Correct prone position and recoil management

[Oliver Official]

I can shoot sub MOA, and if I'm really trying, sub 1/2 MOA 5-shot groups at 100m with factory match ammo. I exclusively shoot prone and occasionally from the bench. I'm a leftie, with a LH Tiktac in 308 shooting off a bipod. After the shot I have no cheekweld and the rifle is pointing about 10-15 mil left of target. I'm trying to be square but still notice my non-trigger elbow is placed about 3" in front of my trigger elbow. - Time to start working on technique and recoil management.

I've watched the Philip Valeyo and the Science of Recoil YT videos, and read the myriad of help offered on these forums multiple times. Still a few things I'm not sure about. Any help is greatly appreciated.

1. Modern teaching says to keep the butt centered (about directly under the ear). Other advice says to put the butt in the shoulder pocket, which to me sounds like the outer edge of the chest instead of centered. What am I misunderstanding?
2. I’ve also read not to place the butt against the collarbone because, with larger calibers, that will hurt. If I center the butt aligned with my ear but avoid contact with the collarbone, the rifle sits very low and painfully presses into my pec. I’m 6'4" with a long neck — this doesn’t work for me.
3. How much should I arch my back to get a more upright posture and better head position? I feel like my chest is too horizontal and too close to the ground. At cheekweld my face is tilted toward my trigger hand and my eyebrow blocks part of the scope. With glasses I’m looking over the frame.
4. Finally, I have a persistent fear of the scope striking my eye. After three years I’m still not confident that my prone position prevents this, so I’m never relaxed behind the rifle. Are there drills or techniques to overcome this anxiety?

I fully appreciate these questions might have been asked dozens of times before. Feel free to point me to other posts rather than typing out the answer. I’m more than happy to try to connect the dots myself.

 

[Vyx313]

I did a class with Phil earlier in the year and I can say that following his advice significantly improved my shooting. I would rewatch his videos and ignore other things you’ve read for now until you get a solid base down. From there you can experiment with what works best for you.

1&2 - I’d recommend keeping the butt stock centered and on your collarbone. I don’t think 308 is going cause you any issues. I’m shooting 6.5cm and the butt stock sits on my upper pec and onto the collar bone.

3&4 - This mostly sounds like you’re not building the rifle to shoulder connection correctly. Check out Phil’s video on the topic. You should be relaxed behind the rifle and not having to hold unnatural positions to get the sight picture correct.

 

[Ronin22]

I watched Phil’s vids years ago and stopped loading the bipod. Instead establish the connection & think in my head “linear to the rear” marked improvement.

A solid rear bag, like Taylor’s that doesn’t squish a lot, stays solid till you apply cheek weld pressure to bring cross hairs up on target in NPOA condition is gold too.

 

[Oliver Official]

My understanding is a rear bag is a nice-to-have but one should be able to hold the crosshair steady at about a MOA without any rear support?

 

[Ronin22]

I can shoot sub MOA 1000yds from my tuck seat. Elbow is supported by the steering wheel. Nothing on the buttstock.