What is "proper cheek weld" I'm getting different advice

[wyosam]

I put adjustable cheek risers on my rifles. I don't know if this is the correct method, but I close my eyes and put my cheek on the riser. When I open my eyes, I want to have a perfect picture with my scope on the max magnification.

Same, only ideally there is no conscious thought of putting cheek on the riser/stock. For hunting rifles if there had to be a compromise to that (ie that doesn’t work in all positions), for me I want to think about prone, because if I’m prone, I probably have time to think about it. Sitting/standing/kneeling, shooting sticks, convenient tree branch etc, I want to shoulder/get behind the rifle and have a good sight picture, not search for it. If I do it with my eyes closed, I should open eyes and be aligned with scope, and target should be in it.


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[Tell]

I think that when I asked Form, he said you can rest your face on the stock, then lift up about an eighth of an inch. I hope I’m not misrepresenting what he said, but I believe resting your face on it is full pressure, and then lifting up an eighth should reduce the amount of pressure (and input) your face has on the stock, but not removing contact or even just touching it. I’ve tried doing that method and now have a feel for it, but I know I’m still not as consistent as I’d like to be. Part of my issue was addressed by mxgs earlier - having the rifle in close enough to the center and being square so your head doesn’t have to tilt so much.

I think that principle still applies to high angle and most other shooting positions.

 

[Axlrod]

Afew years ago I changed to a lighter cheek weld. It's something I had to work on, because I had used a hard weld for so long.
One way i was able to see the difference, was to build a rest out in the mountains right before dark. Turn on the lighted reticle, and "aim" at a rock on a hillside maybe 400 yards away. The movement of the reticle will show you what different cheek welds will do.

 

[hereinaz]

No “weld” that gives the wrong idea.

Like others, I lowered cheek pieces and raised scope. Now, I use a “jaw index” because any force on the stock is necessarily transmitted to the rifle upon recoil.

You will hear all sorts of things. There is a technique that “traps” the stock between the cheek, rear bag, and shoulder. Typically, it also involves “loading” the bipod by digging it into the ground and pushing it really hard. It is meant to control the rifle. It’s used a lot with magnums.

 

[4th_point]

Try this:

1. Light pressure/contact
2. Eyes parallel to the horizon, or simply keep head level

Look at others when they position behind the rifle. Is the head tilted? Once you start looking for it, you'll see a lot of shooters with head cocked.

Moto riders are familiar with keeping the head level. In a hard turn, eyes are level with the horizon. Not tilted with the lean of the moto.

 

[hereinaz]

Try this:

1. Light pressure/contact
2. Eyes parallel to the horizon, or simply keep head level

Look at others when they position behind the rifle. Is the head tilted? Once you start looking for it, you'll see a lot of shooters with head cocked.

Moto riders are familiar with keeping the head level. In a hard turn, eyes are level with the horizon. Not tilted with the lean of the moto.

The head tilt and neck craning to get into position is one reason I have gone to higher rings.

That reminds me, an often overlooked issue with "cheek weld" is the shooter has to push the head into an unnatural position. Whenever setting up a gun with someone from scratch, I always start with length of pull, scope height, and then set the scope for eye relief.

Truth is, after I did the above for me, I haven't had issues with cheek weld, because my head is in a neutral position behind the gun.

Also, there is a difference in prone (pushes the head forward towards scope) and other positions where the body is upright (pulls the head back away from the scope. To accommodate this, I set the scope relief so that when prone, it is at one extreme and when upright it is at the opposite extreme. There is also a difference between where you will index your face on the rifle between the two.

Some people will set a hard cheek weld seated, but then when prone they can't push their face down enough to get the sight picture. Get a camera and take some pictures of yourself and face on stock in prone and seated and you'll see what I mean. Because my hunting shots are rarely prone, I have started setting my hunting rifles up for upright shots.

If you set up your rifle so you can shoot naturally, you will never have to hunt for the scope view and a simple light touch of your jaw or cheek to the stock will index your head into the same position.

 

[Marshfly]

As said above make sure your spine is square. A line should run down the barrel to your shoulder to your hip socket. Check this every time by closing your eyes and checking natural point of aim. This will show any excess pressure not just with the cheek but anywhere.

Once I show people how to use the natural POA check to analyze their position I see big changes in consistency immediately.

 

[KenLee]

I've come to believe that "proper cheek weld" is greatly overrated and have been mounting my scopes a little higher. Feels much more neutral and relaxed with a more upright head position than bending my neck down to jam my cheek on the stock. I don't have any credibility in the matter proving this is the way but that's the direction i've shifted towards.

