[LightFoot]

Good trigger, less than 3 lbs.
Bipod... "load" the bipod when shooting.

Practice practice practice.


>>>----JAKE----->

 

[BCD]

Great question. I've shot in the prone position with light rifles with absolutely no forearm pressure. Recently I've read on here that even some companies have recommended that you put a bit of pressure downwards on scope, or grip the forearm when sighting in a lightweight rifle. Perhaps more knowledgeable people here can chime in on this. Apparently lightweight rifles can have accuracy impacted by the muzzle jump or recoil if you don't apply some grip or pressure to forearm.

This is interesting. My off hand is always holding the rear bag in the prone but I have noticed that when I am off, it is typically shooting high. Can any elaborate more on this?? What do you mean by "grip the forearm"?

 

[HighUintas]

For the 6lb 10oz (all up) tikka I built I found that keeping my trigger hand thumb off the stock helped tremendously in consistency. Prior to taking that advice from formidilious, I had been placing my off hand on top of my barrel in front of my scope and that helped as well, but not nearly as easy to replicate in the field as just simply keeping my thumb off the stock. If you're aligned correctly, there's no reason you can't shoot the rifle well so long as no external influences are being put into the rifle.

Is there a particular thread this advice of keeping the trigger hand thumb off the stock is discussed in? I'd like to get a good explanation or picture of it.

I've been working on keeping my thumb directly on top just behind edge of the tang and using slight downward pressure just to help stabilize the stock while breaking the trigger. It has seemed to help a bit.

 

[BCD]

Is there a particular thread this advice of keeping the trigger hand thumb off the stock is discussed in? I'd like to get a good explanation or picture of it.

I've been working on keeping my thumb directly on top just behind edge of the tang and using slight downward pressure just to help stabilize the stock while breaking the trigger. It has seemed to help a bit.

I would like to know more about keeping the thumb off of the stock as well....

 

[coues32]

I and others have had luck putting slight pressure on top of the scope instead of holding the stock.
Kimbers,CLR in magnums, one has a brake others don't.

There is a thread on shooting kimber rifles floating around somewhere

 

[Leatherneck]

This is interesting. My off hand is always holding the rear bag in the prone but I have noticed that when I am off, it is typically shooting high. Can any elaborate more on this?? What do you mean by "grip the forearm"?

Kimber America | Tips for Shooting Lightweight Kimber Rifles | Kimber America Dealer Portal Blog

Fine 1911 pistols and rifles for both the hunter and shooter. Kimber offers law enforcement tactical pistols and rifles, less-lethal self-defense products, light weight rifles and mountain rifles.

www.kimberamerica.com

Here's another one that mentions it

An Official Journal Of The NRA | Shooting Lightweight Rifles: Tips & Techniques

The fundamentals of rifle shooting still apply when shooting lightweights—in fact, they matter more. Here are some lessons that will help you get more from less and tighten your groups when shooting lightweight rifles.

www.americanrifleman.org

 

[IL Rifle]

I have an 80s M70 XTR Lightweight in .30-06. I replaced the old hard pad with a Limbsaver. That helps a lot. I also use military type sling wrapped around my arm and hold the forearm of the rifle and use a pack as support for the back of my hand when shooting prone. I find a good solid hold on the rifle helps control the rifle and minimize recoil.

 

[BjornF16]

My form not perfect, but this is how my trigger hand rests on stock:

 

[Wapiti1]

One thing that I haven't seen yet is overtravel on the trigger. On a light rifle, you want some overtravel. In fact, on any rifle, I set it up to have overtravel. If the trigger stops dead after the break, you may pull it sideways as you react to recoil. Having some overtravel helps eliminate that trigger control issue.

Jeremy