My thoughts also.
I can't help but believe the best cheek position for prone is not necessarily the best for sitting while shooting off a rest or freehand shots.
I'll add in that after 3 fractured cervical vertebrae, I get more/worse headaches after shooting with my cheek on a stock than I do with my head up more.

 

[TaperPin]

Another aspect of cheek weld and moving away from a traditional way of leaning the head forward and planting the cheek, is there is more opportunity to move the head forward or back, by design or accident. This more upright head position isn’t a problem with light recoil, but every year guys are get scope cut with short eye relief scopes and head positions just one uphill shot away from a trickle of blood running down their face. In a traditional cheek weld your head and neck are as forward as is comfortable, so the scope is well forward.

Personally I don’t understand how guys can square up behind a rifle, requiring a lot of eye relief (or scope moved back), then transition to a sitting or standing position where the shooter can’t be squared up and suddenly has less eye relief (or the scope should be farther forward), all the while keeping the same cheek weld. There’s a funny video of a shooting school trying to demonstrate how to shoot sitting without a rest and the instructor/coach literally can’t get a usable eye relief. Fail. Lol

 

[hereinaz]

Another aspect of cheek weld and moving away from a traditional way of leaning the head forward and planting the cheek, is there is more opportunity to move the head forward or back, by design or accident. This more upright head position isn’t a problem with light recoil, but every year guys are get scope cut with short eye relief scopes and head positions just one uphill shot away from a trickle of blood running down their face. In a traditional cheek weld your head and neck are as forward as is comfortable, so the scope is well forward.

Personally I don’t understand how guys can square up behind a rifle, requiring a lot of eye relief (or scope moved back), then transition to a sitting or standing position where the shooter can’t be squared up and suddenly has less eye relief (or the scope should be farther forward), all the while keeping the same cheek weld. There’s a funny video of a shooting school trying to demonstrate how to shoot sitting without a rest and the instructor/coach literally can’t get a usable eye relief. Fail. Lol

One big part of the problem is rifle fitment and scope placement. When the rifle is set up correctly I don't have that problem with shooters.

I can deal with my rifle fine in alternate positions without getting scope bit. Of course, that isn't with massive magnums...

 

[Jstumbaugh]

Excuse my ignorance on this but we were always taught to mount a scope as low as possible without contacting the barrel. You guys are now saying higher is better with less cheek pressure?

 

[hereinaz]

Excuse my ignorance on this but we were always taught to mount a scope as low as possible without contacting the barrel. You guys are now saying higher is better with less cheek pressure?

It was common to mount as low as possible.

Shooting tiny groups requires as little negative input to the rifle as possible and making it as repeatable as possible.

Mounting the scope at a comfortable height promotes an easy to repeat and as neutral a position as possible. Because low was the default, “higher” is better. Sometimes it is just using a medium instead of low ring.

 

[leclairk]

I would be willing to bet the theory that input from your cheek would show up on the target is false. I don't buy it. I rest my cheek in a relaxed fashion and I shoot very well. If you are muscling the cheek weld down to get yourself on target that is a different story, but to say relaxing the weight of your head on the stock will increase group size is bogus.

 

[hereinaz]

Any pressure affects the way a rifle shoots. There is no way around it. It’s why benchrest shooters don’t put their face or body on the gun.

Not to say that you or others can’t shoot good groups, because there are all sorts of ways to be consistent.

For you, if it doesn’t show up, it is be you are consistent. Consistency matters a lot. If you have the same pressure, then the rifle will recoil the same.

Here, the OP was having questions/issues, so it applies to his understanding and efforts for consistency.

Separate from group size, it can affect keeping the target in the scope. Cheek pressure can move the buttstock down and away from the face pushing the muzzle in the opposite direction.

 

[4th_point]

Excuse my ignorance on this but we were always taught to mount a scope as low as possible without contacting the barrel. You guys are now saying higher is better with less cheek pressure?

Consider this:

Offhand vs prone


Many still prefer low to the bore for offhand, whereas many practical precision shooters have embraced higher scope mounting for prone especially with a chassis.

Ergonomics and shooter build factor into it as well, obviously.

 

[JohnJohnson]

Excuse my ignorance on this but we were always taught to mount a scope as low as possible without contacting the barrel. You guys are now saying higher is better with less cheek pressure?

Some conventional knowledge on rifle setup/position isn't relevant today (or sometimes was never true). For instance a bladed prone position that a lot of people do is a holdover from before bipods were used for long range shooting. Mount your scope as high as you need to for comfort. There's really no reason that it needs to be mounted ultra-low anymore.